Date: Thu, 17 Apr 2014 10:12:26 -0500
Reply-To: JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: JRodgers <jrodgers113@GMAIL.COM>
Subject: Re: clutch chatter fixed, thanks
In-Reply-To: <20140417102032.LCL9X.10852.imail@eastrmwml113>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8; format=flowed
Dave,
That's good to know - but it still begs the question - "Was the pilot
shaft bearing bushing there?" Like Scott said - those bushings often
get punched out along the way and never get put back in. Sine yours
apparently had the original clutch, the flywheel apparently not tampered
with - it's likely that the bushing was still there - BUT did anyone
actually see it? If that bushing IS NOT there - it will allow the felt
washer to move, then disintegrate and let clutch crud and grime into the
pilot bearing, which in turn will considerably shorten the life of the
pilot bearing. And then of course you will be right back where you
started having to pull the transmission.
One other thing - and I hope someone on this list can verify this for
me/us - I have read somewhere that the pilot bearing for the VW diesel
engine has a built-in seal in the pilot bearing - making the flywheel
bushing and felt seal in the WBX arrangement unnecessary - and the
diesel pilot bearing is a suitable substitute. Now I don't know this is
the case for sure - but I have seen something about this, somewhere.
Perhaps another list member can clarify!
Best of luck to you.
John
On 4/17/2014 9:20 AM, mcneely4@cox.net wrote:
> I asked Darrell if he had resurfaced the flywheel. He said that it was not damaged, having neither heat damage nor any surface imperfections. As he put it, it was "as smooth as a baby's butt." mcneely
>
> ---- JRodgers <jrodgers113@gmail.com> wrote:
>> Dave,
>>
>> You didn't mention it, but with that many miles on the clutch the fly
>> wheel would surely have needed refacing. Did you have the flywheel face
>> machined back smooth? If so, did the pilot shaft flywheel bushing that
>> mounts inside the flywheel get put back in - or if missing was a new one
>> installed?? This bushing is extremely important because it is what
>> holds the pilot bearing felt washer in place. Without it - the washer
>> will crumble away and the garbage and debris from the clutch will
>> destroy the pilot bearing. It is an item often missed,
>>
>>
>> John
>>
>> On 4/16/2014 10:23 PM, Dave Mcneely wrote:
>>> Thanks to everyone who provided information and advice concerning the clutch chatter I was experiencing with my 1991 Volkswagen Vanagon GL Campmobile with manual transmission and 2.1 liter waterboxer.
>>>
>>> Thanks to Darrell Cook, whose shop in Norman, Oklahoma is listed in the Road Haus shop list, I now have a new, smooth as butter clutch. I got the needed parts from Bus Depot. The problem was that the main shaft seal on the transmission had failed, bathing the clutch with 90W gear oil. The pilot bearing had also partially seized, perhaps because the felt seal had disintegrated, allowing crud into the bearing. The van, with 174k miles, had the original clutch, at least the clutch plate and the pressure plate had VW/Audi marks on them, and Darrell said they were original. Even so, there was some material left on the clutch plate, which was chattering mainly due to the oil on it. The original fork (yoke, whatever) was still perfectly sound, as Darrell said it likely would be, as his experience is that this part wears little on the later model Vanagons. While there, Darrell also installed a new flywheel seal and o-ring, which had seen better days, with some seapage, though not
t
>> he cause of the clutch being oiled.
>>>
>>> Thanks again to everyone.
>>>
>>> mcneely
>>>
>
> --
> David McNeely
>
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