Slipping? oil?

[BellCityDubber]

today I had some free time so I thought I'd do a little bit of work on the jetta...

after my repairs, on my way back from my test run I had an unpleasent experience. I think my clutch is slipping! I've never experienced clutch slipping before, but when I'm driving along I'll notice the power's gone but the engine revs and then *BANG* it's back on again.

I also think that it may be in conjunction with a slight noise I've been keeping my ear on.  in low gears at about 2000 rpms I get a light rattle/tapping noise.

Would it be time to change the pressureplate/clutch?



aside from that I thought I'd check my fluid levels and such and come to find out that I have a black coating of what LOOKS like oil in my coolant resivoir... I've seen bad headgaskets and it's not like I have milky oil or brown coolant it's just a coating of black on top.   I dont burn white smoke or anything (trust me, all my smoke is BLACK )

anyone have any ideas to point me in the right direction, I'd really appricate the help

thanks
phil

[BlackTieTD]

sounds like head gasket on the way out and slippy clutch as you diagnosed...

[BellCityDubber]

:roll: great....

I don't THINK it would be the HG coz I've seen them on their way out, and this one should have been on it's way out.... months ago... (the coolant resivoir has been black since I've got it from my grandparents.

as for my slipping clutch... I think I'm screwed there huh...

[BlackTieTD]

if its not the HG, then somehow oil has made it into your coolant. depending on where the HG fails, you will see different warning signs...

has it been black with oil since you got it? did it blow a HG in the past and those oil swirls are just residual? did you use an old oil jug to mix/fill the coolant perhaps?

[BellCityDubber]

perhaps I'll do a cooling system flush and see what I end up with.

my headgaset on my 8v wasnt this peculiar, it went, blew white smoke. and that was that... this is a little strange. just a black film of oil or perhaps soot on top of the coolant... no milky oil... and no white smoke...  

I didn't do any cooling system work on this car since I've got it.. so I dont know if they used oil jugs....

I'll keep bombing around in it.. and if it blows up... it blows up in my face I guess eh?

but I think the cooling system is due for a flush... just to see what happens..
as for the clutch.... I'll keep my ear/eye on it.


*update*

I went on a drive over to a friends house (20 minutes away)
and I've found out some more symptoms of my problem...

one of them is that it may happen in all gears (as it happened in 2nd and 3rd earlier today, and it happened in 5th on the way here)....  

and the second thing is that I don't think that the clutch is "slipping" as much as the engine seems to stop responding to the pedal...

when it stops responding it wont accelerate as if the clutch were slipping, and when it happened last I put my foot to the floor and it didnt accelerate...

Sooo...
would this be MORE and OTHER symptoms of a headgasket....

[hillfolk'r]

:roll: great....

I don't THINK it would be the HG coz I've seen them on their way out, and this one should have been on it's way out.... months ago... (the coolant resivoir has been black since I've got it from my grandparents.

as for my slipping clutch... I think I'm screwed there huh...

diesels will usually be blackinthe res.when head gasket goes like that,dumping oil in the cooland,yea you get some cheeze,but it turns black

[LeeG]

my 1.6 TD has been leaving a regular film like soot in the top of the coolant bottle for 200,000 km.  HG also periodically leaks a dribble of coolant over vacuum pump area then seals up again.  
I figure it can't be anything good, but it hasnt stopped me from flogging the poor thing for the last 2 years.

[BellCityDubber]

my 1.6 TD has been leaving a regular film like soot in the top of the coolant bottle for 200,000 km.  HG also periodically leaks a dribble of coolant over vacuum pump area then seals up again.  
I figure it can't be anything good, but it hasnt stopped me from flogging the poor thing for the last 2 years.

yea, I have the same thing... but will a bad headgasket generate hesitation and loss of power/acceleration for a few seconds?

I thought it was my clutch but it doesnt ACCELERATE when I mash it to the floor when it does it....

I also thought of something else, I'll fix it tomorrow and see if it does it again...

I may be a victim of my own carelessness and stupidity.... I'll keep people posted....

[BellCityDubber]

I may be a victim of my own carelessness and stupidity.... I'll keep people posted....

I think I am a victim of my own stupidity and carelessness...

when I making my first attempt at raising the fuel, I pulled the connector out of the housing for what looks like to be the fuel cut off solanoid... so I put it thru the hole and wound it around.... not the best fix... I know... but I think that perhaps could have been my issue.. I've fixed it properly now and I went back to trying to get the idle to go back DOWN

so I raised the fuel and started messing with the 10mm nuts and the slotted screws on the back of the IP (engine side)... which affects my cold start pull handle.... (as the FAQ says something about cars with AC which mine is)

or do I have to move the risidual fuel screw where the butterly rests against... to move the idle stop further in?

I think I fixed one problem, but am still lost on how to get more fuel.....

[BellCityDubber]

diesels will usually be blackinthe res.when head gasket goes like that,dumping oil in the cooland,yea you get some cheeze,but it turns black

well... this week I decided I'd clean out my resivoir, and aparently there's still a bit of oil going in to the coolant bottle..

I think I do have a headgasket problem.....

[BellCityDubber]

Check your oil cooler first.  They also fail and let oil and water mix.

Andrew

yea, I've heard about that.... that's a good idea...

if it's bad I dont think I'll be going for a replacement, as much as I'd like to keep things oem on the car.... it'll probally get removed....

it's similar to removal on the gas cars, eh?

I'll be researching for a thread...

thanks for the tip

[745 turbogreasel]

Check your oil cooler first.  They also fail and let oil and water mix.

Andrew

Gee I must have got lucky, mine only let the oil out on the ground .

[macsdub]

i know all about how a slipping clutch feels,,the revs rise a little faster than the road speed...its a wierd feeling,and sometimes barely noticible by watching tach,and speedo,its more of a "feel" thing,and you may notice it easier in the higher gears
i ran a centerforce in my idi,it was nice,but the same clutch in my tdi cant hold the power,itll slip in 5th,until i "warm it up" by letting it slip once or twice in 5th,then its "ok"..
but i gotta get a 4 puck....... :?

[BellCityDubber]

i know all about how a slipping clutch feels,,the revs rise a little faster than the road speed...its a wierd feeling,and sometimes barely noticible by watching tach,and speedo,its more of a "feel" thing,and you may notice it easier in the higher gears
i ran a centerforce in my idi,it was nice,but the same clutch in my tdi cant hold the power,itll slip in 5th,until i "warm it up" by letting it slip once or twice in 5th,then its "ok"..
but i gotta get a 4 puck....... :?

Well, I dont know if I posted above, but it wasnt my clutch, it was my fuel cut-off wire at the pump was disconnecting durring driving.. so that was fixed.

has anyone else ever had their oil cooler mix the oil and the coolant like the symptoms I'm having?

[fspGTD]

Moved to troubleshooting.  IDI engine is for power enhancement related discussion only.