I rebuilt the engine on my 16v about a year ago now. Got it back on the road, warranted and all was good for a few weeks. One day it started giving out a rattling noise (which happens to be proportional to engine revs) whenever I press the clutch in. I put up with it for a couple of days and noticed it only happens once warm (~10 mins driving). I changed the clutch release bearing. Still made the noise. I then dropped the trans and changed the pressure plate, clutch and release bearing again - none of this fixed it. I'm out of ideas now. Has anyone come across this before or have any ideas on what it may be? Can't find anything on the net to explain it. The main clues I have to go on are that 1) it increases/decreases with engine revs and 2) it only makes the noise when warm. Any help would be appreciated.
Yep, should have noted in the original post - but I also replaced the following when the transmission was out: 020311107D - pushrod bushing 020311108A - pushrod bushing seal 020311113 - input shaft seal Unfortunately still no luck though. Incidentally, I also replaced all the gear shift linkages and bushings (some of which weren't even there in the first place!) so the gear change is just great now.
Rattle when the clutch is pressed is a strange one. Usually it is the other way around. Pretty difficult to diagnose these problems on the internet. I am sure it is something simple as your symptoms are not common from similar VW cars that I also own and run for 1000s of miles. Send Hotgolf on here a PM. He is possibly one of the most experienced in the UK for VW gearboxes. He might know exactly what is causing your symptoms.
Thanks for the advice - will do. On a side note - thanks to yourself and rubjonny for replying - have been a longtime forum lurker and used multiple threads you guys have started / contributed to to get the old girl back on the road. It's great to be able to say good work - you've helped a lot of people out there in the MKII community.
Mabe worth grabbing hold of the the crank pully and pulling in/out to check for free play - crankwalk if you haven't already done so.