Hi all I am new to this forum, been reading for a while but just signed up, anyway hello to all. My problem is, I have just replaced my clutch and gearbox in my 1992 8v gti golf(020) as the pedal went (ping!) to the floor on the old one, so i thought it was the clutch push rod arm acctuator and went on brokevw.com and read up on it. But I have reassembled with a new FUK clutch from gsf and a good gearbox from a friend (refurb) and it all goes on ok, but the clutch lever (that the cable attachs to) just lifts to the top with no resistance, according to brokevw.com i should get resistance at around 9 0' clock but nothing, I did check that the lever pushed the clutch rod out before the box went in and it did, the rod came out about an inch maybe more. Sorry if that sounded confusing. basically ive got new clutch and gearbox and when i put it back together that clutch wont disengage as the clutch pushrod does not hit the relase plate, its like the rod is too short?! but it isnt as i have compared it to another rod. PLEASE HELP!! what have i done wrong?? could it be that the clutch i have bought is wrong?? maybe the pressure plate is wrong in the new kit?? Any help appreciated, Thanks Jack.[:^(]
the engine is still in the car, the box and clutch i have taken off again to see if i could see the problem. I have not taken the engine out at all, box and clutch etc i have done with engine in car. (just makes it a bit arkward)
Check how far the clutch pushrod comes out when you operate the lever on the side of the box. This will tell you if its a problem with the 'box, or the pressure plate. It sounds like you've put something together the wrong way round but I can't tell what.
hi paul, The rod comes out about an inch maybe a tad further when i lift the lever, but ive sen this distance vary from box to box. how much should it come out?? as for clutch assy, ive got pressure plate bolted to crank>release plate "ring" clipped to pressure plate>friction disc on top of that> then flywheel over the lot>bolted and centered flywheel and friction disc ok. and I had the friction disc round the right way according to haynes(longest end of spline facing toward gearbox) (before i took the lot out again)
The small actuation finger that actually pushes on the TO bearing was checked for cracks or splits very carefully? The actuation finger should sit at a 90 degree angle in relation to the release arm on the outside of the trans....so when the release arm is level (9:00), the actuation finger should be straight up and down, and should just be contacting the TO bearing. If the actuation finger is straight up and down when the arm is above 9:00, then the finger has cracked and slipped around the splines on the release arm shaft. When you check the actuation finger, you can check the TO bearing hasn't crushed or failed. When you replaced the clutch, did you find the release plate (clipped to the top of the pressure plate) had a hole in it, or did the old one look fine? With the arm at rest, the pushrod should be poking out of the end of the input shaft about 4mm, and with the arm lifted the pushrod should be sticking out about 23mm. I just added a couple pics about 10 minutes ago showing that on the Release Arm page. You didn't forget to install the release plate that gets clipped to the pressure plate, did you Broke
Hi Broke, I was hoping you would read and reply. I didnt check the actuation arm in relation to the lever or the TO bearing as the gearbox i am putting in is a refurb replacement (so i was told when i bought it) having my doubts now.. The old release plate that the rod pushes on was intact and ok, i could see where the rod had been contacting it but it didnt punch through and was not distorted. I didnt forget to install the release plate, but i wish i had [:^(] as that could be the problem I will check the rod measurments tomorrow as its too dark and im too p**sed off with it. and i will check the actuator arm and lever positions. so you think that its definatly the gearbox? or could it be i have the wrong pressure plate?? If the TO bearing has been crushed or damaged will it be visible without taking it out? Thanks alot for your time, Jack. ps what does TO stand for?
TO = Throw Out, also called a thrust bearing or release bearing. Easier for me to type TO When you check the actuation finger that pushes on the TO bearing, the TO can be slid out at that point and inspected easily enough. Everything is on the end of the trans, behind the green end cap (have a new end cap ready, the old one shouldn't be used again). Check your pushrod length with the release arm at various spots, and compare it to the pics on the Release Arm page, it might be way off and you'll know there is something wrong at the actuation finger....until then, it is just a matter of checking and eliminating possible causes. With the trans off the car, it won't be hard to find out what is going on Broke
ok great ill check all that tomorrow (after work ) glad someones got a plan. Can you buy those replacment end caps??
Yes, they're common, GSF have them, or the dealers. Only a few squids. 020.141.073.A is the part number. If I recall, GSF have the Meyle brand caps, and the dealer had OEM (obviously), and the Meyle, while German made, looked lower quality than the VW units from the dealer. The green paint on the cap, which is the gasket material and makes the seal in the box, looked thinner on the Meyle cap, and didn't fully cover the cap surface. It had enough to seal and do the job, but it didn't look as nice as the VW caps. GSF might have something different now, the last time I dealt with them was a couple years ago, but the dealer will still have them, they're still pretty cheap, and the part number is still the same Broke
Brilliant! i got a gsf down the road hopefully they will have oem ones Thanks for the PN. I hope my investigations on the box will solve my problem tomorrow, fingers crossed.
I had exactly the same symptoms as this and after many hours and lots of head scratching i realised that i had clamped down the quentin hazel clutch i bought the wrong way round!! The markings were c@#p and it all went back together nicely so i never thought any different. Not saying you made this stupid error but its a possibility. The only way i realised was when inspecting the new friction disc there were hairline cracks around the rivets and the disc was slightly (a fanny hair) warped. just a thought...
Hi, MUSH. Do you mean you had the friction plate in the wrong way round?? and that was causing the problem. or was it another clutch component?? Thanks.
I think he meant the actual friction disc, which you said you installed with the long side of the splined hub towards the gearbox, which is correct. The friction discs nearly always have the "flywheel side" or "engine side" markings wrong, as the 020 uses a backwards clutch design. On nearly every other car, the flywheel bolts to the engine, but with the 020, the pressure plate bolts to the engine. I don't think I've ever seen a flywheel labeled correctly for an 020 car....you just have to make sure you ignore the writing on the disc and install it with the long side of the hub towards the trans. Broke
hi again, yeah i am 99.9% sure i got the friction disc in the right way as i thought of that and double checked it, but i will check again and also when i finish work i will do the gearbox release arm measurment checks as supplied by Broke as I said before, but i gotta finish work first so hopefully ill have some news later after i check it.....
Right, Last night i opened both the old gearbox and the new (replacement) one. Good and bad news - I opened the old gearbox first with the aid of BrokeVW and sure enough the actuation finger was cracked and opened! I tooks pics but my cameras XD card now wont even get read in the camera bad week. but ill post pics when i can. but at least i found out what the original fault was with the original box. I then opened the replacement gearbox but the acutation finger looked ok. so I checked the measurments with brokevw release arm page. When the release arm is at rest ( on black plastic stopper) the push rod pokes out about 4mm which sounds right. When i lifted the arm fully there was about 21-22mm of push rod showing. So does this sound right broke? pics would help, im working on it. If the measurments on the replacement box are ok, what the hell is the problem?? Both of the TO bearings i took out looked the same, they didnt look crushed but then again i dont know what they should look like. again pics would help. Ill try and get pics up asap. Also Broke the new pics you have put on the site dont seem to work. i cant see them at work or home on diff machines. (soz to be a pain)
If the clutch is fitted to the engine/flywheel okay, and the gearbox pushrod is okay, the only thing it can be is the engine and box are not joined together properly. Did you make sure the locating dowels were in correctly, ie you don't have one in the engine and one in the box, resulting in a gap between the two? You have secured all the engine-gearbox bolts?
hi paul, as far as i am aware there were no loaction dowels between the engine and gearbox are there supposed to be, i got the box on the engine and put 2 big bolts in the top and one in the bottom. so all the bolts were not in but im sure it was well mated as i didnt see any gaps. but im doubting everything now. i assume the clutch is ok as its new, but i may have been supplied the wrong one i guess its a possiblilty.....but i dont know how to tell if its the wrong one.
