Bad Clutch Slave Or Master Cylinder? - TDIClub Forums

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Bad clutch slave or master cylinder?

• Thread starter GTSLOW
• Start date Oct 2, 2011

GTSLOW

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 26, 2010 Location Fort Knox, Kentucky TDI 15 GSW & 04 Golf 200k tdi here. Driving to the packer game and it doesn't go into gear anymore. Looks like the clutch is barely disenguaging(SP) with the pedal all the way to the floor. The thing that sucks is the clutch holds great. What are my options or possible fixes here??? Please help.

Seatman

Top Post Dawg

Joined Apr 23, 2010 Location Scotland TDI 2014 Skoda rapid elegance 1.6 cr tdi Does it go in fine with the engine off? if so it could be the clutch going, sometimes the pressure plate gives up first but you could try bleeding it. The other thing is the clutch fork that pushes against the release bearing, sometimes they break. Might be worth getting someone to push the clutch while you watch to see how much movement there is.

1point9turbo

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 5, 2004 Location Wichita, KS TDI 1998 Jetta TDi Black Similar I wonder if you are having a similar issue that I am. I just went on leave and came back after 3 weeks. Went to drive my car away (98 jetta, 150k) and noticed immediately a very, very weak clutch engagement. Went to hit the brakes too and had nothing there either. Checked the fluid, it was fine, plenty in there. I pumped the brakes HARD about 20-30 times to build up pressure and the brakes and clutch improved but both still feel a weak from what I remember. It is very picky about engaging the clutch... it just doesn't feel like a solid connection during gear shifts. Any thoughts on if this is a similar issue? I am going on a 5 month TDY in a week, so I dont have much time to get this fixed if its something major. My concern is safety if I go to hit the brakes and I don't stop.

loganbmx4gt

Veteran Member

Joined Apr 14, 2011 Location Jackson, TN TDI 97' Passat (1Z), 02' Golf Can you pump the pedal and get a stiff pedal or somewhat more stiff pedal? Are you noticing any brake fluid loss? If it's the master cyl you will see a trail of fluid probably running down the firewall or inside under the carpet possibly. Or the slave cyl could be leaking and it's leaking inside the bell housing. Did mine not too long ago, slave cyl. If it's one of those your going to have to pressure bleed the system, can't really old fashioned pump it and get it right. W

Woookie

Well-known member

Joined Apr 19, 2011 Location Eagan TDI 1997 Jetta TDI had the same problem....now mines up on jack stands out comes the tranny.....Engine off put it in gear then push the car you will probably hear ting ting tingling ting....most likely the springs in the clutch disk broke and are wedged in between the fly wheel and disk or something to that sort

loganbmx4gt

Veteran Member

Joined Apr 14, 2011 Location Jackson, TN TDI 97' Passat (1Z), 02' Golf Sorry reread your post, my previous post isn't what your talking about. Had the assumption you had no clutch pedal.

jjcsnlynn

Veteran Member

Joined Nov 18, 2007 Location Felton, DE TDI 02 & 03 Jetta TDI,99 Beetle TDI, 04 Chevy Duramax 2500HD 4x4

GTSLOW said: 200k tdi here. Driving to the packer game and it doesn't go into gear anymore. Looks like the clutch is barely disenguaging(SP) with the pedal all the way to the floor. The thing that sucks is the clutch holds great. What are my options or possible fixes here??? Please help. Click to expand...

It's difficult to determine if it's the master cylinder or slave cylinder with out unhooking them and putting a pressure gauge on them. I once had a similar problem after changing a clutch. Two days after changing the clutch the slave went but it was evident due to the leaking fluid. I changed that and a week later the master cylinder went. You should be able to unbolt the slave and see it extending when you push in the clutch. If it is, most likely then your problem is inside the bell housing. However, the slave may work without a load (clutch) but not when loaded up. Sorry but you may have to go with the most likely (or cheapest) part first and change them until you find out which one it is. A

apaustin

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 9, 2010 Location maryland TDI 05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v This is a timely thread. I just acquired a v6/tdi conversion and what I noticed immediately is very little resistance on the clutch pedal. During my short history the pedal has stayed on the floor twice. I've been told it might be the master cylinder. Fortunately I'm in no rush to get it tagged and on the road. We'll be looking into it.

Jetta SS

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 30, 2006 Location Grand Bay, AL TDI '98 Jetta Mine was disengaging close to the floor earlier this year. Changed master and slave - problem still there. I bled them 5 times with no luck. Had to go to work, and after driving for an hour pedal has been firm since. Still don't know what happened, but not gonna complain. O

opensourcepirate

Member

Joined Nov 11, 2005 Location Somerville, Massachusetts TDI 98 Jetta, Black I replaced my master and slave cylinders and the hard line connecting them a few months ago. I had no leaks, but my clutch wasn't disengaging the whole way. My understanding is that if don't have any leaks, you just have to bite the bullet and start replacing things and see if it helps. The master cylinder is most likely the issue if there's no leaking (as it can leak internally more reasonably than the slave), but is much harder to replace that the slave. Even after I replaced the master, I still felt like maybe the clutch was dragging sporadically, so I replaced the slave. That didn't do much that I could notice (probably because the slave was fine), but replacing the rusty hard-line between them felt like it helped a little bit. My hard line was really cruddy looking, so I won't worry too much about that if it looks ok.

GTSLOW

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 26, 2010 Location Fort Knox, Kentucky TDI 15 GSW & 04 Golf I will take a look at it this weekend. I did notice an odd noise coming from the slave but time let me forget what it sounded like. It did have slight pressure and I could get it into gear with the engine off. Also I did notice if I pushed the clutch in all the way it would slip just a little bit. Almost like the slave was barely working. Fluid in the master is good. A

apaustin

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 9, 2010 Location maryland TDI 05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v So I took off the slave cylinder when the clutch pedal was on the floor and it was extended into the tranny. Bolted it back. Hooked up a Motive bleeder to the fluid reservoir and pumped it to 10 psi. Opened up the bleeder valve on the master and almost nothing came out. Worked the clutch pedal and some fluid came out then nothing...maybe bubbles. Was told there may be a kink somewhere but I haven't found anything yet. Clutch pedal is now much more lifeless than when I started. A

apaustin

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 9, 2010 Location maryland TDI 05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v Question: with the motive hooked up and pumped to 10psi, nothing comes out of the slave bleeder valve or the feeder line next to it. Where next do I backtrack to locate a blockage? A

apaustin

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 9, 2010 Location maryland TDI 05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v OK. No answer. How about a reverse bleed using a pump oiler pushing dot 4 through the clutch bleed port and hope to see bubbles appear in the reservoir?

maxwellp

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 22, 2011 Location VERONA, WI TDI 1998 TDI Beetle #14 No you will push the junk back in to the brake reservoir. The clutch pedal needs to be all the way up or fluid will not flow when bleeding.

jackgreen

Veteran Member

Joined Nov 15, 2008 Location lewiston, northern california TDI 1998 jetta tdi a broken clutch spring will make the clutch not disengage fully if the piece gets stuck between the disk and pressure plate. i went through this with mine. i bled the master, i even replaced the slave and master with a good used one, etc etc. then i listened to the experts on here who were telling me it was the clutch disk spring, and it was exactly as they said. i hope this isn't your problem, but you may want to inspect somehow.

maxwellp

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 22, 2011 Location VERONA, WI TDI 1998 TDI Beetle When the clutch pedal is pushed it closes the port to the brake reservoir. So any kind of bleeding will not work with the pedal down. Hope this helps. A

apaustin

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 9, 2010 Location maryland TDI 05 passat wagon, 96 B4V, 95 glx v6/96 tdi conversion, 97 b4v I could use some help. Fluid just ain't moving. With the clutch pedal up there still is no fluid from the bleeder and no fluid from the feeder line next to it. When the bleeder is open and I work the pedal the drain tube indicates some activity. I was advised to backtrack. There are two bleeders on what I assume is the power steering unit. Seems it's connected somehow to the overall hydraulic system. Sorry, my Bentleys on DVD isn't hooked up yet and I don't want to whine my troubles to the local authorities. So I'm a blind pig looking for acorns. I bled both bleeders - the motive was hooked up but expended pressure was negligible, as before. Used the brake pedal to power up the line. Seemed like bubbles never completely stopped exiting the power steering (?) system but I eventually gave up and closed the bleeders off. Then I went back and tried to bleed the slave and still nothing. Presently I'm consoling myself in the land of India (Pale Ale).

GTSLOW

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 26, 2010 Location Fort Knox, Kentucky TDI 15 GSW & 04 Golf Does anyone know of local places that sell these power bleeders? I have a vacuum style but not the pressure style. Would harbor frieght have something like this?

GTSLOW

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 26, 2010 Location Fort Knox, Kentucky TDI 15 GSW & 04 Golf http://www.harborfreight.com/brake-fluid-bleeder-92924.html Could you just drill and tap the master res cap and put a fitting on it and add pressure that way? Last edited: Nov 19, 2011

schultp

Veteran Member

Joined Mar 11, 2008 Location Michigan TDI 2010 Jetta Sportwagen, 6sp manual In a pinch you could build your own.... http://faculty.ccp.edu/faculty/dreed/campingart/jettatech/bleeder/index.htm This home built system looks just as good as the Motive Products set-up I have! Paul.

GTiTDi

TDIClub Enthusiast, Macht Schnell! Vendor , w/Busi

Joined Oct 18, 2010 Location 3 Spruce st Wareham, gateway to Cape Cod Massachus TDI '91 GTI CJAA swap,'02 Jetta wagon ALH swap, '03 GTI 1.8T rally car, '03 Sprinter 3500

apaustin said: OK. No answer. How about a reverse bleed using a pump oiler pushing dot 4 through the clutch bleed port and hope to see bubbles appear in the reservoir? Click to expand...

This is the technique utilized to fill the master cylinder reservoir on most small airplanes that have impossible to access reservoirs

Victor Huge

Veteran Member

Joined Apr 18, 2009 Location Alberta TDI Mk7 Golf TDI Have you checked for leaks from the clutch master to brake fluid reservoir connection? Mine was loose enough that I didn't feel i could trust it to not let air in so i put a zip tie around it and no worries!

GTSLOW

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 26, 2010 Location Fort Knox, Kentucky TDI 15 GSW & 04 Golf *** Update the new slave is in and its the same. Every once in a blue moon you can get it to disengage like once. I'm guessing something is busted inside and getting stuck between the PP and disc or whatever. It was properly bled. *** Any how to's on a clutch swap. Also what is this spring previously mentioned?

jjcsnlynn

Veteran Member

Joined Nov 18, 2007 Location Felton, DE TDI 02 & 03 Jetta TDI,99 Beetle TDI, 04 Chevy Duramax 2500HD 4x4 There are springs on the clutch disc that absorb the torque if you launch quickly. I had one broken on my clutch disc (200K miles). For me, it was more of the spring housing was broken, not the spring. The clutch pedal stuck on the floor twice for my wife, but never for me. F

Fixem4Fun

Active member

Joined Jun 21, 2011 Location Home of EAA, Wisconsin TDI 1996 B4 TDI Sedan 400K, 1996 B4 TDI Wagon 258K. Reading through the post it seems like I had similar experience. After changing the slave 2x and master once I was having problems getting car into gear from a stop and getting out of gear when coming to a stop. Coming off an exit ramp by the Dells the Clutch quit all together and I could not shift when the car was stopped. It would grind. I ended up doing speed shifts and starter starts until I could pull the trans out. It was a broken spring in the clutch wedged between the PP and clutch. I replaced PP and clutch and all was fine in the world. Not complaining about getting 325K on original clutch! S

Straxcla

Active member

Joined Jan 18, 2012 Location Baltimore TDI 2000 Beetle I have a problem similar to GTSLOW. I have a 2000 beetle. The pedal is stiff and the clutch will not disengage but it holds fine. The slave is not leaking so i have no idea what the problem is. Had to drive home without using the clutch, it was not very enjoyable. M

MTomey

New member

Joined Mar 31, 2021 Location Maryland TDI 1999 VW BEETLE 5SPD

GTSLOW said: 200k tdi here. Driving to the packer game and it doesn't go into gear anymore. Looks like the clutch is barely disenguaging(SP) with the pedal all the way to the floor. The thing that sucks is the clutch holds great. What are my options or possible fixes here??? Please help. Click to expand...

I had issues with my 1999 Beetle clutch. Mine was noisy sometimes. Issues with hard to put into gear. Sometimes felt like Jo clutch disengagement. Bought new non-dual mass clutch kit, clutch master and slave cylinders, and clutch arm new online. Got too busy to fix myself so sent to a local garage. He sent back as done, but never swapped in master, slave or clutch arm, stating throw out bearing had self destructed. But issues still. Then he did mater and slave. Still occasionally seens like not disengaging. Also noticed brakes get hard sometimes and do not want to stop. Anyone else have similar fuel problem? Wondering if brake booster problem perhaps causing both issues with share reservoir? You must log in or register to reply here. Share: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email Link

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