Any car experts here? Clutch unresponsive, VW Golf.

1 correction regarding the brake fluid I topped up. It was just a small can, not a full liter. I do not have the can anymore, but it must have been about a quarter or a third of a litre.

There are no visilble damp patches on the gearbox.

Engine running at idle, handbrake firmly on, press clutch pedal fully down, engage first gear, hold clutch pedal down.

Tried this for a minute and a half (a Doetinchem traffic light interval, as I like to call it ;)) with no change to rpm. On second reading, I did forget the handbrake.

Anyway, I got to go now, and yes, I will be taking the car. If I am back in 5 minutes, the car won’t move like it did yesterday. If I am not back in 2 days, well… send a search team. :diablo:

edited: 10/08/08 19:56 CET: No need for search teams. Still alive. 😉

Give this a try:

Engine running at idle, handbrake firmly on, press clutch pedal fully down, engage first gear, hold clutch pedal down.

If after a while the clutch engages (the engine revs drop eventually stalling the engine) fluid is bypassing the clutch master cylinder; the quicker this happens the worse the leakage is. Do the gears ever ‘crunch’ when you change gear?

If you don’t have problems with the above my guess would be that it is the slave cylinder causing the problem by sticking when the clutch pedal is pressed (I’ve not had this problem with my Golf but have seen it on other vehicles – particularly the old Mini). This is good as it is easier to replace…..and cheaper. 🙂

Yes, having re-read your post I thought that what you’d probably had done.

If your car is ‘using’ brake fluid at that rate I would be a bit worried! The rear (drum) brake cylinder seals are the most likely cause, leading to brake fluid on the brake shoes and poor rear braking. These are very cheap to replace although it is a horribly dirty and awkward job. It is also a very common MOT failure on these models.

As mentioned I got the brake cilinders repaired a few months ago and am not experiencing any leaking anymore. I’ll check for damp patches on the gearbox when (if) it stops raining. :p

On these Golf models the Clutch and Brake systems share a common reservoir but unless the mechanic took the trouble to ‘bleed’ the clutch cylinders when he did the brake system the fluid in the cylinders and pipe-work will not have been changed.

If your car is ‘using’ brake fluid at that rate I would be a bit worried! The rear (drum) brake cylinder seals are the most likely cause, leading to brake fluid on the brake shoes and poor rear braking. These are very cheap to replace although it is a horribly dirty and awkward job. It is also a very common MOT failure on these models.

You could be losing fluid through one of the clutch cylinders and this would tend to confirm the cylinder ‘sticking’ theory as the fluid is very corrosive. Are there any signs of fluid ‘damp’ patches on the gearbox near the slave cylinder?

My guess would be that either the clutch ‘master’ or ‘slave’ hydraulic cylinders were sticking (probably the master) preventing the clutch from engaging; the ‘light’ pedal feel would tend to confirm this. These cylinders are prone to corrosion if the hydraulic brake fluid in them isn’t changed for a long time. It could be a problem with the pipe-work but I doubt it as most of the pipes are metal with only a strong hose at the clutch end (if memory serves). How old is the car?

You mention brake fluid, this flued was replaced at the last MOT (february ’08). But, due to corrosion at the rear brake cilinder the fluid drained quite slowly (repaired 2 months ago, I’d assume inlcuding new brake fluid). In the period of half a year I filled the fluid twice totalling about a liter. The brake-fluid level never got under the minimum level though.

Could that be related?

The car is from 95, so 13 years old.

As already stated this sounds to me like a problem with the hydraulic clutch operating mechanism. It is very unlikely to be a problem with the clutch itself as it only has 50,000 km on it; my Golf 3 1.9 TDi has over 300,000 km on the original clutch!

My guess would be that either the clutch ‘master’ or ‘slave’ hydraulic cylinders were sticking (probably the master) preventing the clutch from engaging; the ‘light’ pedal feel would tend to confirm this. These cylinders are prone to corrosion if the hydraulic brake fluid in them isn’t changed for a long time. It could be a problem with the pipe-work but I doubt it as most of the pipes are metal with only a strong hose at the clutch end (if memory serves). How old is the car?

I’ve changed both of mine over the years (at about 190,000 km).

They aren’t difficult to do if you are reasonably confident about hydraulics (as they need bleeding when replaced).

The cost of mine were, master cylinder £117 (from VW) and slave cylinder £45 (from GSF Parts), when I changed them back in 2001.

Good luck! 🙂

Today I had a weird situation with my car. I drove of from a parking lot. At the end of the parking lot I stopped waiting to cross the street. As I pulled up I put the car in second gear, nothing happened. The engine is running, the revs increase and decrease as I press the accelerator, but no power was transferred to the wheels. The clutch felt very light as I pressed it.

So there I stood in Duesseldorf, first time out of country in a long time and this happens to me. How typical is that? Anyway, I shut down the engine, restarted and tried pulling away. No luck. Did this three times, and at the third time the car moved.

The clutch feels a bit heavier then I am used to. It’s not much though. And my car had a rather light clutch to begin with. Right now I’d say my clutch is about as “heavy” as for instance my mum’s Opel/Vauxhall Corsa. So while surprising I do not think it would be threatening.

Other then the heavier clutch everything works without difficulty. Accerating goes as quickly as usual. No sudden surges of power or losses of power. Nothing to indicate any problems except for my nerves going crazy.

The previous owner (a collegue of mine) had the cluth-plates replaced just prior to me getting the car. So that must have been around 3 years / ~50.000 km ago. So these should not be the problem.

FWIW, I got a 1995 VW Golf type 3, 1.6 petrol.

Assuming that there are no serious differences between the European and North American versions, I’d suspect a pinch or blockage in the line that operates the hydrolic clutch. Cycling the clutch like you did must have either cleared the blockage or opened the pinch enough for near-normal operation.

Have it checked out the next time your pocketbook allows, but I wouldn’t do into a tizzy about it. 🙂

Matt