stiff clutch release arm

[Mk2Tony]

Hey guys, I have my gearbox out to change my clutch and have noticed that the clutch release arm is really stiff, I have freed it off a bit and it feels much better now, just wondering if anyone knows how free its supposed to be? I Don't know whether to completely change the bushes for new or just take them out lube them up and put them back in, they don't look massively worn just a bit dry but I could be wrong

Cheers for any advice

Tony

[CovKid]

Cab be a REAL pig to get the shaft out, or rather the arm off the shaft to GET the arm out. Theres a circlip which sends you on a promise of easy things to follow but the arm is invariably welded on to the shaft through old age. Easier possibly to cut the shaft from inside bellhousing then fight with arm and remainder of shaft in a big vice and fit a brand new shaft and bushes. You could always try oiling first though.

[Mk2Tony]

You're not wrong there, the shaft seems like it will slide out pretty easily but the arm on the end seems solid and you were right about the circlip it came off so easily, I thought it was going to be welded on with years of crap! Is the arm supposed to just slide off once the clip is off?
The box is out at the moment on the garage floor so I've put some releasing oil on there to soak in overnight and ill have another look at it tonight on my way home from work and see if its freed it up, then try and get that arm off.

Tony

[Aidan]

if it is really stiff then chances are there is a build up of metal oxide between the case and the nylon bush but for basic lubrication you don't have to remove anything,open and pull the inner circlip to the fork and then you can slide the whole arm outwards, clean the shaft you have exposed, if the rubber gland seal hasn't come out with the shaft then tease it out with a pin then clean the exposed shaft add some grease, clean the bronze bush and the end of the shaft and relube with some clean grease and slide it back in, if you clean the inside of the shaft having exposed the shaft by pulling the inner rubber boot in you can lube that bit of shaft push the seal back into the nylon bush and then push the thrust washer and inner circlip back into place, all you need to do this is right angle circlipp liers and cleaning material and grease -
anything more is a lot more involved, I have a special puller made for removing the clutch lever arm and a tool for dismantling the nylon bush insitu so I can strip it all down to component level without breaking anything then clean, resurface, polish ream lube etc and reassemble and new parts if required too as sometimes after 30 years they are just stuffed
I see a lot of gearboxes where someone has burnt a hole into the nylon bush with what looks like the tip of a soldering iron and then I guess got the oil can in and squeezed some oil or grease in, maybe it was a VW unofficial bodge or someone said that was how to do it in a newsletter in the days before the internet, tbh it does seem to work but if too big a hole then the subsequent dirt and corrosion build up is much worse (especially if stored) and if really stiff due to case corrosion it doesn't do much if anything

[Mk2Tony]

Cheers Aiden, that's exactly what I ended up doing last night on my way home from work. Stopped off at my mates garage pushed the bar out as far as we could with the arm still on the end cleaned it all up greased it and now its back on and feels sweet as a nut. when we took the box off the other day you could hardly move the clutch arm it was so solid now you can move it freely with one finger! just gotta chuck the new clutch in now, change the oil while the box is out and get it all back together. Cant wait to have it back on the road now really want to go on a little adventure this weekend!

Tony