after fitting an ABF engine into a mk1 golf using the mk1 box, i discovered that i had difficulty pushing the clutch pedal down (this was after driving the car around 100 metres up the road on its maiden voyage) i then attempted to remove the gearbox after a bit of investigation, and found that with all bolts removed i could practically spin the gearbox but not remove it. i then removed the engine and box and removed the flywheel bolts through the starter hole, which finally allowed the gearbox to be removed. this is what i found once on the floor. has anybody seen this before and can anybody tell me what may have caused it. what checks to carry out to prevent it from happening again. can i buy the plate which is on the floor with out having to buy a complete clutch kit, this clutch kit has the 100 metres on it from the maiden voyage. i have had a good read of brokevw but doesnt mention this fault. any help greatly appreciated. Rick
Looks like the rod has seized in the input shaft and has welded itself onto the clutch plate. Very odd! Has the box had a new input shaft bush/seal fitted recently? Does the rod spin in the shaft?
no the rod is solid, The box has not had any input shaft parts, it did have a new release bearing at the other end when fitted, but i cannot remember if the rod spun before it was all refitted, been a long ongoing project and that was done a long time ago unfortunately. i have sourced a second hand push rod, but after a quick attempt to pull the damaged rod out, it seemed quite stiff, so possibly bent somehow. thanks for the reply Hotgolf, have you seen this happen before? i am thinking its a release bearing fault or the push rod has been damaged some how. (the car was used with the box and standard DX engine, so box was in good working order, before the ABF went in)
I know there has been some difference in rod lengths but to be honest I'm not 100% if there's supposed to be different ones. The input shaftis the same length on all 020 5speeds so I can only assume the rods should be the same too. I've not come across a stuck rod before. I'm wondering if the bearing was put in the right way? The only way to find out would be to remove the 5th end cap or the whole 5th gear housing (don't remove the shaft with the spring on the end!) Removeing the end casing will save buying s new 5th cap. Or the bearing may have seized. Very odd! Other than that it was bent when fitting the box. Not out of the question as it's only about 8mm.
All the 020 pushrods I've seen are around the same length, although they do lose a mm or two with wear. 340mm springs to mind, but don't quote me on that. I think I read that on Broke's Gearbox site. I've seen them punch through release plates before but never try to friction weld themselves in place. Suggests it's seized in the shaft... hope I'm wrong!
well i will be back on with this tomorrow with a good second hand pushrod, so i will come back with some answers. Can i pull the pushrod out through the bell housing end? it is very stiff at the moment and dont want to force it if it should not be removed from that end. i will also remove the end cap and double check the release bearing operation. many thanks for the replies gents. Rick
okay, after struggling to get the pushrod out through the bell housing, i removed the green end cover/cap and was not surprised to watch the ball bearings from the release bearing drop out onto the floor along with the remains of the bearing race/casing. (how many bearings in the release bearing? i rebuilt the case with all the ball bearings on the outside, but i had one ball bearing left over, does it have a ball bearing in the centre of the release bearing?) i now think i can finally explain the cause of the annoying fault. i think the release bearing has dislodged when the gearbox was fitted which resulted in the pushrod being extended slightly into the pressure plate and then when the gearbox bolts have been tightened up its held the release bearing at a 45 degree angle and not allowed the bearing to find its original position. and why i could not remove the pushrod from the bell housing end, it had welded itself to the release bearing disc at the 5th gear end! i had to break the bearing disc off the pushrod and file the end round to enable the removal of the pushrod into the bell housing. but because of this fault, it has also damaged the end cover of the gearbox, (5th gear housing?) and the parts i have collected so far to fix this. (need to order a new release bearing and collecting a spare damaged gearbox tonight to swop 5th gear housings) please note i did not fit this engine/gearbox!! i have just been assigned to fix it!! have you ever seen this fault before?!
