Ug- State of the Golf

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa)
03/05/2019 at 13:00 • Filed to: None

What a rotten week. And it’s only Tuesday.

Yesterday as I was about to drive to the store, I noticed my clutch was engaging much higher than before. I figured it was the much maligned autmatically adjusting clutch cable adjusting itself out of its usable range, resulting in slippage in every gear, so today I tried to detatch, reset, and reattach the cable, failing miserably. Now I can’t even get the clutch to grab any gear. So now my car sits awaiting AAA. Good thing I didn’t need it to drive me 200 miles home this weekend or anything. Hopefully my mechanic can fix this easier than I can and this won’t be too expensive or long a repair.

Oh, I also managed to slip into a paranoid and delusional state from mounting stress and personal problems and alienate a few close friends, dropped a class, and haven’t slept since Sunday.

DISCUSSION (10)

For Sweden > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/05/2019 at 13:14

Usually my State of the Golf focuses on my abysmal short game. And my abysmal long game. And my abysmal iron play.

dieseldub > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/05/2019 at 13:34

I *HATE* the automatically adjusting clutch cables... If just to remove them to RR the transmission to replace the clutch they’re a giant pain. 020 gearbox in general are a bit of a pain.

I like the snowflakes, though! Maybe it’s time to step into a VW with a hydraulic clutch and cable shifters? Or you could even retrofit such parts onto your Golf.

Of course, that all requires time and money. Which if you’re still driving a mk3 now, probably are not plentiful. I do kinda miss my Mk3 Jetta TDI, though. That at least did have the hydro clutch and cable shift setup. I’ve done my time with 020 equipped cars, though!

Manwich - now Keto-Friendly > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/05/2019 at 14:25

“and this won’t be too expensive or long a repair.”

Kinja'd!!!

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > dieseldub
03/05/2019 at 14:29

Yeah, the 020 has been finicky. As far as I know though, only VR6 models had hydro clutches, which were less reliable than the auto adjusting cable ones. If my mechanic says I need to replace the cable, I'll have him put thw manual adjust one one per the Vortex's recommendation. Or have him fix it just enough for me to drive it home and swap it myself. My limiting factors right now are rust, time, cold, and the proper tools.

dieseldub > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/05/2019 at 14:41

The TDIs got hydro clutches too (Jetta only got that drivetrain in North America from 1997-1999 in the mk3—Golfs never got it) and they were perfectly reliable. I’ve only just in the last few years started seeing a rash of master cylinders fail... on cars that are well over 20 years old now. The early cable shift linkage does suck, though. But, you can always retrofit the far better 2000 model year and newer Mk4 linkage parts to them. Makes a world of difference and the parts are much more robust.

I did help a friend of mine put a TDI into a 97 GTI (was a VR6, so it was 5 lug wheels with the bigger brakes and such) over a decade ago. That was a neat project. I liked how it turned out so much I did a similar conversion to a mk3 GLX for myself . Transplanted my TDI drivetrain into it after rebuilding it and drove it for another 100k before selling it to a coworker in 2014.

I did have a Mk2 GTI 16V at one point with a manual adjust cable. LOVED that car. That thing was a riot. I barely fit in it, but it made me smile every time I drove it... right up until the point a differential pinion decided it wanted freedom and poked a hole in the bellhousing of the 020.

Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/05/2019 at 14:49

I dropped about 7 classes through college. F ailed one, even. Hang in there.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Dr. Zoidberg - RIP Oppo
03/05/2019 at 15:42

Thanks. I just hate admitting defeat. It's not even going to be on my undergrad transcript since it's on my MS transcript, but I'm still mad I couldn't hang.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > dieseldub
03/05/2019 at 15:44

Hm. I’ll have to look into those swaps. Trouble is I have almost no free time to tinker and I do need a working car. It’ll happen when I have this and a real car if it happens at all. Thanks!

And yes, the car is horrendously unreliable and expe nsive to service for how cheap I bought it, but I do love to drive it. It's a blast. AFAIK Mk2 and Mk3 were basically the same chassis, with minor tweaks.

dieseldub > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker
03/05/2019 at 15:49

Yeah, mk3s are just slightly embiggened mk2s, really. Lots of similarities and parts that can swap. You could use mk3 VR6 suspension and brake components on a mk2 if you wanted a nice upgrade (about 1 degree more caster and WAAAY bigger brakes).

The good ol ABA 2.0 8V should be a reasonably reliable unit overall. They’re just all old at this point, so stuff that tends to break on any old car are going to break.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > dieseldub
03/05/2019 at 17:17

ABA puts up with a ton of abuse, can confirm. Powerful, it is not, however.