It happens in threes I guess.....

[timmaaah]

Well after collecting the old girl on Tuesday after her MOT test, which she sailed through without even an advisory, I managed to get a 2 inch wood screw in the nearly new tyre. Luckily our local garage was able to repair it for a tenner.
Then, on the way home today, somebody was on the wrong side of the road and hit the wing mirror, busting off the black trim and gouging out the coloured bit. The missus was well pissed off. The other car didn't stop - it sped off and it was dark so she decided to not turn round and chase after.

Then she went out bowling. 20 minutes after she left I got a phonecall 'The clutch made a funny noise and now won't work'

The AA came out in about 30 mins and discovered the dreaded clutch through the bulkhead. He managed to get a spacer in it to give a bit of clutch, and we managed to limp the old girl to our preferred garage (Norwich Autocare in Norwich in case anyone is interested). Hopefully it won't be too expensive to repair

The clutch has been stiff for a while and we were going to try a new cable. Any thoughts on what causes a stiff clutch? It's the original clutch afaik on 119k miles.

So - that's the three things! Oh well. It is what it is.

[mark1gls]

Oh no what a day, look on the bright side, another 12 months MOT.
If the clutch is stiff make sure the cable is as straight as possible going from the pedal into the bulkhead and at the gearbox end make sure it’s straight up from the gearbox and not rubbing the sides.
You can try a new cable, hold the new cable up at 1 end and pour some 3 in 1 oil along the cable so it runs in the plastic sleeve, put plenty in there so it drips out the other end, you will need to leave it hanging up so the oil works it’s way through and it may take an hour or so to work it’s way out of the bottom end.

If the clutch is still really heavy it may be the clutch it self is on its last legs and you need a new clutch, at least Scirocco clutches are cheaper than later VWs with a dual mass fly wheel, my wife’s Touran was £1200 for a new clutch fitted!
Last time I used a garage to fit a clutch to a Mk2 golf it was about £120 for new clutch fitted.

[james butler]

you can make a bolt in repair patch for the bulkhead
i have made a couple, one is on my own car and the other i supplied to a fellow member
here are the dimensions if you want to give it a bash.


i strongly advise against welding a repair patch into the car.
the panel always flexes even after repair which will crack again right where its welded.
if you bolt it in it can still flex, plus you can remove it again if you ever need to

[Village Idiots]

The bulkhead on my '90 Scala is not flat, but has a circular raised portion about 7 to 10mm high where the clutch cable comes through. Was this an improvement to cure the fracturing bulkhead problem?