[Vwdiesel] Clutch time-rabbit

[Travis Gottschalk]

Well, here is where doing a cheaper job caught up to me. I installed a used 210mm flywheel and clutch into my rabbit car with the turbo 1.9 in it and 5 speed. The clutch looked ok to me so I didn't change it. Well, couple years down the road here I am with a clutch that just started to slip (5th gear going to pass, car loaded with full tank of fuel, dog, daughter, wife myself, Sam's club groceries full in the backend). I was able to replicate so now my wife is driving it in town and I have a clutch on order. I also ordered the install kit (german auto parts) so I would have fresh bolts and seals. Don't want to cheap out this time. Sachs kit as well with a pressure plate. I bought the engine holder from Harbor freight so I can support the engine with that while I use the cherry picker to lower and raise the tranny. I found bench pressing a 5 speed is a lot harder then a 4 speed. When I installed I had the cherry picker on the engine and since that was taking most of the room under the car with the legs I was under the car pushing up and lining the tranny up and had my poor wife lifting from the top end as well. I couldn't get a floor jack in with the cherry picker. 
 
Brother after a couple years and some help from me now can get his truck into 5th gear much easier. He didn't really know how to adjust it and there were a few worn bushings (We have Rogers links in there but had to add the little bushing washer). Now it is great (like I have had mine for some time). 
 
I installed OEM fog lights on my 04 Golf this weekend. I also attempted to get headlight levelers on the car but either I have some wiring wrong or the used motors are bad. I ordered another set new this time and will try them out when they come. I have the reostate installed with power to it and the resistance I verified changes when the dial is moved. The power and ground is hook up from the head lamps on another wire (with a harness premade). I am pretty sure I have the wiring for the motors correct as well (pulled out from the old set of lights and installed exactly the same in the OEM lights. I found out how to pull out the OEM connectors as well. They suck to get out either way. I also couldn't figure a way to get the glass lens of the old light so I could put on my other fog lights. Deal on them is someone hit something but the motors were good he said, lenses are good and the insides may be good. I can't figure out how to bake the lenses off (can be done with getting the plastic lenses off) without chipping the glass. So other then a could wires and a couple bulbs I am finding it hard to use the used damaged light housings for much else. 
 
Brother installed a 2 inch receiver hitch on both his 05 jetta wagon and the 09 sportwagon (fathers). Mine already has one. Pretty much the same types of install. Need some 2X2X1/4 angle to go into the frame railing where the bumper shocks currently are, bolt that in and weld to some rectangular tubing. Then need a 2 inch receiver tube to weld to the rectangle tube and line up so it meets the split of the upper and lower rear bumper. They put theirs so the cut out in the bumper is exactly the outside of the receiver tube and flush so it doesn't stick out. Then they cut some of the lower bumper on the underside so you can put a pin in (yes you have to lay on your back for theirs-not mine). They are also doing a drop down for the chains to hook onto. Then they did a rattleless extruded aluminum ball mount with a greaseless 2 inch ball (nylon cap on the ball). Nice, clean, tight and quiet setup. The class 1 set up is so flipsy being only mounted to the spare tire area that you can see and feel the flex on the trailer. And the sportwagon is so low that it had to have such a riser hitch that it torqued the hitch even more so that my brother already had to add bracing before this. Now the cars likely could be hung from the hitch and be ok. 
 
That is all the updates I have for VW's 
Travis G