Passat B6 Clutch biting early

[Mindonion]

Hi,

Just joined so apologies if I've posted in the wrong area etc.

I have a 55 plate 2L TDI 140bhp Passat which I've not long purchased. Occasionally the clutch will start to bite even when it's pushed in all the way and the gearstick won't want to come out of gear (just like if you were trying to take it out of gear without the clutch). If I pump the clutch a little it goes ok again. The same will happen the opposite way round sometimes when I'm in neutral, press the clutch and it doesn't want to go into gear until I've lifted the clutch and pressed it again. It only happens occasionally so I don't want to spend money having a diagnostic done at VW when it might not even happen at that point in time.

Any ideas?

Regards,

:)

[Quatrelle]

Sounds like a problem either with the master or slave cylinder.

[Mindonion]

I'll ask a friend to have a look at it tomorrow and see what he thinks. It's one of those things that's difficult to troubleshoot as it's so intermittent. Hopefully it won't be too expensive as I've just bought the car and other the clutch and a bit of turbo whine when it's cold the car is immaculate.

I've got a 3rd party warranty but I'm going to make sure I have my facts straight before I even consider using it as I know how funny they can be.

[jonsey24]

Ill stick my neck on the line and say master cylinder, i had trouble with my clutch and not being able to engage any gears without difficulty.
Plus my clutch pedal was sticking in after i had released it and i had to tuck my toe under it to pull it all the way back up.

If i remember rightly it was around £75 for the master cylinder plus 1.5hrs labour so id opt for about £150 all in

[Mindonion]

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I'll get it checked out tomorrow.

[Cylon2007]

It could just need the system bleeding, that would be my first try anyway.

[Quatrelle]

It could just need the system bleeding, that would be my first try anyway.
Yes, but you still have to wonder why it would need bleeding. Previous repairs perhaps?

[kenney]

I can't see air in the system cause an intermittent fault,if it was air in the system the fault would be continuous

[Mindonion]

UPDATE:

Just spoke to a mate who's a mechanic and he thinks it could be the Dual Mass Flywheel although I'm not sure. The clutch feels firm and doesn't give way under foot, no vibration through grear stick, gear changes generally feel smooth and controlled. It's just occasionally when I'll have my clutch pressed hard to the floor and for some reason it'll start to bite. Or it'll happen the other way round where I'll press the clutch and it won't go in or out of gear. The clutch peddle doesn't stick, it always comes back up or pushes back down. It's almost as if the biting point moves.

[tommyweaves]

Mine does exactly the same. It's a 55 plate 140 SE tdi with 90k on the clock, had it from new.

My main dealer tried it and it said it would need a strip down to find the problem as it could be the slave cylinder (which is in the gearbox apparently), the DMF giving out, or the gearbox itself. I've had symptons for about 30k miles so I'm chancing my luck that it doesn't get worse.

[Cylon2007]

Yes, but you still have to wonder why it would need bleeding. Previous repairs perhaps?


It's a 55 plate so at least 3 1/2 years old, the fluid is the same as brake fluid and should be replaced every 2 -3 years anyway. It's a cheap easy job to do so worth doing anyway to eliminate it before potentially spending shed loads of cash.

[Mindonion]

yeah it's not looking good. I've only had a week and it's developed this problem plus a whining turbo. I think I'm going to cut my losses and get rid of it as I'm pretty sure the garage that sold it to me are just going to make a huge list of excuses to avoid fixing two potentially very expensive problems.

[Mindonion]

I'm taking it into VW tomorrow to get the Turbo whining checked over. I'll ask them their opinion on the clutch issue whilst I'm there. I didn't want to waste more money paying for a diagnostic as it's very intermittent and I have no idea when it's going to happen. Sometimes I can go a couple of days without it happening and there doesn't seem to be a way to encourage it. That car felt spot on during the test drive, shame it didn't do it then or I wouldn't have bought it.

[Stuart W]

I had a temporary problem selecting gear as well recently, however it's been OK since, but I've this horrible feeling it's going to recur.

Another occassional thing I've noticed recently is that when bringing the pedal up the clutch seems to bite suddenly rather than progressively.

This seems to happen mainly when cold, but I've also noticed it a bit when it's well warmed up, but at the moment it's very occasional.

[Mindonion]

That is exactly what mine does although it doesn't specifically do it when it's cold. If anything it does it when the car's been running for a while.

[martin1810]

When the DMF and the clutch friction plate are worn, the slave cylinder has to push the release bearing further on the clutch pressure plate. This can have a strange "over center" action which results in the clutch pedal feeling odd and occasionally sticking down and or biting very near the floor. Once this starts happening the clutch has usually had it. Trouble is, you don't know until you take it out and look.

[simon_hedges]

I have just had exactly the same problem fixed on my 55 Passat TDI 140 by my local VW dealer after 10 months of head scratching. It turned out to be the bearing on the end of the input shaft in the gearbox causing float on the shaft. They replaced the bearing and the end casing of the gearbox and the problem is fixed. The new part was different than the original so maybe VW found a problem. They replaced the clutch, slave and master cylinders and flywheel before they found this.

[Mindonion]

Excellent news, thanks for the update. Aside from all the other stuff they replaced have you any idea how much it cost to replace the bearing and the end casing of the gearbox? If I get it done it won't be at VW, it'll be at my local garage. I have a Warranty Direct Warranty too but components actually have to "break down" before hey'll action anything.

[tommyweaves]

I have just had exactly the same problem fixed on my 55 Passat TDI 140 by my local VW dealer after 10 months of head scratching. It turned out to be the bearing on the end of the input shaft in the gearbox causing float on the shaft. They replaced the bearing and the end casing of the gearbox and the problem is fixed. The new part was different than the original so maybe VW found a problem. They replaced the clutch, slave and master cylinders and flywheel before they found this.

Simon, what sort of cost was it for the end case and bearing to be replaced?

[turbo2turbo]

hi i put a new clutch and flywheel in mine about 2 months ago, (06 passat estate) and i can tell you the slave cylinder is on the outside of the gearbox on that, dont know about the earlier models, have a look where the box joins to the engine from the top, in the centre you should be able to see it there, 2 torx bolts hold it in place and obviously there is a pipe coming off the back of it hope this helps a bit

[martin1810]

Your slave is outside 'cos yours is a 1.9.:D Slave on 2.0 is inside casing right behind release bearing.

[turbo2turbo]

Ah you learn some thing new every day, ta