Re: Clutch Pedal Woes

[four.rings@MCIONE.com]

Osman Parvez wrote:

> Hi Igor,
>     Tony Lum recommended I ask you about my clutch problems.

That's justifiable. I hold the current Q-List record as I broke two of them in a
row :-)
Scott Mockry is a close second with having it broken once.
You are the third. All of us own the '89 200TQ's so I see a pattern here.

> It's firmly my belief this occured due to the fact that the
> clutch MC was never properly installed (having a hard time coming up
> fully).

I think you're right, the skewed MC might have caused the piston jamming in it's
bore. The pedal develops a tremendous leverage (without going again into a
boring Physics excursus let's just say that the clutch pedal is the classic
Archimedes lever with quite a torque multiplication). The weight savers at
Ingolstadt in their bold wisdom in '87 ditched the steel clutch pedals in favour
of the light alloy ones on all 44-chassis cars. Musta saved the whopping 100g or
so.

In my case both pedals snapped in the very beginning of travel, so I attribute
it to the MC piston jamming in the bore. I rebuilt it
once when it first started leaking and in the process noticed how pitted
the walls were.
Then the pedal broke. I thought it was just a grainy/fatigued casting in
the Al pedal and replaced it. It broke less than a year later in exactly
the same spot. This time I replaced the MC all together. No problems so
far.
Despite the fact that I always advocate rebuilding anything hydraulic on the
car, in this case I'll make an exception: if I just replaced the MC it would've
been
only $64 (new MC). The way I did it it was $16 (repair seal kit), $180
(two clutch pedals), and $64 (new MC). $260 total plus I had to drive
the car home without the clutch pedal on two occasions - not fun!

I installed the MC from an '92 100. It was made out of Fe (the original was Al)
and had a different feed spout, but fit perfectly well. The p/n was goofy too,
something like A0...... something, not the familiar 443/441.... type-44
nomenclature.

> The pedal snapped where the MC u-joint meets the pedal.

That's where it always snaps.

> I called the tow truck.

Could've driven it home, if you're are comfortable with the clutchless shifting.

> >From the bentley it looks like the pedal itself is simply attached with
> clips on the ends of pins. Great... too bad it's completely inacessible.
> There is all sorts of stuff around it, blocking acess.. not to mention the
> fact that you are upside down.

It is accessible but prepare to get a lot of cuts on your hands. You also need a
special tool to hold that stiff over-centre spring. I made my own but it is
available commercially from Zelenda.

--WEAR SAFETY GOGGLES WHEN COMPRESSING THE SPRING IN THE TOOL IN THE VISE!!! THE
SPRING HOUSING HAS ROUNDED ENDS LIKE A BULLET AND FLIES LIKE ONE! IT WILL TAKE
YOUR EYE RIGHT OUT IF YOU'RE NOT CAREFUL!--

> Okay.. so where do I get a used pedal?

Don't.
First time I spent 3 hours on the phone calling all over 49 states and finally
got the pedal from Colorado (from an '88 100). Ended up waiting 3 days and
paying $84 (with shipping).
Second time I got it from my friendly local dealer for $90, zero shipping, zero
waiting. Yes I enjoy a discount at my dealer :-), but so do you.

> Also, is *this* a common problem?

Oh yes.

> P.S.  Thank god it wasn't the MC again, and this must be vengence from the
> Audi Gods for recommending that our fellow lister Andrei purchase a Toyota.

I never had a chance to answer Andrei but I'll chime in now: Andrei, if you're
on a tight budget and do not/can not work on cars yourself, stay away from
44-chassis Audis altogether. Mind you, this comes from an Audi lunatic who
wouldn't consider buying a car unless four rings grace it's grill. Judging by
some indirect hints I gather you're in graduate school on the student's budget.
A 10y/o type-44 car with 100kmi _will_ drain you dry, BTDT. :-) In any event
don't buy a turbo car. Quattro is marginally OK except the insanely expensive
rear camber links, the propeller shaft and front bushings in the rear
trapezoidal arms. All these items _will_ go bad sooner or later. The quattro sys
itself in bullet-proof tho.
As much as I hate to say this, for the time being get yourself a Japanese
beater, just be prepared that unlike Audis it is likely to fall completely apart
at about 140kmi.

************************************************************
Igor Kessel
'89 200TQ -- 18psi (TAP)
'98 A4TQ -- mostly stock
Philadelphia, PA
USA
http://www.geocities.com/MotorCity/Garage/8949/homepage.html
************************************************************