Clutch

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dpawlows
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:01 pm
What year is your cabby?: 1987
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes

Clutch

Post by dpawlows »

I think I know the answer to this already, but I don't want to admit that I need to replace the clutch.

It was slipping, but I thought that since there was no slack in the cable that it just needed adjustment. Well the plastic adjustment sleeve was messed up and the locknut frozen to the threads so I figured I'd spend the $15 and just replace the cable. I did that tonight in the rain, but as soon as I got it installed the first thing I noticed was that I had to adjust it almost as loose as possible just to allow for slack in the cable. When I took the car for a drive, the slack went away after a couple depressions of the pedal, and the clutch was slipping again. This surprised me as I figured if anything, the cable would stretch. I might have a couple more turns of the adjustment knob before I'm out of room. Time to replace, or am I missing something else? I'm not sure I'm capable of doing the clutch myself.
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Briano1234
Whats that smell?
Posts: 4105
Joined: Mon Mar 21, 2005 5:45 am
What year is your cabby?: 1992
Do you own a Cabriolet?: No
Location: Duluth, Ga
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Re: Clutch

Post by Briano1234 »

If you didn't get the cable seated correctly then you can get a false sense of adjustment, The pedal depressions probably centered it.

There is the clutch feed-thru that can get cut through by the sawing action of the cable.

You only need a couple of special tools to do a clutch,
A good hydraulic jack
Good Jack Stands
A engine hoist or strap
a 8mm triple square drive bit.

If you do the clutch you might as well do the bearing and finger pawl so you would need those two additonal things as well as the
green metal cap for the end of the tranny.

I would also suggest that you replace the rear crank seal as it will be very easy to get to.

jack the car support on stands
disconnect the battery
remove the axles from the tranny coupler and tie them up as high as you can.
remove the starter
remove the clutch cable
remove the speedometer cable, do not pull it.
remove the linkages
remove the rear and side mount.
remove the 5 bolts and one stud that hold the tranny to the engine.
Briano

Yes as matter of fact, I have the Luck o'the Irish...everything I touch turns to fertilizer of the bovine variety.
You can lead a user to a link, but you can't make him Click.... :screwy:
eric4321
Posts: 143
Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2010 11:14 pm
What year is your cabby?: 1993
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes
Location: Atlanta, GA

Re: Clutch

Post by eric4321 »

Your problem sounds like it may just be improper adjustment. Are you leaving some freeplay in the lever on the trans that the cable ataches to? If the clutch did not slip when the cable was first instaled it is likely just a cable problem. check what Brian said make make sure the plastic around the cable is not cut and check for proper cable routing as well. If the cable is not alowing any free play on the lever then it is likely the problem.
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gull
Posts: 817
Joined: Sun Feb 19, 2006 6:30 pm
What year is your cabby?: 1989
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes
Location: Auburn, WA
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Re: Clutch

Post by gull »

Yeah, the required free play is something like 12mm where the cable adjuster touches the flange on the transmission. It will seem pretty sloppy when it's adjusted properly, but that's what they need to work right. This page has a good description with a little movie showing a properly adjusted cable, if you scroll down a bit:
http://brokevw.com/releasearm.html

If the cable's too tight the clutch will engage near the top of its travel and generally feel wrong. If it's really too tight it will slip.
VW fan who fell to the Honda side of the force
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dpawlows
Posts: 8
Joined: Wed Apr 21, 2010 2:01 pm
What year is your cabby?: 1987
Do you own a Cabriolet?: Yes

Re: Clutch

Post by dpawlows »

Yeah, I certainly don't have any freeplay, even with the cable being adjusted to maximum length. Also, I can't move the arm by hand at all. I'm fairly certain it's sitting lower than 90 degrees too, which I guess means new clutch. Thanks for that link.
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