new clutch time soon..i believe. can I use the manual adjust cable?

[trent77]

I am thinking the clutch is on its way out. When i am in 5th gear i can get the clutch to slip, granted it has been like this for a year and i have been babying it. When i do change the clutch, can I install the manual adjust clutch cable? I 'm not real hip in the auto adjust cable.
My car is a 91 a2, the engine is a 94 aaz. I look forward to any help. Thanks Trent.

[nathan_b]

manual adjusting cables are the only way to go! straight swap

[Quantum TD]

You will need a spacer and several washers to do the conversion. It was an OEM thing you could get in the day.

[trent77]

Great! I figured that VW wouldn't have gotten to ambitious and made a completely different design. Who makes the best clutch and pressure  plate for the aaz? Like I said, the old jetta is still getting along, and if I take it easy on her I bet I could get another year out of her. But I'm thinking that early this summer would be a great time. Thanks for the help. Trent

[R.O.R-2.0]

if you get the appropriate rubber bushing for the clutch arm (the thick one, off a mk1 4 or 5 spd) it works. then you dont have to have a stack of washers to make everything work..

[nathan_b]

x2, done several mk1,2, and 3 cable swaps with no washers

[the caveman]

Back in the eighties, when every taxi in Montreal was a diesel jetta, we would change old clutch cables to the self adjusting ones. Would make the clutch last twice as long, if not even longer.

[R.O.R-2.0]

Back in the eighties, when every taxi in Montreal was a diesel jetta, we would change old clutch cables to the self adjusting ones. Would make the clutch last twice as long, if not even longer.

the self adjusting cables have way too much pre load on the throw out bearing. i dont even think a self adjusting cable will let a clutch grab 100%

[the caveman]

If a clutch wasn't grabbing 100% , it wouldn't last very long

[R.O.R-2.0]

If a clutch wasn't grabbing 100% , it wouldn't last very long

well, lasting 3x longer with a manual cable, thats telling me that the auto cable is letting it slip a little bit..

and the fact that my 92 jetta, the clutch slipped from day one, and the cable worked right.. took that clutch out of the car when i tore it down, clutch was still FINE, threw that same clutch in my rabbit, and abused it for a couple more years.. only difference, was that it was in a mk1 now, and it had a manual clutch cable.. i never slipped that clutch in my rabbit..

anyways..

mk2 1.8 8v would slip it fairly easy.

mk1 1.6 TD and it would not slip.

you would think it would have been the other way around..

[hessiandave]

The clutch cable is one of the 1st things I do when id get a "new" car.
And I always have a spare.

I had a cable snap on me when I had a volvo 240, had to power shift most of the way home until I hit some traffic.
Pushing a giant steel brick by yourself in the rain in rush hour traffic is not a good time.

I now have a spare cable in the trunk of my mk2. Just in case...

[R.O.R-2.0]

The clutch cable is one of the 1st things I do when id get a "new" car.
And I always have a spare.

I had a cable snap on me when I had a volvo 240, had to power shift most of the way home until I hit some traffic.
Pushing a giant steel brick by yourself in the rain in rush hour traffic is not a good time.

I now have a spare cable in the trunk of my mk2. Just in case...

i had to drive my GTI 300 miles with a twanged cable.. didnt have a spare, or any money.

good thing it was 10pm when i was going thru Portland..

when i had to stop, i would shut it off, and when i had to go again, i would just start it in gear.. poor starter..

[the caveman]

Not a diesel, but when I had Sanford [it was a red fox, get it ? ] we were on our way for a round trip to Chicago from Montreal. A few kms before Toronto, while trying to leave the gas station I couldn't get it into 1st. Realized the clutch was dying fast. The border at detroit was real fun, but we managed to get to Chicago and back - 2300kms-1500 miles .Those cars can really handle abuse.

[trent77]

So now to start another debate....who makes a good clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing? And where should I get it? I have a NAPA locally, not sure of the thoughts of their stuff. Anyhow, let the debate begin.

[nathan_b]

sachs usually sells pretty good stuff.