Clutch About To Die?

[Cameron 16]

Sooo.. after thinking I managed a very thrash-heavy track day without any major issues, it seems I might have a major issue! The car seemed fine on the drive home, but when I was parking outside my house it just wouldn't go into reverse gear. I tried to gently lure it in but it just ground and ground, so I eventually got bored and BFI'd it into gear with a very loud crunch and moving the car. I took my foot off the brake and the car started moving backwards, which was odd, then when I went to put it back into first it just wouldn't go, and as I pushed the gearstick forwards the car started creeping forwards.

 

So anyway, we can establish that my clutch is dragging quite severely.. I adjusted the cable today and it made absolute bugger all difference. Despite the pedal being miles off the floor, the first part of the travel is very light then eventually it stiffens up for the last 1" of travel. It still drags like an absolute bastard too! So, has anyone experienced anything like this before? It doesn't feel like the cable is about to go, it's only about 2 years old anyway, and the clutch has only done about 10K since new. Really worried that I may have some sort of release bearing through pressure plate type of situation, but there aren't any unusual noises.

 

Bit of a strange one really, anyone got any ideas?

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

Check engine to box bolts are in and tight.

[Anthony 1,003]

As above, particularly the lower rear bolt (the one that goes from the engine into the box near the speedo drive housing) as that one is notorious for coming loose and allows the engine and gearbox to push apart, pivoting on the upper bolts, when you press the clutch. The clutch not fully disengaging properly but biting point seeming OK is usually the first sign.

 

(if you're running a GTi-6 sump and GTi-6 gearbox, the extra bolts make this unlikely)

 

Also, check that you've not cracked the clutch arm - comparitively rare on BE3's compared to BE1's, but it does happen and often first shows itself as a clutch that won't fully disengage before snapping the arm completely.

 

If all that looks fine, then it's probably gearbox off time to see if something looks amiss.

 

Oh, and don't rule out a clutch cable just because it's comparitively new - I've snapped a 3 month old cable before now, and that was on a newish clutch and with a light (in BE1 terms anyway) clutch pedal. I was none too amused...

[EdCherry 34 1 Cars]

Been there done that at 1am before a race day.

 

On my BE1 box it was the actual quadrant bending as its weak by where the pin goes into it if that makes sense. I too lost first and reverse and when selected I had to be on the brakes to stop it from dragging.

[timb1046 1]

Looks like its going to be a box off job! fun fun fun, whilst its off I guess you may aswell check the plate for wear and if its not got tons of life left replace it.

 

I'm going to put my money on it being a loose bolt though, mine did the same about a month after I got it. if it is then I its not a box off job and so my first comment is wrong,

 

sorry for rambling, long night.

[Cameron 16]

Ok thanks for the ideas, I'll give it a good going over tomorrow when I go to pick it up from my old place. I think if it turns out to be a box off job then I'll be replacing it with a more manly paddle clutch, as that should cope better with the power / diff / track abuse combination.

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

What power are you running? I use a standard clutch on my 177bhp Mi16 used 95% on track, owned the car in its various incarnations for 8 years now and it has been doing trackdays all that time.. They last very well, only changed the last one as the engine was out at the time. Got us round the 'ring in 9:04 including getting baulked by a d*ck on a motorbike/mobile chicane* through Hatzenbach.

 

 

 

 

 

*delete motorbike.

[Cameron 16]

Depends what rollers you want to believe!

 

183 on Dave Walker's, 167 on TOTD.

[BusEngineer 7]

Not wanting to put a downer on this but the exact same happened to mine, driving forward with the clutch in, more so when warm

 

It was the release bearing colapsing in on itself. Didnt know origin of clutch or its age tho so changed the lot

 

Hope its something simple for you though

[Cameron 16]

Clutch, release bearing and cable were all new about 10K ago, so I'll be really depressed if it's any of those. Hoping it's something simple!

[Cameron 16]

Sooo.. Went up to Hatfield to have a look, and it wasn't anything to do with the cable, lever arm or engine / transmission bolts, so I decided to just call the AA and get it recovered home. The AA man had a look at it and tried adjusting the cable, this made it possible to get in gear but the clutch is absolutely horrible, just slips and slips and the bite point is right at the top despite the pedal being about 3" higher than the brake pedal.

 

The man and I decided that the clutch had had it, so it got loaded on to the trailer and taken home. At least I'm getting my money's worth out of the AA though, after them screwing me out of £210 recently. It was a 4 hour drive for them to take it home and they had to swap vans half way as it was out of the first bloke's area.

 

I'll be taking it apart at some point and having a look at the clutch, then will be fitting an uprated clutch when it goes back together.

[kyepan 291]

just coming back to this, i've had the box bolts come undone on me about 4 times... last time i thought it was the cable, yet again it was just the bolts.

[Tom Fenton 1,548]

Loctite the buggers in, sorted, they won't come undone again.

 

Another good product are Nordlock washers- a serrated washer fitted in an opposing pair, with the pitch of the washer exceeding the thread pitch according to diameter- meaning that the expansion of the washer pair on twisting is greater than the axial distance the bolt would move w.r.t. angular movement.

[Cameron 16]

I've always just torqued them up and never had gearbox bolts come undone, but if I was worried about it then I'd threadlock them in as Tom said.