*CLUNK* Uh oh....

[volksdragon]

Driving up Route 128 (N) today, heading to work. Traffic is piss-poor, so it's stop-and-go all the way. I was (luckily) in the right-hand lane of traffic, and of course, since I drive manual shift cars, I am clutching and shifting a lot. As the traffic comes to a stop, I press down on the clutch.... and it hits the floor, and STAYS there. DOH.

LUCKILY, I was practicing driving and shifting without a clutch a few months ago. I was able to get the car OFF the road onto the grass (I was between an exit's on-ramp and off-ramp) so I didn't cause a traffic backup by blocking the breakdown lane (AKA: High speed lane).

Checked the clutch cable, it's not broken (anywhere that I can see, it COULD be broken inside the sheath, but it's still hooked to the transmission, and still hooked to the pedal, but the clutch does NOT release from the transmission. *sigh* Had it not been horrible traffic and having to stop, I could have driven it sans clutch to my office, but I decided to call AAA and have it towed to the relatively nearby Norwood VW dealer.

So, there it sits. I'm waiting to hear from ther dealer if they even have time to look at it today. I'm hoping it's something simple like the throwout bearing in the clutch went out, and that's all the have to replace. Worst case is that the clutch springs collapsed, but it didn't really make that kind of horrible noise, so I'm hoping something smaller.

It's not fair, though! I wasn't speeding, and I WAS wearing a Volkswagen shirt! Where's the good karma?

Comments

[cogshiftingman.livejournal.com]

How strange ... no weird noises at all? Let's hope it's not expensive.

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

None, no noises. Just foot to the floor. I actually drove the car around the VW lot to make sure I wasn't nuts, but it drives and shifts fine.... without the clutch. :)

[nrubenstein.livejournal.com]

Eh. If you have to remove the transmission just replace the clutch.

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

Most likely. At that point, most of the labor has already been done, and the price of the clutch is minimal.

[cogshiftingman.livejournal.com]

You can change gear without using the clutch? How bizarre.

I was on holiday with a couple of friends in France years ago when the clutch of the Wolseley Six we were driving failed completely. The car wouldn't shift out of third. Amazingly, we drove all the way back across France in that thing, in third gear (the six cylinder engine was sufficiently flexible that you could start off in third without stalling). We got a few strange looks as we went through Dover customs, without stopping :-)

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

If you rev-match (get the engine speed to the same place as the transmission speed), you can shift into gear without the clutch. You can do that on pretty much any manual shift car. Of course, at 0mph, the transmission speed is 0, and since you can't get the engine speed to 0mph, it makes starting a pain. You CAN start the car, in gear, with the starter motor, but it's not the best idea. :)

[cogshiftingman.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, right ... in fact in the days before synchromesh gears I think that's exactly how you had to change gear :-)

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

Yeah, double-clutching achieved the same thing without synchros. Today's cars don't need the double-clutching, but it doesn't hurt.

[milkgonebad.livejournal.com]

What year is it? I had a very similar issue with my 94 Jetta so I sold the thing and found out that the fix wasn't really that bad for that year. You only needed to take the front of the tranny off.

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

It's a 96. And yeah, the transmission is pretty easy to get out, but A: Not ON route 128, and B: Not when I don't have 6 hours, mostly in a row, to do it. Thanks to my old scirocco, I even have the bizarro bit needed to remove the CV joint, but like I said, No time to do it in the driveway. :(

[volare.livejournal.com]

Gyaaaaack. Glad nothin worse happened.

My truck ( 95 Nissan 4x4 PU) did this once and I hauled it to my mechanic, telling him I "didn't know if the clutch cable was hosed or what.."

He calls back a couple hours later:
"It's a hydraulic clutch, J..."

::headdesk::

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

Hehehe
I know mine's cable, I've replaced the cable on the same kind of engine/tranny before. I'm waiting to hear back.

[volare.livejournal.com]

He did take pity on me later, allowing that my truck was one of the first to HAVE a hydraulic clutch, but it lost me a couple shadetree points in knowing my own vehicle. :p

Any word on transmission vs. clutch?

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

VW dealer reports a clutch. And HAHAHAHAH they're trying to charge me $1300 to replace it. Yeah, right. I'm towing that thing outta there tomorrow morning, back to my guy in Quincy, and I'll STILL come out ahead.

I SHOULD KNOW BETTER than to go to the Stealership for repairs. *I* could replace the clutch in under 7.5 hours! Murphy Brothers actually said, "Jesus, I should go work for a dealership!"

[technoluddite.livejournal.com]

> I WAS wearing a Volkswagen shirt! Where's the good karma?

The Karma(nnGhia) must be in the shop, waiting for parts.

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

Ow. My head. Owie.

[siercia]

Good one!

[nemomori.livejournal.com]

I think you used up all your good karma the 5,000,000,000,000 other times you've been speeding and not gotten a ticket, or have gotten away with just a warning.

[liddle-oldman.livejournal.com]

Dude. Suckage.

128 really bit today -- the onramp was so backed up onto the Pike we had to detour through Newton Falls to get around it. Fine time for your clutch to go!

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

I never saw an accident anywhere, and it was STILL backed up at 11am when we got to work. Sheesh. Stupid road.

[biophile6.livejournal.com]

Ive been lucky with only one broken cable...that felt the same though.

pressssss SNAP clunk AIIIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHh

Gah. Hope it works out.

[scirocco.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I was really HOPING it was cable, but I've busted the throwout bearing as well, and they feel almost the same. I knew it wasn't cable when I checked it on the highway. :( It's probably in-transit now to Murphy's, I'm optimistic for getting it back tomorrow evening.