1g transmission problems. need help

[1991DSMTSIAWD]

I really need help and if this is a repost I'm sorry. I have a 91 tsi awd and my clutch was not disengaging so I thought it was the clutch I bought a spec stage 2+ for it put it in the throwout bearing on the old clutch was falling apart it was eat up so bad. Well now it won't go in to gear it grinds 1st and reverse and won't go in to 2nd-5th with it running it will go in fine when the car is off. So I put a new slave cylinder on. No luck I tried adjusting the clutch no luck. I put a new master cylinder and adjusting the clutch again and no luck. With it running I can force it into second and slam it straight forward into first but that's the only way with it running. I have no idea what to try next....... is it that my transmission is just ####ed.

 

[pauleyman]

Whats the flywheel step? Did You get ALL the bolts installed? Especially the one that goes is from the bellhousing side through the block.

 

[1991DSMTSIAWD]

Umm I don't know what flywheel step is I know a little about cars not much tho. We had it resurfaced if that helps. And my farther did the work on putting it back in when I was at work. He said he got everything back in fine. He knows what he is doing but I will ask him. Any ideas what it could be if its not the bolts.

 

[pauleyman]

Flywheel step is important. Your clutch manufacturer will specify what they want. Not all of them work well with a stock flywheel step. You could also have play in the clutch pedal assembly that you did not notice before especially if this new clutch has more pressure.

 

[1991DSMTSIAWD]

Its not the factory flywheel it was the one for the act 2600 but I wanted to go with the spec stage 2+ because the clutch is softer and heard really good things about it. Could that be it? The act flywheel with the spec clutch?

 

[pauleyman]

You would have to ask spec.

 

[Boostdriven]

If the flywheel is new it shouldn't have to be stepped and when you buy a clutch kit it should come made to fit factory specs. Now assuming all that is true and you have bled the system of all the air and you still have a problem then you need to check your paddle assembly. As you already know your master cylinder is located on the opposite side of the clutch paddle and what connects the two is a tube that runs across the top of a brake paddle. Take the clutch paddle and see if you can pull it up further then where it sits now. If the paddle moves up some then that might be a first sign of a problem. Now as you hold the paddle up look at the master cylinder rod and slowly push the paddle down, watch to see how much travel the paddle has before the rod moves. If the paddle moves about 1/4 way down before the rod moves then you have a broken/wore out paddle assembly. I've seen this problem before and if this is your case then there will be nothing you can do with adjustment to master cylinder rod to fix this.

If you crawl under the dash board and look at the arm that the master cylinder rod fork attaches to, at the top of that arm you will see a 14mm nut, it holds the arm on the tube that runs from the clutch paddle. Both the arm and the tube are keyed and after a while that keyed section wears out allowing more play in the paddle. The tricky part is that you can't feel that extra play in the paddle because as that connection point wears out your paddle just drops closer to the floor, which essentially takes away from the total distance that paddle was designed to travel and eventually it gets to the point where your clutch won't release all the way.

If this turns out to be your case you will have to remove the paddle assembly and either replace it with a new one or you can weld it to hold the arm in place on the tube. If you choose to weld it make sure you set up the arm correctly in relation to the paddle, last thing you want to do is weld it back together and have the paddle be positioned wrong. Once you take it apart you will be able to see where things are wore out and where the arm suppose to sit, I hope this helps.

 

[pauleyman]

#If the flywheel is new it shouldn't have to be stepped/QUOTE]
Thst is a huge assumption and I can tell you first hand its generally not true. Always check the height yourself even on new and freshly machined flywheels. Do not use a caliper, use a proper depth mic.

 

[Boostdriven]

Thst is a huge assumption and I can tell you first hand its generally not true. Always check the height yourself even on new and freshly machined flywheels. Do not use a caliper, use a proper depth mic.

Call act and ask them if their bend new flywheel that's suppose to be a bolt on item needs to be stepped properly or it should be just a bolt on deal. I have never had to mess with a new flywheel, if it was a used flywheel and it was machined then yes you should check it just for peace of mind. Who knows who machined it at the shop because even the best of us make mistakes.

 

[dj1263]

Sorry guys but what does "stepped" mean?

 

[Boostdriven]

Stepped means that the flywheel surface where the clutch rides is at a different height then the surface where the pressure plate bolts up. If the flywheel has been machined its important that the machine shop steps it properly. If its machined to deep then the pressure plate will not have full clamping force and the clutch will wear out sooner, if its not deep enough then you will have clutch disengagement issues.

 

[dj1263]

Thanks!

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Just a silly question but did it function correctly before you put a new clutch in it?

 

[TaLN91tsI]

Agreed! How did the engage/disengagement work? Clutch could be miss boxed and or mismatched components. Has happened before.