[V6-12v] Clutch Problem

[getur at optonline.net]

----- Original Message -----
> 
> On Oct 25, 2007, at 9:25 AM, Casimiro Izquierdo wrote:
> 
> > My 1995 model 90s stick shift Audi, non-quattro, V6 engine, 
> has 
> > developed some clutch problems. The pedal will go down and 
> stay 
> > down and the car cannot be shifted. Last night I drove it in 
> first 
> > gear for about 1.5 miles to my home from where my wife got 
> stuck in 
> > the middle of rush hour.
> >
> > A friend said that it was probably a master cylinder problem 
> in the 
> > transmission assembly. As suggested, I lifted the pedal and 
> pumped 
> > it and the pedal will stay up for a bit, but after a few 
> shifts it 
> > goes down and stays down and I have to repeat the maneuver 
> again. 
> > To fix this he said that the transmission had to come off. 
> Since 
> > the car already has close to 131,000 miles he suggested that 
> the 
> > clutch should be changed at the same time. He also said that 
> the 
> > active fluid in this transmission master cylinder is the brake 
> fluid.>
> > Am I getting the correct diagnosis for this problem? 
> Apparently to 
> > fix this could cost between $1200 and $1500, so before I hand 
> the 
> > car over to have it fixed I would like to know a bit more 
> about 
> > this problem.
> >
> > By the way, I have not been receiving any e-mails from anyone 
> in 
> > trouble for about three months. Has this board been so inactive?
> >
**************
Does sound like the master cylinder seals are leaking, but that can be replaced fairly easily. You can pick up a master cylinder for around $70 from a worldpac vendor, it goes for about $250 at the audi dealership, and have a local shop familiar with audis do the work. It's about a 2  hour job to replace the master cylinder. If the master cylinder is gone it's probably a good idea to replace the slave cylinder, but the slave cylinder can be a bigger job. They cost about the same but their location is a pain to work on. Generally if a slave cylinder goes you can't get in or out of whatever gear you're in, while with a master cylinder if it's pumped up you can shift gears. 
 
If the car has 130k miles it's a toss up as to whether or not to do the clutch. Depending on how abusive you are with the clutch it might just be ready to go or it could have another 100k miles left on it. On my own manual tranny cars I've regularly gone over 200k miles before replacing the clutch and in one case it was the throw out bearing that went and not the clutch. On the other hand my niece went through clutches every 50k miles.

HTH and good luck

George Tur
ex A6Q owner