Welcome to my nightmare --- more on new 5ktq clutch that slips

[Gisli Ottarsson <gisli@master.adams.com>]

All:

A little over a week ago I solicited suggestions about what to do
about the slipping of the freshly installed clutch in my '87 5kcstq.

For those that are joining late, I installed the following:

   master cylinder
   slave cylinder
   friction disk
   pressure plate
   throw-out bearing
   guide sleave
   gear-box input shaft seal
   crank-end pilot bearing

and how did the (*#@$&(@% reward me?  By slipping like a (*#&$@(%.

Actually, it pulls of the line OK, but starts slipping as soon as I
hit boost.

Many generous members of the list contacted me with many good
suggestions.  The most promising one speculated that the master
cylinder was not releasing pressure.  In an attempt to eliminate the
greatest number of variables, I pulled the slave cylinder from the
bell housing and test drove the car.  This eliminates all the
hydrolics, from the master to the slave, and probably the clutch
operating leaver also, as a cause of the problem.  Do we agree?

THE CLUTCH STILL SLIPS!!!

Subsequently, I have build the following list of possible causes.

 - Is the flywheel not planar?  This would prevent the friction disk
   from engaging over its entire surface and might explain the slip.
   I don't consider this likely because the condition of the clutch
   parts that I removed was actually quite good and I think the
   flywheel was probably fine as well.

 - Was the pressure plate the wrong part, perhaps from a non-turbo.
   The source of the plate has performed a quick inventory check to
   verify that an incorrect plate was not shipped.  Is there another
   Audi that shares a clutch has an inferior clutch that would fit?  I
   have been unable to get a clear answer to this question.

 - Was the pressure plate treated with some rust inhibitor that I
   should have removed?  I am told that this is not the case.  Does
   anyone have an experience to the contrary?

 - Has some other lubricant found its way in there?  Nothing is
   dripping out and I would have thought that if any contamination
   occurred during assembly, it should have burned off by now.  Right?

 - Was friction disk assembled facing the wrong way?  Because I was
   quite concerned about making this mistake, I tried to be careful.
   Also, I thought I had convinced myself that this could not happen
   because the spring cage extends quite a bit in one direction.
   Would this show up as a slip or as an awful racket?

Unfortunately, all these ideas share the unpleasant prospect of
removing the gearbox again.  Also, I am worried that I will tear
everything apart again and not be able to find anything wrong!

As before, I would love to hear from someone that could suggest
additional possibilities or support one of the aforementioned ideas
with some experience.

Most of all, I would like to hear from some wizard who could help me
solve this *without* disassembling.  Yeah, right!

Does anyone think that I should drive it for a while and that the
problem will simply disappear.  After all, Santa will be by in a
couple of months and I have been quite good.

Regards.

  Gisli



-- 
Gisli Ottarsson, PhD                     
Mechanical Dynamics Inc.            gisli@adams.com    
2301 Commonwealth Blvd.             Tel: 1-734-913-2550
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48105           Fax: 1-734-994-6418