Clutch Pedal Breakage, 200TQ

["Scott Mo." <scottmo@teleport.com>]

A couple of weeks ago the clutch pedal snapped on my '89 200TQ with
about 110k miles. It broke up near the top of the pedal at the short arm
that actuates the clutch master cylinder rod. After removing the pedal I
noticed the plastic bushing that locates the pivot on the clutch pedal
was also cracked. another list member commented that he had replaced 2
of these pedals on his 200TQ. 

This sort of failure seemed a bit odd and unexpected. I checked with the
local Audi dealer and they actually had "several" of these clutch pedals
in "stock" for ~$95. 

Hmmmm.....looks like they must fail on a regular basis. If your 200T/Q
has over a 100k miles, you may want to replace that pedal. It is tough
to see up under the dash area and inspect the small arm on the clutch
pedal as it is obscured from view being behind the pedal assembly
bracket. 

I was lucky in that the pedal snapped only a few miles from home, if it
had snapped during a road trip, it would have been a major pain in the
butt.... I was able to get the car home by starting the car while in 1st
gear and then I drove it home slowly, sometimes you can upshift to other
gears if you can match the revs. Stoplights can be a pain...

The later 200TQ clutch pedals have a pedal "stop" cast into the bottom
part of the pedal which is supposed to contact a rubber pad behind the
carpeting on the firewall. I have the pedal assembly from a 87 5000 FWD
5 Speed, and the clutch pedal looks identical except for this Cast
"stop". 

Another local list member pointed out how it is important to get the
clutch master cylinder rod adjusted correctly so the piston doesn't
bottom out in the bore of the master cylinder. If it does bottom out,
you will be levering against the small arm at the top of the clutch
pedal until the clutch pedal stop hits the firewall. It helps to remove
the carpet behind the pedal and check for full travel of the pedal.

I don't know if mine was misadjusted by someone previously, cause after
it broke, you can't really tell.....

While I was down there monkeying around, I went ahead and replaced the
clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder on the transmission. The
later 200's use a different clutch master cylinder and slave cylinder.
The master has relocated the fluid inlet so it does not interfer with
the mounting allen bolt. This may be the replacement master cylinder for
the earlier 5000TQ. 

The Slave cylinder mounting has changed on the 200's as well, they use a
single bolt to hold the slave to the transmission instead of the roll
pin and spring clip that was used on the 5000T/Q.

Happy trails....
-- 
Scott Mo.
1989 200TQ
1988 5000TQ
1966 VW Beetle
http://www.teleport.com/~scottmo