Stranded! Clutch Slave Cylinder Failure? - TDIClub Forums

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Stranded! Clutch slave cylinder failure?

• Thread starter mjwilson
• Start date Jun 18, 2011

M

mjwilson

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 17, 2005 Location Oakdale, CA TDI 2015 Passat SE (bought back 11/28/2016)..adieu Greetings all! Well, after 142K mi. of breakdown-free motoring my '04 Jetta ( PD GLS, 5M, stock) left my son stranded last night with a clutch that wouldn't engage. It had been working fine until he came to a stop, pressed the clutch pedal and it stayed down. He was unable to shift it into gear. Fortunately, he and some friends were able to move the car off the road. After I arrived, the clutch pedal had somehow released but was very soft and wouldn't engage the clutch at all. Clutch had been working fine up to this point so I'm suspecting it is the clutch slave cylinder that has failed. There's no visible leakage around it nor the master cylinder so I'm thinking an internal seal or something gave out. I had the car towed to a shop in nearby Manteca that I've used for basic maintenance. They're not TDI experts but are pretty knowledgeable on VW’s and other German cars and I trust them. I would like for them to start by replacing the slave cylinder and go from there then master cylinder and then clutch itself if necessary as a repair strategy. How much should expect to pay for the slave cylinder replacement (labor and parts)? How likely is this the primary problem? Last edited: Jun 18, 2011

greengeeker

Vendor

Joined Feb 8, 2006 Location Cambridge, MN TDI 2002 Jetta GLS So the clutch won't disengage the transmission right? If you don't have brake fluid leaking out the bottom of your bell housing then I highly doubt your slave is bad. The slave doesn't have "internal" seals like the master cylinder does - if it leaks, it leaks out into the boot and then out into the bellhousing. Two bolts and your slave is out to inspect for fluid in the boot. If there isn't any and your reservoir is not low then I'm looking at the master. M

mjwilson

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 17, 2005 Location Oakdale, CA TDI 2015 Passat SE (bought back 11/28/2016)..adieu

greengeeker said: So the clutch won't disengage the transmission right? If you don't have brake fluid leaking out the bottom of your bell housing then I highly doubt your slave is bad. The slave doesn't have "internal" seals like the master cylinder does - if it leaks, it leaks out into the boot and then out into the bellhousing. Two bolts and your slave is out to inspect for fluid in the boot. If there isn't any and your reservoir is not low then I'm looking at the master. Click to expand...

Thanks for the input. I'll advise shop to have a look bell housing for leakage. This brings up some more ?'s, though. If fluid has been leaking into the bell housing and I assume onto the clutch, how likely is it the clutch has been permanently damaged? How much are we looking at to r & r the master?

greengeeker

Vendor

Joined Feb 8, 2006 Location Cambridge, MN TDI 2002 Jetta GLS The location of the leak would dribble down the backside of the throwout lever and wouldn't hit the clutch. M

mjwilson

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 17, 2005 Location Oakdale, CA TDI 2015 Passat SE (bought back 11/28/2016)..adieu Bad news. Shop called and said clutch has failed. Replacing the master and slave cylinders had no effect. They're quoting me $1700 for parts and labor. Really need help here. This seems really high.

schwarze Käfer

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 21, 2010 Location Texas (panhandle) TDI 2003 New Beetle GLS 5spd Yeah, seems pretty high.

visionlogic

Veteran Member

Joined Aug 23, 2006 Location Daphne, AL, USA TDI 2002 Jetta TDI I don't know what the going rate is for a clutch change, but for my own personal wallet $1,700 is a lot. I also don't know the mechanical abilities you, your son, and his friends might have. But you may want to consider doing it yourself. With the help of this club, a few additional cheap tools I had to get from HarborFreight, and a Valeo single-mass flywheel clutch kit I got from Aaron at BoraParts, I did the job by myself in my driveway a couple of years ago. I was 58 at the time. Just something to consider. Good luck! M

mjwilson

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 17, 2005 Location Oakdale, CA TDI 2015 Passat SE (bought back 11/28/2016)..adieu More horror. Shop says they must use for OEM parts for liability/warranty issues. They said if the dual-mass flywheel needs replaced, the bill jumps to $2500. Anybody near Modesto want to come and do my clutch? This is getting rediculous! C

chudzikb

Veteran Member

Joined Sep 28, 1999 Location Lancaster, PA, USA TDI 05.5 Jetta 03 Golf 2 door Don't walk, run away from that shop, and find one from the list of "tdi guru's". Must use OEM parts? Never heard that one before except maybe from the stealership?

Farfromovin

Torque Addict

Joined Apr 9, 2005 Location Ventura, CA TDI 03 Golf 2dr- PD150 6m Wish I was in SD still (I am moving back there in December this year!). You could get a nice VR6/G60 clutch and SMF installed for 1/3 of that rate in my book. I'd call around to shops until you find something a little more reasonable.

PDJetta

Top Post Dawg

Joined Nov 6, 2003 Location Northern Virginia TDI '04 Jetta GLS TDI Pumpe Duce Platinum Grey w/ Leather

pastormike said: Bad news. Shop called and said clutch has failed. Replacing the master and slave cylinders had no effect. They're quoting me $1700 for parts and labor. Really need help here. This seems really high. Click to expand...

There is a how-to on here on how to replace the clutch. Parts are about $400 - $650, depending on the clutch you get. This would be a great bonding experience for you, your son, and the car. My guess is that this is at least an 8 hour job in the shop labor rate books. $1500 is what the VW dealer charges where I live. Replacing mine took all weekend, but I took my time and did it solo. --Nate D

d2305

Veteran Member

Joined Jun 26, 2004 Location Pensacola FL TDI 14 Ram EcoDiesel Head to Wild Rose Motors in Whittier for repair. Not something you want to try on your own.

TurboM700

Veteran Member

Joined Oct 1, 2010 Location Moundsview MN TDI 2000 VW Golf Ok here my take. First off I'm my own mechainc so my time is free. I just got done doing my clutch. (2 months ago) repalced it with a Single mass flywheel and vr6 clutch. I would have to go back and look and see what I payed but I think it was abou 250-300 for the clutch and flywheel. I pulled the front bumper and motor and transmission out as one. As I did the TB at the same time. All in all with the transmission and TB change I had about 10hrs into the car. If I had to do it all over again and only had to do the clutch and flywheel I would just pull the transmission. I can look but I think it books out for about 6hrs, so even at 100 dollars and hour you still with parts are right around 1000 dollars. I looked into replacing it with a LUK clutch as I get them at discount and I belive that it was right around 300 for the OEM clutch. My 2 cents take it to someone else they are bending you over and raping you with out any lube. Mike M

mjwilson

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 17, 2005 Location Oakdale, CA TDI 2015 Passat SE (bought back 11/28/2016)..adieu Well, guess a picture is a thousand words. Flywheel actually doesn't look too bad, though. Any idea what might have caused this? I'm thinking just heat, age, and mileage (142K) K

KLXD

Top Post Dawg

Joined Aug 22, 2009 Location Lompoc, CA TDI '98, '2 Jettas Maybe the boy was doing some spirited launches? I hope you found another shop. Any professional that had to replace the master and slave before figuring out the disc was gone....

coalminer16

Top Post Dawg

Joined Dec 11, 2008 Location Central Wisconsin TDI Golf 2004 I would say the flywheel charge of $1000 is a little high. I would get a SMF so you don't risk an explosion of that down the road. Plus you can get a better clutch that you won't have to worry about likely ever again.

runonbeer

Maintenance EnthusiastVendor

Joined Apr 15, 2002 Location Austin, TX/Chapel Hill, NC TDI '00 Golf 02M, '10 Golf 02E, '02 UTE 02M two times I've seen a clutch fail like that both instances involved a variation of the following "I loaned my car out to my -blank- this weekend and now the car won't go forward..." You can get a sweet single mass clutch kit for around $350-400 and labor should be ~$600 plus $30 in gear oil. M

mjwilson

Veteran Member

Joined Dec 17, 2005 Location Oakdale, CA TDI 2015 Passat SE (bought back 11/28/2016)..adieu

KLXD said: Maybe the boy was doing some spirited launches? I hope you found another shop. Any professional that had to replace the master and slave before figuring out the disc was gone.... Click to expand...

Could be my son got a little ambitous with dad's 'ol Jetta. After all, 100 hp is hard to tame In the words of Jed Clampett, "I'm gonna have to have a long talk with that boy some day." T

TDI_bubble

Veteran Member

Joined Apr 3, 2010 Location phx TDI 98 tdi bubble +1 do it yourself. Get a G60 flywheel and sachs clutch/PP, works very well with solid engagement feel. I got mine for about $360 I believe. You must log in or register to reply here. Share: Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Tumblr WhatsApp Email Link

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