VW Clutch Fix (Tips & Tricks)

If you think you want to run a Performance Clutch in your Daily Driver you need to be aware of possible problems with your stock sedan clutch release cross shaft that holds the throwout bearing. We will look at some upgrades for early style tranny's as well as different pressure plates and clutch discs. I will show you the improvements of using a later style cross shaft. We will also go on a scenic test drive.

[@djmacplug]

You crack me up sometimes. Found your videos because I'm restoring a 72 Karmann Ghia that I picked up in Colorado Springs.

[@TheEZGZ]

I had a Karmann Ghia in my fleet for years. They are fun little cars and more room in the engine compartment.

[@rachellecaporrimo7668]

Thanks for your video! Start the day with a burrito...HA! Got to love a video that starts like that!

[@TheEZGZ]

You got that right!

[@agrameroldoctane_66]

Another nice one ... thank you Sir, and welcome to the "Why I keep this I do not know" club 😁

[@V8N8T]

No line can stop the EZGZ! Beautiful state you live in it's such a treat to enjoy it while cruising in a car you love:)

[@kenshelhamer9816]

Thanks for sharing your experiences with us EZGZ! Always enjoy your videos.

[@kevinhamling4675]

G'day from Australia. You always make my day when you post up a new video. This one was perfect a bit of fixing and a bit of driving. ✌

[@timreiner4425]

Thanks for another sweet ride... liked the tunes near the end.

[@GrahamGrumpy]

Thanks again, great video, lovely drive scenery I could watch it all day, even nicer than here in Scotland and I guess a lot more of it.

[@taddbitofvideos3974]

Very good information, drove mine yesterday, stopped at a burger joint, and found my fuel pump diaphragm has got a hole, piddling fuel out, so called a buddy, trailered her back home, waiting on fuel pump, dont see or smell fuel in the oil.think I will changed it to be on the safe side of things. Have a good day, oh thanks for the ride

[@TheEZGZ]

I switched all my cars to electric + regulator due to that fuel injected VW case that has no provision. Get the rotary if you do that the faucet pumps are really noisy. No Problems and no regrets. Cleans up the engine area as well.

[@bigwadventures7061]

Nice Job on the repair. So great the way you show us how to do it. Good Job Professor VW. Love the relaxing ride in the Baja. Love that road. That river sounds nice. Thanks for sharing Brother hope you’re having a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend and more. BigW:-)

[@VWJawbreaker]

Thanks for sharing as always. Also thanks for taking us along for the ride, sure is beautiful up there!

[@bluebug66]

You are the best. I really enjoy your view on things VW and you live in a beautiful place. Thanks for what you do.

[@TheEZGZ]

I appreciate that!

[@spanermantim]

Ah yes that old what parts do I have that'll work trick. Much more fun than going to get new parts. I'm glad it worked out for you.

[@JakeTaylor1646]

Good video sir I'm sure glad to get that info because I was mad when I found that my 70 beetle has a 72 transmission in it but now it sounds like it was a better option, I think rusty is ready for a kayak rack lol! And as always thanks for the ride friend! From Jake

[@rheidtech]

I always straighten out the curves. On point with regulations and signs.

[@EricWilliams-hg4vf]

Keep on keeping on!

[@gustavopadilla9176]

Thanks for the ride

[@TylerHarney]

Colorado is so beautiful!

[@RustyGlovebox]

Lots of good info there on the different clutches and plates. Be checking your mailbox later this week. I have something coming your way. Take care Buddy.

[@vintage76vipergreenBeetle]

Great info.

[@wesallen4228]

Nice ride to Stove Prairie Elementary School. Nice tech video too.

[@ianparking]

The drive up into the mountains looks great The only place I've seen like that is Germany when I went to the Nurburgring I'd never seen so many trees Wish I could drive that road you went up

[@TheEZGZ]

I would love to go to Germany and see those sights

[@richarda996]

Driving in the fifties and sixties when driving a manual transmission at a stop light, one shifts into neutral with no pressure on the clutch pedal. Only when the lights change do you put it in gear. This was for safety and prevents premature failure of the thowout bearing.

[@TheEZGZ]

Those were the day's eh. 3 on the tree hehehe

[@knockout818]

@EZGZ I am putting a 1914 on my type 1, it has an early transmission that will require some grinding so the bigger flywheel fits. Do you recommend I change the stock EARLY throw out bearing shaft to a LATER complete throw out bearing shaft?

[@henryanderson7606]

Hi EzGz...thanx for going over the clutch stuff, I always learn a lot from your vids....By the way, dont know what state you are in but sure is beautiful!

[@TheEZGZ]

Northern Colorado

[@kennethcory3093]

im building a vw trike has swing arm ….all this is helping thanks

[@TheEZGZ]

A friend of mine had a trike. The power to weight ratio is awesome. Good Luck with your project

[@EricWilliams-hg4vf]

Thanks!

[@TheEZGZ]

Thank You so much!!!!!

[@olafmccreary2254]

OMG, I'm jealous! I so got to get my engine back in my bug.

[@TheEZGZ]

I get very anxious and grumpy when my car isn't road worthy. Hope you get yours going soon.

[@vwmountainman9701]

Ok - 2 questions - 1st - what size tires frt & rear 2nd - ground clearance frt & rear measure under beam & rear torsion tube is fine

[@001Neal100]

Hi EZGZ! When I pull away on uphill slopes in my bus I find that even when I have fully lifted the clutch peddle in first gear it takes a while for the bus to pull away. Would this be my clutch slipping? I'm fairly sure I have enough freeplay on the peddle and cable. Is it possible somehow for the clutch plates to get contaminated with oil and make it slippery? What do you think?

[@TheEZGZ]

All the above. Just plain normal wear. Pressure plate old and weak. Previous owner put a cheap chinese sedan clutch in????? It's very easy to remove a VW engine and have a look. If you do have to replace the rear main seal also replace the 0-ring inside the flywheel if it's that style. A good Sachs HD pressure plate, New Throwout bearing and stock solid disc will give you peace of mind for years to come :-) If nothing else it just makes sense to have a look and clean everything up. Then you know what you have. Clean the cooling fan and check your shutters and linkage. You can do a lot without spending a lot of money.

[@gregorytimmons4777]

That clean fresh mountain air is exactly why I could never live in a place like Florida or any sweltering "deep South" state. Impossible to explain to anyone who has not experienced that mountain air and the smell of dense Forrest.

[@TheEZGZ]

Right now all you smell is smoke. This state is burning down.

[@anthonyyoung5691]

Question? I have 1958 bug with 2276 and stock trans! Bug will go into gear with motor off, but with motor running will not shift! When I let clutch out while running it jumps forward! Any ideas before I rip apart? Thanks

[@TheEZGZ]

If it's a 58 tranny it's 6 volt split case. Replace it with a 66-68 12 volt and adjust your clutch correctly per any shop manual. 12 volt starter bushing fits 12 volt starter

[@georgevillalba9822]

Wow brother those mountains that sky so beautiful.... EZGZ thanks for all the Info as always. I have a quick question which torque wrench do you use and trust when biulding your engines?

[@TheEZGZ]

3/8 drive Craftsman has worked for over 30 years. Can't hardly see the numbers on the handle end. hehehe

[@georgevillalba9822]

@@TheEZGZ thank you for the reply brother much appreciated. And always thank you for your info and wisdom.

[@clintonwilloughby7606]

Makes me want to take a long drive in mine... Wife don't like riding in it or my 60 Kombi. What muffler are you using on Rusty? Enjoy the weather and the weekend!

[@TheEZGZ]

For 5 years I ran a cheap replacement muffler from Auto zone. 2 inch inlet and outlet. small and compact. Now I can't find another one so I just ordered one of EMPI Baja mufflers and it is a lot quieter and has the bracket welded on and ready to go. I don't notice and loss of power even thought the outlet is a bit smaller.

[@rheidtech]

Throw nothing away! Fear "the great vw recession". Lol. You need to (you need. lol) get tags and write the info, history and possible uses on them and tag every part. Lol. 👍👍

[@casestyer1166]

Hey im doing a transmission swap on my grandpas 65 beetle. It has a kennedy pressure plate that has been double stamped. It is a 2 over a 4. I stabbed the transmission and the clutch arm on the side of the transmission only moves about 1/2 an inch, and thats it! I put a cheater bar on that clutch arm and it actually slightly bent the arm a little bit. It worked fine before the transmission swap. I even put the old transmission on, and its doing the same thing. The friction disk has the protruding section facing the transmission. It physically cant go in backwards, right???? Any help is appreciated!

[@TheEZGZ]

I had to think about this a while with the info provided. The stock 65 tranny was swing axle and I'm pretty sure your replacing it with one that works better???? The different tranny came with a kennedy pressure plate and it worked like that in a different car??? Kennedy Pressure plates are much stronger than a stock Pressure plate but not enough to bend the operating lever. You must have a mismatch on early and late parts. Did you have a problem bolting up the tranny? Did you back off the adjustment nut on the clutch cable? The engine should have dropped right into the tranny with just a little jiggling and snugged up flush. If you had to force it and squeeze them together with mounting bolts you have a miss match of throw out bearing and or pressure plate. Looking back it would have been nice if you had tried bolting up the tranny for a test fit. I know a swing axle is a lot more work with the brakes and all but you have a problem I can not diagnose like this. You need to take the tranny back out so you can see clearly and do a test fit on the floor or grandpa may end up walking home some day. I have vids up with close ups of early and late throwout bearing and pressure plates and shift forks. Someone else might have changed things. Look at both old and replacement tranny and make sure they look the same. I highly recommend NOT using that Kennedy pressure Plate set up regardless unless you weld the clutch tube tabs in the tunnel, use a brand new clutch cable and a new clutch hook on your pedal assembly.

[@vernboulet1015]

Hi, Enjoy your vids... thanks for them - very informative. I have a 1971 1600cc vw engine in a trike, with new clutch, pressure plate, t/o brg…. when I take off at idle it's smooth, (but can't do that uphill) if I accelerate the clutch chatter/shudder shakes everything loose... BAD. Any idea where to look? Can't pull out into moving traffic at all. Thanks

[@TheEZGZ]

Sounds like oil on the clutch disc??? Did you get the spring disc clutch or the solid disc??? The new china clutches are disappointing. Of course the EPA makes it harder to use good old fashioned material. You might pull the engine and check for oil and if it's all nice looking and dry start shopping for a good used clutch at a swap meet

[@vernboulet1015]

Thanks for the response, Sir. I believe you're right. When I originally replaced the leaking rear main seal, I wasn't aware that there was an o ring 'in' the flywheel. Just replaced everything from the crank back, getting ready to get 'in the wind' (soon I hope) All new - rear main, o ring, gland nut w pilot brg, cl, pp, t/o brg…. now changing rear drums to caliper brakes. Hope to be riding as soon as weather permits. Drive Safe Friend. (in NH - still kinda cold here yet for an old man, lol)

[@mysterymonkey]

Burrito!!!!!!

[@ChudGippity]

I'm sorry sir can you please save me i have problem with the gears on my wv golf mk 4 tdi but I have trans probs i guess.. So everything shifts and the clutch grabs like new when I start to go to hospital and then on my back to home i turn the car on and it is not getting in any gear 😔 So i turn it off and then get it in 2nd gear then go and start the engine but the car is some kind of weird mode it is moving and ignores the clutch but goes so slow and only in that gear so i make big traffic jam.. Today i open the engine apartment and grabbed the weight of the gearbox and move the gears i guess from there because when the car is off it shifts like new... Then went and got it in neutral and turn it on step on the clutch and it started to shift like never had problems. Then red light i stop the car and the same thing. I turned off the engine get it in 2nd and started but why it is ignoring the clutch ? Just goes slow like sloth .... Plz if you have any idea what is is write me what can it be

[@TheEZGZ]

Disconnect the battery for 5 minutes and then if the problem does not go away you can possibly take it to a car parts store like O'Riley's, Auto Zone ETC., See if they will hook up a problem scanner and look for a problem code. That's all I got for free. The next is to take it to a mechanic or VW dealer in your area and bend over.

[@ChudGippity]

@@TheEZGZ hehe thank you so much I thought you were some guy with a garage so I wrote you but the clutch after clutch that you pull out in middle of the video looking like ferrari clutches made me regret even bothering you 🙏 I did the battery already 10 times and always says engine check or inspection in the dashboard i was going to buy slave cylinder now and change that,but okay I'll take it to diagnose guy to tell me what codes it is showing and if they are connected to transmission. Thank you and respect from Macedonia

[@tonypachanga9636]

Where I could find a disk like that one ?

[@TheEZGZ]

Most on line VW stores have a lot of choices

[@vulturedroid9804]

Up vote then watch :) Will we ever see you in a bus??

[@TheEZGZ]

Got the Bus thing out of my system. Just to heavy for Colorado Mountains and my temperament. I like to explore those like dirt roads as well. I had two 71 busses over the years. A Westy and a Standard

[@Gazahater]

Where are you located the mountain road is very beautiful 😍

[@TheEZGZ]

Northern Colorado. US of A. Unfortunately the mountains got a little charred this summer :-(

[@michaelo1492]

I’ve got parts from cars I don’t even own anymore.....I really got a problem...

[@kennethcory3093]

parts is parts dont throw it away unless its broke

[@TheEZGZ]

I agree, Have a great day

[@jeffwoods9666]

Oh they are junk lol