4000 Quattro stuck in neutral w/ stiff clutch pedal

[Grant Lenahan]

My two cents.

1. The easiest thing to do is to bleed the system.  When did you last do so? This would account for the lack of clutch release, but not for the stiff pedal
2. The master could be bad in one of many ways. This could account for both.
3. A very worn clutch often makes the pedal heavier, since the pressure plate fingers are at a greater angle and you thus have less leverage ( and more spring rate). However, i am surprised that it went from working to completely failed overnight. That's very, very odd - maybe you've been ignoring slippage and a heaver pedal for a year?
4. Some mechanical problem that i can't narrow down remotely.

I think you need to step through the system a bit, but begin with a pressure bleed followed by an old-fashioned manual clutch stroke bleed.

Its nto rocket science.

Grant
On Dec 16, 2012, at 1:09 PM, Rory [Armodis] wrote:

> I have a 4kq with a stiff clutch pedal that doesn't return to position.
> I've done a google site search and it sounds like the clutch is bad, rather
> than the master/slave cylinder but I'd like to get the list's opinion....
> 
> The car was running pretty well overall and I was driving it consistently
> when the clutch pedal stopped returning to position. The clutch would still
> engage but it was a bit dangerous so I garaged the car for a while. I had
> the same experience a few times when I had to move it. I have to move the
> car again but now the clutch pedal is very stiff starting around the second
> half of travel and will not return to position and I can't get it into any
> gear. Just stays in neutral.
> 
> I noticed the brake fluid level was pretty low, just about at the minimum
> line and the car wasn't quite level from left to right so the fluid may
> have been lower then the hose going to the clutch master. I filled up the
> brake reservoir and had my gf jump in to help bleed the system. Once I
> cracked the clutch slave bleeder she tapped the clutch pedel and it sucked
> down to the floor. When I closed the bleeder she had to pull the pedal up
> with her foot. We did this a few times getting a fair amount of fluid
> through the system but there is no change to the clutch pedal; still very
> stiff on the second half of travel and doesn't return to position.
> 
> I'm wondering if this is a classic symptom of a bad clutch or if there
> could still be air in the system causing this problem. Do I need to bleed
> the brakes as well to remove all of the air, or only the clutch slave
> cylinder?
> 
> Thanks!
> Rory
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