Golf MK2 - clutch problem?

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Fri 18 May 2007 22:57
Golf MK2 - clutch problem? - franco
In the last few days I had a bit of a job changing gear until last night the car crunched into reverse, then refused to go into any gear apart from reverse. The only way I could move it was to put it in first with my foot on the clutch while the engine was off then start the engine. This morning I found that the clutch cable was slack inside the engine compartment and I had to tighten the clutch cable adjustment nut as far as it would go. Then it worked fine.

I drove the car on a local journey, and got a mile from my house before the clutch hit the floor. I paid £40 to get it towed home. I looked at the cable this evening and found it did not look like it was frayed at all. However, it had become disconnected from the pedal and the cable had retreated into the black plastic clutch cable cover, which sits somewhere below the windscreen.

I am trying to figure out why there would have been so much slack in the cable in the first place - even while it was still obviously attached to the pedal??

I should mention that when the cable was slack and I had to force it into reverse gear the car was juddering like mad, but after I had tightened the adjustment nut it changed gears just fine - for a few minutes anyway.
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Fri 18 May 2007 23:47
Golf MK2 - clutch problem? - Screwloose
franco

I'm sorry to say it; but the box will likely have to come off. It could be the cable; the top mount breaking through the bulkhead, or the fork on the clutch shaft; but it's more likely that the pushrod is drilling through the clutch actuation plate in the centre of the flywheel.

These are such an about-face set-up that you'll need to see a manual to even grasp what I'm saying. Fortunately; they're not too bad to fit a clutch into [by modern standards] so, if it's that, you should be able to find a garage to give you a reasonable quote.
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Sat 19 May 2007 00:54
Golf MK2 - clutch problem? - franco
Oh well. I think the reasonable thing to do if it's a biggish job is to send it to the scrapyard. As a policeman said to me today when I went in to tell him I might be blocking big vehicles getting past, "What are you doing driving round in a shed?" He hadn't seen the car, but he hit the nail on the head.

Any idea why the above would force the cable to come loose from the pedal? I can understand the pushrod explanation, but not the rest really. I'll try messing with the cable tomorrow, but it doesn't look promising. I hope it is simple though.
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Sat 19 May 2007 01:11
Golf MK2 - clutch problem? - Screwloose
franco

It's the spring in the clutch that pulls the cable back. If, for any reason, the mechanism develops any slack; then the cable is left loose and free to jump off.
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Sat 19 May 2007 09:18
Golf MK2 - clutch problem? - Peter D
At what position is the actuator arm at at rest. ? Regards Peter
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Sat 19 May 2007 12:48
Golf MK2 - clutch problem? - franco
Hi Peter. I couldn't find the part you mentioned. All I could see was the clutch release lever, and that is just as it should be from looking in the Haynes manual. I checked the cable this morning and it turns out the bracket that connects the end of the cable to the pedal had come off.

The cable was sitting inisde the bulkhead, but doesn't seem to be even frayed or snapped. The thing that baffles me is why it would have went so slack prior to breaking off if the problem was just the bracket that goes on the pedal. Anyway, I guess I'll just have to buy a new cable and find out.

I found this bit on the floor, but it seems too bulky to be the bracket and doesn't seem to hook into the pedal. img91.imageshack.us/img91/1953/bitrx7.jpg
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