[s-cars] Clutch stopped working

[Theodore Chen]

Sorry, my post wasn't very clear.

I found that the clutch was not disengaging fully when I pressed the pedal,
not enough to be able to shift gears.  The clutch pedal didn't have as
much resistance as it usually does.  

After I was able to get it into 3rd, I found that it partially
disengaged when I pressed the pedal while driving at speed.  The revs
dropped when I pressed the clutch pedal with no throttle, and rose
again when I released the clutch pedal (as the car's momentum brought the engine back up to speed).  But when I used heavy throttle
with the clutch pedal released, the clutch slipped as the boost increased.  I only did this a couple of times to determine that it was indeed slipping.  The clutch had no problem transmitting enough power to keep me going at 60 mph in 3rd, or pulling from 10 mph in 3rd.

I think the clutch is not disengaging fully, and not engaging fully. 
There's not much resistance in the clutch pedal at any time.  I don't feel any significant increase in resistance at the bottom of the clutch pedal's travel.

I've had clutches wear out before, and the only symptom was slippage. 
I've also had clutch hydraulic failures before, and the clutch always seemed to stay engaged.

I'm not sure if the problem is clutch hydraulics or something inside the transmission bellhousing.  If it's the latter, I'd just replace the clutch and various bits.  Any ideas how to tell quickly?

-Teddy



----- Original Message ----
From: Mike Sylvester <mike at urq20v.com>
To: Theodore Chen <tedebearp at yahoo.com>
Cc: s-car-list at audifans.com
Sent: Mon, January 25, 2010 2:12:10 PM
Subject: RE: [s-cars] Clutch stopped working

A common problem is that the release bearing gets hung up on the sleeve.
This hinders the release bearing and pressure plate from moving in
either direction.
It can cause it to be difficult to disengage and also cause it to slip.
If caught early, you can just replace the sleeve, but if you've already
had slipping, the clutch is probably junk.

Due to the amount of labor, you might as well replace it all anyway.


Mike

www.urq20v.com

> -------- Original Message --------
> Subject: [s-cars] Clutch stopped working
> From: Theodore Chen <tedebearp at yahoo.com>
> Date: Mon, January 25, 2010 3:53 pm
> To: s-car-list at audifans.com
> 
> 
> On a freeway on-ramp, I tried to shift 2-3 at full throttle, and found the clutch was gone.  I managed to get it into 3rd and limped it back home, with a lot of creative driving to avoid having to stop or take it out of 3rd.  Depressing the clutch did seem to disengage the engine, so it's not 100% gone but it's mostly non-functional.  Also, if I remember right, the clutch also slipped when I tested it with heavy throttle.
> 
> There is some resistance from the clutch pedal, but not much.  It comes back up every time I press it.  I don't recall whether there's a spring to help pedal return.
> 
> II pumped the clutch pedal but no change in behavior.  The brake fluid reservoir (which I understand is shared with the clutch) is full, and the brakes work fine.
> 
> Any idea what this might be?  Blown clutch slave cylinder?  Clutch and transmission are stock, with 174k miles.
> 
> -Teddy
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