Jolene, what kind of fuckery is this?

"I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker" (qaaaaa) 08/30/2018 at 16:25 • Filed to: None

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The source of my consternation

I hadn’t driven my Golf in a bit, and it was hot out, so I drove down to the post office to ship something out. On the way back, I took it out of gear at a stop. When I tried to get back in gear, it just... Wouldn’t. Clutch on the floor, and it felt like I was just locked out of gear. This has happened before. I’ve been able to slam it into 3rd and limp to a lot before, so I tried that. When I got in gear, I heard a grind. This leads me to think that my clutch isn’t disengaging when I’m in neutral (if that makes mechanical sense). I turned it off for a few seconds, then turned it back on, and everything was back to normal- this makes me think it’s an electrical problem (because VW).

Any more mechanically adept Oppos have a thought?

LOREM IPSUM > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 16:38

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My first thought was slave cylinder, but who knows?

Sovande > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 16:46

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Synchro blowed up? 

TheRealBicycleBuck > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 16:50

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Is the clutch cable or hydraulic? If it’s hydraulic, the line may have come loose and is too close to the exhaust. This could cause bubbles in the line when the fluid gets too hot, effectively disabling your clutch.

vicali > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 16:53

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O pen the hood and check that the linkages are still hooked up. You can see them at the back of the engine going into the trans ; looks like this;

Make sure all those pins and grommets are hooked up.

A l s o s t a r t i n 2 n d , a n d l earn to rev match, my 90 mk2 was clutch optional..

ttyymmnn > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 16:55

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I’m not much of a gearhead, but I seem to recall having trouble with the throwout bearing in my similarly-aged Golf. There was also something wrong with the shift linkage that wouldn’t let me get it into reverse.

But don’t worry. None of that is very expensive to fix.

*ducks*

Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 17:03

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Is it a hydraulic or cable clutch? I remember back in the day the firewall sleeve would slip off and hang on the firewall creating difficulty with the pedal and shifting. It happened to me once in my Rabbit pickup whilst on a trip; I knew what it was and pulled into a shop and was back on the road less than an hour later after spending about $50 or so . Same thing happened to a friend’s Mk 2 GTI and he ignored it; nearly a grand later, with a new pressure plate, clutch and pedal assembly (as well as the cable, of course ) he was back on the road. It was so fucked up that there was only about an inch of travel and took both feet to press the pedal, and that’s what bent the bracket structure. All because of an inexpensive, easily replaced cable.  Unreal.

When he needed another car I just told him to get a Toyota pickup since I figured that he couldn’t destroy that t hrough his usual vehicular neglect; sadly I was wrong on that assumption . I would hate to see what happened to the l eased (5 year lease!!!) Prelude that he got after the Toyota, but I’m pretty sure it was a smoking pile of rubble when he turned it in if it wasn’t totaled in a wreck long before the five years were up. Yeah, he’s got a bit of a reputation for frequent wrecks and neglecting maintenance and repairs, and I doubt anything’s changed since I last spoke to him some 15 years ago.

PyramidHat > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 17:09

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Used to experience that when I drove a semi decades ago.  To remedy I’d put it inreverse and just slightly let the clutch out.    Back into 1st (or 3rd, if I was empty) it would go....

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 17:13

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Turn car off. Put car in gear. Start car in gear using starter to propel forward. Rev match shift. Problem solved until you fry the starter.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Full of the sound of the Gran Fury, signifying nothing. 08/30/2018 at 17:33

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The clutch pedal travels fine, so not that, but I'll keep it in mind. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > TheRealBicycleBuck 08/30/2018 at 17:34

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Mk3 Golfs have cable operated clutches, I believe. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > vicali 08/30/2018 at 17:35

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I've been putting 3-in-1 on the linkage as needed when it does this. The linkages are all good, but some bushings are a bit worn from 16 years of living in Texas. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 08/30/2018 at 17:36

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Ooh, that's a good one. I can get in gear with it off when this happens. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Sovande 08/30/2018 at 17:36

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Synchros wouldn't do this I don't think. When it works, all the shifts are smooth, so I think they're all good. 

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 17:37

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You are welcome. RIP your starter.

bhtooefr > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 17:53

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Depends on the engine.

For North American engines... 1.8 Monomotronic, 1.9 indirect injection turbodiesel, and 2.0 are cable clutch, rod shift.

VR6 and TDI are hydraulic clutch and cable shift.

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > bhtooefr 08/30/2018 at 18:02

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I've got the 2.slow, so cable. 

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 08/30/2018 at 18:41

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I had to do that once when I trying to start after being parked on a hill overnight. I now know not to do that.

Right now, when this problem crops up, I can turn it off and put it in gear, then start while clutched out. When I do this, the car turns over and I can drive fine in gear. I have to look into how the car locks me out of gear, if it uses a mechanical system or an electronic one. I know for certain that it blocks me from getting into 1st when I’m moving (because 1st doesn’t have a synchro, I don’t think).

Worst case I find a VW specialty mechanic.

gogmorgo - rowing gears in a Grand Cherokee > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 08/30/2018 at 19:00

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Meh. It's really not all that much more torque than turning over the engine. It doesn't really take all that much torque to move a car, plus the engine firing helps it out. 

DocWalt > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/30/2018 at 22:45

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I can pretty much guarantee you have an automatic adjusting cable on the clutch since it’s a Mk3... The cable adjuster is likely slipping sometimes. My Mk2 did that so I switched to a manual adjust cable and I just have to adjust it every so often. Not a huge deal.

Does your cable look like so?

I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker > DocWalt 08/31/2018 at 08:02

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That’s a good thing to look into, thanks. I’m not sure if mine is auto or manual adjust. I'll go look at it later. I’m not sure this would explain the intermittency of this, though.

DocWalt > I like cars: Jim Spanfeller is one ugly motherfucker 08/31/2018 at 11:42

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I switched from the auto-adjust cable to manual because the auto-adjuster would slip and the clutch would go to the floor. There’s a lot of posts on vwvortex about the same issue, it’s a common problem.