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Well, as the subject says, I just got my clutch replaced and
also had the side motor mount replaced while it was down. If y'all
remember, I also recently had my tranny mount replaced. I must say,
since I changed out the side mount, my car doesn't vibrate as much
with the MotorSport mount, is very smooth, and responsive (clutch was on its
last leg). I also had the crank seal, mainshaft seal, pushup rod
seal, pushup rod and throwout bearing replaced. I took some pictures
of my clutch and it had what looked like a bit of tranny fluid in it. I
was under the impression that the VW clutches were "dry" clutches? I
also noted that where the pushup rod meets the pressure plate(??), there is a
little groove that the rod should go to. On my old clutch, there was a
very distinct well-worn groove approximately 2 millimeters off kilter of
the established groove (where the rod should touch). On top of that, my
throwout bearing had a nasty crack on both sides of it. My mechanic said
it came out that way. That would probably explain the chatter/rattle noise
I suddenly developed after my clutch cable popped *shiver*. When I
pushed in on the clutch, I would hear this horrific chatter/rattling
noise. Soon after (about three weeks), I noted a severe degradation in the
car's performance. The motor would rev extremely high, and when I
accelerated it would spin up but the car was practically crawling through
the first two gears, then all of a sudden, it would take off like a shot and I'd
have to coddle the brakes quite a bit. Kind of like the engine
spin caught up with the wheels. It was
weird.
As for the car vibrating, I figured the MotorSport tranny
mount is harsh so I really didn't pay it much attention at first, but then the
vibrating started to really irritate me. I took a look at the side
mount but couldn't tell if it was bad seein' as I couldn't see through the side
of it (turns out it was cracked in several places). I took pics
of the old mount too and just a side note--if you can purchase your side mount
with the metal bracket attached, do so. Makes it easier for the mechanic
to change. My mechanic started his sentence in broken English (he's
German), "Oy, you cause me lots of trouble. That motor mount was a
pain in the ass!" and he has TOOLS to lift the engine. Just imagine if he
didn't.
All in all, I'm pleased with the repair job ($29 for all the
seals & pushrod; $170 for the clutch, throwout bearing, and motor mount from
Potter; $250 in labor [my car was in the shop for a day and a half]. I
noted the buzzy sound I used to get in all gears is gone, but I think my
mechanic drained my tranny and put regular tranny fluid in because the shifting
feels lumpy like it did before I switched to synthetic. I told him to put
synthetic fluid back in there, but I think he must have forgotten. Either
way, it will give me an opportunity to put the Redline MTL in to see if it
performed as well as the Mobile synthetic I had in there.
I just changed my timing belt & tensioner before I came
from New Mexico but my mechanic said all my belts need to be changed. I'm
not sure, but I think my tranny seal that was leaking may have aided in the
soiling of some of my belts. I did note that there was a small leak over
in the belt area but I didn't know where it was coming from. It would
definitely explain why my power steering has been so hard/slippy lately.
The power steering pump is good and I had asked him if maybe my belts were bad
seeing as they looked a bit semi-wet. Also, he noted my acceleration
pedal had moved to the left, off kilter. I told him I'll just
drop my car off tomorrow, order the parts, and have my Mom get it to him so he
can fix my car while I'm gone.
Other than that, it was a good week.
Steph
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