won't go into gear... clutch?

[jack's lack]

so i was driving home the other day and it started to jerk as i let the clutch out in first a few stop signs later and i could barely get it to go into first and the clutch pedal felt weak like it was getting half way down before it was doing anything.

cars got 130,000 miles on it and i put the giles pump in it a couple thousand back. i have been pretty spirited on take offs but its not like im reving it up to 5k and dumping it either

does it sound like the clutch?
if so what else should i look into doing ie lighter flywheel
black forest industries has a couple of set ups and they are in my neck of the woods anyone using a clutch/flywheel from them

cheers:
Ryan

[jtanguay]

to give you an idea, if it was your clutch, the rpm's would fly up and the car wouldn't seem to move (clutch slip)

if it isn't slipping like that, then i would think it could possibly be a broken/loose mechanism, or the clutch cable is messed up.  could be the throw-out bearing too?

now you say trouble getting it into 1st... like with the shifter? that would be linkage... or possibly some internal damage inside the transmission with all that extra Giles power!  :twisted:

[burn_your_money]

It could also be the arm at the end of fifth that transfered the rotational movement from the clutch lever to the rod that pushes on the PP. They have a tendancy of cracking and causing problems similar to what you are describing. The good news is you can access and replace it with the tranny in the car

[jack's lack]

with the car off i can row thru all the gears just fine so i don't think it is the shift linkage clutch pedal def feels different. didn't seem to rev high or give me problems once i got it in gear (of course i was going between stop signs a city block at a time never got out of second). seems like perhaps something is preventing the clutch from engaging

[jtanguay]

have someone push the clutch pedal while you watch what is going on under the hood at the transmission... maybe your auto adjusting cable is screwing up???

[burn_your_money]

The actuation finger is what I was thinking of
http://www.brokevw.com/releasearm.html

[subsonic]

Stop and go traffic, thats your problem.  Get off Abercorn hit the 516 bypass out towards georgetown and let that giles pump work. Oh yeah, stay away from the vw dealer near the mall (vaden I think) they are junk.

Jim

Former Savannah man, E.53rd st in Ardsley Park.  Hip huggers still rockin till 4 am?

Sorry, I don't know jack about your clutch issue

[jack's lack]

burn your money, that sounds like it might be my problem thanks for your help. i havn't checked it since reading that post but i pulled on that arm right after it acted up and it seemed to go very far so something in there is broke i bet.

so if it is the to bearing or the pushrod i can get it with the trans in the car? but if it is the pressure plate or the clutch the tranny's coming out right? such a big PITA for such a cheap repair

oh and as for all the Savannah stuff, that was pretty good, i bought my R32 from that stealership and no they want nothing to do with my rabbit, and hip huggers turned into a teen dance club and was recently closed down permant because of a shooting! sorry you couldn't help me with my trans problem either but you did make me laugh which i could def use right now.

[burn_your_money]

so if it is the to bearing or the pushrod i can get it with the trans in the car? but if it is the pressure plate or the clutch the tranny's coming out right? such a big PITA for such a cheap repair

Yes exactly. Usually it is hairline crack where the little green line is on the piece that the blue arrow is pointing at



Just replace that piece, you can't always see the crack with your eye. May as well do the TO bearing while you are in there. You will need a new green cap to cover the end of fifth as it usually gets deformed when you remove it. VW sells them for like $5 I think. I think you will need to drain the tranny and refill it to, which isn't a bad idea most likely anyways.
Make sure you get fluid that is compatable with yellow metals (the brass synchros). I think you need to stay away from GL5 and GL4-/GL5 stuff. GL-4 is what you want. I use synchromesh by penzoil or I'd use stuff from the stealer

Here are your instructions http://www.brokevw.com/TO.html dropping the trans would make this job easier but overall I think it would be easiest to keep the trans installed

[jtanguay]

i've been reading up on that GL5/GL4 deal...  is redline MTL 75w90 a bad idea???  quite a few people say it's good stuff for the 020 trannies...  what exactly is synchromesh? i've heard a lot about that too...

[burn_your_money]

http://www.pennzoil.com/products/gear_oil/syncro_fluid.html

[Doug]

If you have a self adjusting cable check that out first. I have seen them act up just as you describe. Better still, change it out for the older but more reliable manual adjusting cable. It is about one third the price too.

[jack's lack]

i believe i have the manual adjust cable, but i will check to make sure

i can find the pushrod and the TO bearing but i havn't found the finger or the cover on a parts website yet (autozone and pepboys never have anything for my car) so any good parts links would be welcome

[jtanguay]

020 141 073 A - Locking Cover

[burn_your_money]

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