Date: Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:43:40 -0700
Reply-To: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Scott Daniel - Turbovans <scottdaniel@TURBOVANS.COM>
Subject: Re: Clutch/Shifting issue?
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Kakua 4 U.
if it's the orignial clutch master cylinder , it was due to be replaced 5 or
more years ago.
Defenitly weak if original.
a clutch mas cyl can pump in air without leaking fluid exterenally
...easily. All hyd master cylinders can do that.
a manual pedal-stroking bleeding method will show if it's pumping in air.
not likely shift linkage.
if not external to the clutch itself ..
like a hydrulic problem .
then it would be internal ..
such as ...worn out/detroyed pilot bearing .
not that uncommon since the little metal ring in the flywheel that holds the
felt clutch dust seal is often missing ..
leading to pilot bearing failure easily.
that failure can show up as intermittant failing to get a clean release of
the clutch.
how does the pedal feel.
mushy ?
I have seen a vangon with this going on ..
the clutch pedal was mushy, as in shot hydraulics.
yet at the same time..
the effort to push down the pedal was higher than normal..
which goes with very high miles on the pressure plate and disc..
so that one was both
soft and hard at the same time. No kidding.
and likely very not easily detected by many people.
that van needed the hydraulics straigtened out and a better or new disc and
pressure plate.
fwiw .
it's very common to see bad workmanship in vanagon cluches..
the pilot bearing dust seal thing..
missing locating dowels on the flywheel for the pressure plate..
completely poorly lube release meachism parts ..etc. etc. etc.
and ..that clevis and pin pivot point way up on the clutch pedal ..
there's no provision for lubing that .
it's bare metal-to-metal ..and that spot wears.
You can blindly spray up in there with a good spray lube to help some.
if the freeplay a the top of the clutch pedal is more than a half inch (
1/8th inch is ideal ) ...
it's probalby wearing there some.
and it's not easy to deal with at all.
so always ...try to get some spray lube up there somehow.
and actually ..
vanagons suffer from lack of lubrication thoughout so badly...I can not say
it enough.
IF everything that moves was kept nicely lubed..
they would never wear out.
there are dozens and dozens, hundreds even ..of spots on vanagons that have
never been lubed, that move against each other...never lubed since the
factory. A real, and very unnessary, shame.
someday I'll make that list of spots..
it's well over a hundred, easily.
clutch hyd fluid needs to be changed every two years..
and is mandatory , as far as I'm concerned, any time there's a new clutch,
trans is replaced , etc.
scott
www.turbovans.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Tom Buese" <tombuese@COMCAST.NET>
To: <vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM>
Sent: Monday, July 25, 2011 1:24 PM
Subject: Clutch/Shifting issue?
Hi Volks,
84 vanagon w/ 4 speed tranny-has always shifted well (144k) except when
clutch cylinders leaked & got low on brake fluid- have replaced master brake
& clutch slave cylinders in the last year/ 4+- years. No problems recently
until the other day, couldn't downshift into 1st w/o turning off engine &
starting w/ clutch fully depressed. Thot it was low brake fluid so fudged my
way home & topped off resevoir which was only down 1/2" +-. Depressed
clutch & brake several times & it seemed to work until today when I had to
do the ole turn off/start engine again trick when ever I needed to get it in
gear. Higher gears sometimes had same issue, but not always. WTF?
It seems like a clutch issue? Could that happen suddenly? Or is it a
shifting linkage issue? Hmmm, come to think of it, I believe that the
clutch master cylinder has not ever been replaced. Can that puppy go w/o
any signs of leaking, warning signs???
Your kokua(help) would be appreciated.
Mr. BZ-5 miles to home before I sleep=
