mk3 AAZ clutch slip - advice please

[gldgti]

right, im really getting tired of clutch problems with my mk3 turbo-diesel -

about 25,000km ago, replaced with new clutch kit. everything has been working great until today - now under hard acceleration, it slips in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th. its a clear "break away" kind of slip - i can completely control it with throttle, it doesnt slip at all unless i accelerate more than a particular amount.

i've only used OEM parts, my flywheel is fine. i installed everything correctly, i used new pressure plate bolts. i torqued everything up properly with a torque wrench. i've had a few clutch issues with this car before, and i've changed the clutch twice. 

can anyone running an 020 transmission and who also has a lot of torque (i mean, this thing is running 21-22psi all the time) please let me know what clutch you are using and where you got it from. i need something thats easy to drive too, not a race clutch.... must be sprung.

here in australia, distributors for performance VW stuff are few and far between, so any help you guys can give me will be great.

cheers
aydan

[the caveman]

If you are sure you have everything right- part application and assembly then i would think you need to get something more heavy duty. One thing would perhaps a VR6 setup-- larger flywheel, clutch disc and pressure plate[ someone else may have to chime in whether it'll fit], otherwise find a clutch disc with a more grip. There are a few companies that sell clutches with different facing materials. For example for my 2.2 liter 1971 beetle my pressure plate is stock but the clutch disc has heavy duty material on one side and copper pads on the other. It solved a lot of problems i was having. There must be somewhere in Australia that rebuilds clutches and can uprate the material .

[Garrett]

A VR6 clutch won't fit the 020 transmission. A nice upgrade would be a 16v pressure plate with something like an ACT or Clutchnet disc. Are you running the self-adjusting clutch cable or the manual one?

[gldgti]

i am using a manually adjustable cable.. ok, so an 020 16V kit might be the go..... has anyone got any experience with SPEC clutches?

[Garrett]

I would steer clear of SPEC, I don't have any personal experience but I have seen alot of them fail. It's too bad, they are fairly well priced.

[gldgti]

well i have a theory about the cause, i thought i'd share with you guys:

my car has been modified for a long time (like 60,000km) and running lots of boost all that time. however, it was just recently that i adjusted the limit switch for the wastegate control to open at just a small throttle amount - so it was still opening the wastegate at idle, but everywhere else it was boosting.

the k14, my mk3, and the aaz, all together meant that cruising at 120km/h i was pushing about 12-14psi constantly. i do have a BIG intercooler, and it works well, but still, its a lot of pressure for a long time on some of the roads here.

anyway, i think that because of the constant high boost, and a very long run, it has made the oil nice and thin and also pressurised hte crank case..... andi think, forced osme oil out through the rear main seal.

thoughts?

[Rabbit on Roids]

that would make it slip, not make the springs break.

[gldgti]

that would make it slip, not make the springs break.

i think you may be thinking of the other clutch failure thread :-) mine didnt break anything... yet :-)