clutch went out! Help

[nicoleos]

My 95 Jetta went out on the freeway. The clutch either stays up like normal, or all the way to the floor. No spring at all. I cant get it into gear. Is it the throttle bearing? And does anyone know how to drive it clutchless? Please help.

[VwTunR]

you can shift up with out the clutch but you can shift down so you would have to put in in nuetral and just use the brakes to stop....and of course your still gonna need the clutch to start out that is unavoidable

[nicoleos]

No, my car starts without the clutch. I just cant get it going in first. I know how to shift once im going, just not starting out.

[boschmann]

Put it in first then crank it up, it might buck a bit but you should be able to get it moving.

[nicoleos]

Thanks, i figured out how to drive it without the clutch. But does it sound like it is just the throttle bearing? Still pondering over it.

[boschmann]

If it's not the cable then check out the small "crossshaft" arm. It's in the very end of the trans away from the engine behind the 5" round plug. VW usually keeps these in stock, replace the cover plug also.

[nicoleos]

So, are you counting the throttle bearing out as the problem? And do you have to remove the tranny to replace that part?

[boschmann]

If you mean the throw-out bearing, I doubt it could cause the problem (usually they just make noise), but replace it anyway since you'll be right there.

[tidosjett96]

my clutch did the same thing about 3 weeks ago. check your cable, or see if you're missing the clutch fork. my fork was missing, so my cable snapped out of my transmission. actually, it snapped in half and fell out of the transmission cos there was nothing to hold it in.

either way...like, you push it in, and it doesn't come back up with your foot? if so, then i think this is it, cos like i said, its the same thing that happened to mine. i could start my car (in neutral) but i couldn't put it into gear.

also, i've noticed that with my 96, i can upshift without my clutch, but not downshift. it grinds my gears like crazy.

[zagrot]

you can down shift without the clutch. it is all about syncronization. but to do so you will have to rev the engine to get the input and output shaft to spin at the same rate, and yes you will probably gind the gears a lot the first few times and the car will jerk around when the gears engage. the best thing to do is leave a lot of space between your car and the one in front of you and decelerate while in gear then change to a lower gear after you slow down (don't rev the engine when using this method). the extra space is so you don't have to come to a stop. driving without a clutch is not a preformance thing, it is about necesity, but it is a skill that is worth learning.

[nicoleos]

Thanks all. I got it fixed. Throw out bearing and the crossshaft arm were replaced. But now my 2nd gear doesnt work sometimes. I cant shift into 2nd half the time

[boschmann]

The hazards of driving without using the clutch.... could be a damaged synchronizer. How about the gear oil, what weight did you use (75W-90 Synthetic reccomended) & is it full?

[nicoleos]

I didnt use any oil. I took it in and paid $250. Didnt have spare time to try to fix it. I will check

[nicoleos]

Actually, right before my clutch went out, i took it to have the transmission oil replaced, so it shouldnt be that. I guess i will have to take it in.