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Date:         Sat, 24 Oct 1998 14:08:27 -0700
Reply-To:     Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@vanagon.com>
From:         Malcolm Holser <mholser@ADOBE.COM>
Subject:      Re: Clutch Advise Please
Comments: To: Jim & Melody <JiMelody@ZIANET.COM>, vanagon@VANAGON.COM
In-Reply-To:  <002e01bdff84$e1e83760$852942cf@JiMelody>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"

Clutches go out in several ways, and yes, they can go suddenly. The old VW clutches were cable-operated, and you were not tempted to assume the hydraulic system was at fault. There are two other likely problems to check -- the throwout bearing and the pressure plate. If either is bad, they are probably both toast.

The throwout bearing sometimes fail, and they do so rather dramatically, shedding bits all over the bellhousing. The pressure plate has numerous steel "fingers" that the bearing rides on. These can wear as well, and the death of the clutch is sudden when they finally fail. Either one will typically damage the other.

Clutches on this beast are not _too_ hard to get to -- just plop the tranny out (leave the engine in place).

Check the pressure plate, throwout bearing, disk and flywheel surface. If anything is bad, you should probably replace all but the flywheel, and replace the flywheel if it is scored (they wear into a "wavy" concentric pattern -- this is normal -- deep or sharp grooves are not, nor is any galling or chatter-damage).

Without removing the tranny, you might find out that the throwout bearing and pressure plate are toast -- simply remove the slave cylinder and move the actuator arm by hand -- it should move smoothly, but not much. I suspect that yours will move past where it should.

Good luck. Mine failed this summer in the depth of the Ozarks -- blistering heat. Failed on a Friday afternoon, to boot. I fixed mine in a motel parking lot -- dropped the tranny, replaced the clutch, and popped the tranny back in -- about 6 hours total, but it could have been faster if I had a clutch-alignment tool. I had to try a couple of times to get the clutch centered properly, each time dropping the transmission again.

Malcolm H.


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