clutch issues

[Justin]

after putting a 1.5 liter into my 1982 rabbit i drove it with an old clutch and about 2 weeks of driving the clutch blew out, suspecting it was just old and that i was probably driving it hard i replaced it.

but after just 2 or 3 weeks of driving with a brand new clutch and pressure plate the clutch blew apart driving down the road while cruising at about 70 mph

the clutch was a sachs and the parts store said that they would give me a new one under warranty but i dont want to screw this one up, any ideas on what went wrong?

thanks in advance
justin

[vwmike]

Am I correct in understanding that this is the center of the disk breaking? The things that comes to mind are perhaps there is something wrong with your transmission - such as a bad bearing that is causing the transmission to lock momentarily. I had this happen, but not to a large extent. How is the thrust on your engine? if there is much walk and the input shaft isn't well lubed it could put force on the center when you push on the clutch.

[Justin]

well i figured it out, after reassembling the new clutch i was checking the speedo hole and i was spinning the input shaft and the input shaft locked up, which would explain why it felt like i hit something and why the clutch sheared off from the disc so i am putting in my back up tranny and hopefully that will work

plus the fluid (which was brand new redline) was really brown and not even milky it didnt look good, my buddys asked me if i filled it up with mud

thanks for your help
justin