Date: Sat, 2 May 2015 14:49:06 -0700
Reply-To: Wes Neuenschwander <wes.neuenschwander@COMCAST.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Wes Neuenschwander <wes.neuenschwander@COMCAST.NET>
Subject: Re: 91 Westy - Mysterious Clutch/Transmission Problem
In-Reply-To: <5CA9178E-DBA6-4393-B108-9408CD233A15@gmail.com>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
That's a very interesting piece of information, and good for all Vanagon
owner's to be aware of. I'll definitely have the shop take a look at the
replacement cylinder to see if that's the issue. Probably a bit of a long
shot given that the problem occurred before the new slave cylinder was
installed, but it's possible that the original problem was due to a failed
slave cylinder and the 'new' replacement cylinder more or less emulated the
problem. I will for sure have them check to see that the cylinder is moving
the proper distance. Fortunately the shop owner owns four Vanagons of his
own, so we will have several properly working examples to compare with.
Should definitely go a long way to isolating the problem. If the hydraulics
are working properly (as evidenced by the proper displacement of the slave
cylinder when the pedal is displaced), then it obviously has to be something
within the clutch system proper. Unfortunately, I'm not a mechanic (not
even of the shade tree variety) so I can't even really imagine what could be
the issue within the clutch mechanism.
It's really good to know though that there are some bogus clutch slave
cylinders out there. Caveat emptor!
-Wes
-----Original Message-----
From: phishman068@gmail.com [mailto:phishman068@gmail.com]
Sent: Saturday, May 02, 2015 9:02 AM
To: Wes Neuenschwander
Cc: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: 91 Westy - Mysterious Clutch/Transmission Problem
I recently went through the same thing and there's an obvious line in your
statement that stands out to me, they just replaced the slave cylinder.
It has just come to my attention that some of the slave cylinders in one of
the "good german brands" do not have a long enough rod, therefore their
travel occurs mostly internally. Crap.
In other words, your clutch isn't fully disengaging as a result of a part
that's engineered wrong and sold as a replacement.
In my case i machined a brass spaced that extended the throw by about 1cm
and it made a huge difference.
Watch the clutch lever on the transmission actuate while someone pushes the
pedal, make sure it's moving plenty.
-craig
> On May 2, 2015, at 11:21 AM, Wes Neuenschwander
<wes.neuenschwander@COMCAST.NET> wrote:
>
> I have a '91 Westy with a fairly new/rebuilt engine (Go Westy) and
> transmission, now with about 40,000 miles on the combo. The last few
> years I've pretty much 'archived' the vehicle, keeping it in the
> garage except for occasional road trips. I took it into my local VW
> 'go-to' shop in Seattle (Fine Tuning Performance - absolutely
> outstanding service on the vehicle for the last 20 or so years!) for
> routine service (oil change, coolant flush and change, replace brake
> and clutch fluid) and during the post-service test drive owner/head
> guru Chris noticed difficulty in engaging the van in reverse.
>
>
>
> He thought the problem was most likely a failure in the clutch
> hydraulics that was preventing the clutch from completely disengaging
> (and since reverse has no syncro, the 'grinding' noise would only occur in
reverse).
> They replaced the clutch slave cylinder (the master was replaced a
> couple of years previously), but the problem persisted. Next step was
> a clutch job, including replacing the idler bearing. Unfortunately,
> it's still grinding when engaging reverse. Huge bummer, especially as
> we were planning on heading out for a fishing/camping trip to a remote
> area in NE Washington next week!
>
>
>
> If anyone has *any* ideas what could be causing this - persistent, and
> now mystifying - problem, you suggestions would be *much* appreciated!!
>
>
>
> -Wes
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