I had a little energy this morning. Not much, but I figured it would be enough.
Then I tried to schedule warranty service for Turbo Schlock, and burnt through all of that energy in about 15 minutes.
(Aside: why is the clutch a “maintenance” item when it cannot be tightened or even EXAMINED without dropping the entire transmission? And if it is really a maintenance item, why must the entire assembly be replaced to the tune of $1200, rather than just replacing, oh, say, the pad that has worn out?)
I ended up spending the day sleeping, playing video games, and sleeping some more.
(More Aside: We did take the car in to be serviced, but we took it to a third-party shop called “Foreign Aid” rather than to Ken “Screw My Customers” Garff Volkswagen. At least the Foreign Aid mechanic was willing to explain matters to me. Ken’s crew won’t be getting any more of my business — every time I’ve taken the car there they’ve screwed something up.)
Looking back on the morning and the early afternoon, I can clearly see that I’m crashing after a week of not enough sleep. Okay. Monday is officially a vacation day this week. No, wait… it’s a SICK day.
AFAIK, you replace the whole clutch assembly because the vast majority of the cost is the labor to get to it. As long as you’re in there, dropping the extra less-than-$200 to replace all the wear items just makes sense. (This is old information; if Things Are Different on newer cars, corrections are welcomed.)
Dav2.718
Makes sense, I suppose. But it seems that the principle wear item is the clutch plate (or whatever you call the bit that actually “engages” and “disengages”), which would be wearing out at least an order of magnitude faster than everything else.
Then again, maybe “everything else” is made cheaply and disposably for just that reason.
Honestly, Dave made the most valid point but there are also other things to consider when dealing with a clutch replacement.
If the flywheel is worn slightly unevenly it can cause the new parts to fail which means all that labor over again.
If the throwout bearing has some uneven wear, same story.
What if one of the springs in the presure plate is weaker than the rest which caused the issue in the first place? Better to replace it and be sure than pay for all the labor again.
Basically, it all comes down to giving you the greatest chance for success when performing an expensive service on moderately priced parts.
Also, the clutch is considered a maintanence item because it is a wear item. It’s going to have to be maintained at some point. : ]
I’m actually looking forward (yeah, right) to changing the clutch on my little rocket sometime in the near future. $1250 to have it done or ~$300 in parts… I’ll be figuring out how to do it with a few friends. ; ] Mine is due to the clutch having warped on me because I bought a performance part and drove it gently (rassin frassin…)
Fixing your own transmission, especially a standard, isn’t terrible. The problem comes in when you go to reseal the bastard.
I’ve had _two_ standards replaced, and neither one was ever sealed properly. This caused both replacements to end up dying as well.
I’d pay for someone else to do it that has a warranty; as soon as it’s done, get under the car, and carefully clean the entire transmission off with solvent, then dry it. Drive it for two days. Check the entire transmission again, and look for leaks, sticky spots, or greasy patches – then check the fluid (checking the fluid first can spill a bit).
Any drops at all, take it back and have them redo it. Don’t let them claim its coming from somewhere else unless they can show you exactly where it’s coming from.
BW
Surely they wouldn’t have to split the case for a clutch replacement? On my car you might have to if the input shaft bearing tube is worn. I’d think the Germans would have figured a way around that though? (I drive an ’88 Fiero Formula.)
Sleep, man, sleep.
How does one know when the clutch needs replacing?
The two easy answers are:
1) When you let out the clutch pedal but the car doesn’t move.
2) When you push in the clutch pedal but still can’t get the transmission into gear.
Then you get into more frustrating issues like when the pedal is vibrating or when pushing the pedal down you hear something akin to the noise of a circular saw going through a board…
Or two months after each teenage daughter learns to drive a stick shift.
Sweet heavens don’t make me think of that yet!!!
Mine’s only 3.8 months old now! My wife is already saying how she wants her to learn to drive on the Fiero as it has power Nothing and would be a great learning experience. { : ]
I love that my wife is planning for me to have my go-cart for another ~15 years. ; ]
How to tell: Step on the gas while in 4th on the freeway, and have the tachyometer ramp up to 6500 rpm, and then slide back down to 4000 as the car accelerates.
In short, the clutch is slipping. It’s only a matter of time before I can step on the gas and the car won’t do anything because the clutch just isn’t engaged.
My Volksdragon Transporter campervans clutch expired in a pub carpark when I couldn’t get up the exit ramp.
I got trailered home, was able to nurse her on the level to a garage where they did the clutch….£450 (yes £, GB£ = $1.81 or thereabouts each)
Rear wheel drive, rear engine, had to pull the whole confusticating lot out to sort it. But my friction material had disintegrated….
NORMAL cars? about £150 since you can get the clutch out without taking the engine with it.
When it explodes out of the transmission at 10,000 rpm.
Sick days make life worth living.
I was behind an Escalade on Orem Blvd yesterday sometime, heading south.
In big letters on the rear windscreen, it said something very similar to:
“Don’t buy a car from Ken Garff. He won’t back you up and his guys will beat you up.”
While I find it unlikely that anyone will be beating me up, completely putting aside the question of whether that quote represents fact, the driver of that Escalade clearly has a problem with Ken Garff.
So, between that and your post here, I’ll be sure to avoid Ken Garff when I go car shopping next year.
BTW, http://www.VWVortex.com has more information than you will ever want to know about your car. Go to their forums, they have a subsection just for the New Beetle.
Yeah, we learned our lesson with the Mitsubishi and the Mitsu dealership on University Parkway – now we take all our cars to Klegg’s Car Care on Center Street over in the old Geneva area. They’ve always done really good work, and they’re honest about telling us what needs doing and why.