Club 80-90 Forums

the clutch on my 14 caravelle only has a few miles left in it, hopefully enough to get me to my friends house in norfolk this weekend, and i was wondering if anyone knew of any pitfalls that i should be aware of while changing it?
the plan is to order one from gsf in norwich ready for when i get there,i was going to order the one they have for a normal 2.1 wasser, i hope that's correct and that a syncro doesn't have specific one? then change it by dropping the engine. my mate is very prolific when it comes to working on vws, but hasn't done any work on a syncro, so i though i'd check in case there's a potential problem that we haven't thought of that we should know about before i order the clutch.

any advice would be greatly appreciated. thanks.

definitly have a file to hand to reshape the ends of the actuating forks.. any flats on there will give a heavy peddle and poor clutch control...

also need to remove the gear linkage and clutch pipe.. in fact its prob easier to remove the box in some ways rather than the engine... (having done 3 box swaps on the syncro I would say that.. ) I have done a few engine swaps on 2wd too and still reckon its easier to remove the box...

I am sure AIdan and a few others will be along shortly to say very similar and offer some "pearls" (as I am a few pints to the wind at the mo!!!! )

Is yours 112hp? I remember in the days of petrol power the clutch we orderd from gsf was the wrong one and needed the other one, probaly be best to get both and then return the one you don't need.

Pearls = don't forget the silicone seal on the starter and bellhousing, regular clear silicone is 'as good as'

they do two for the 2.1 IIRC 85-89 and 89-90, something to bear in mind though. cheers.

toomanytoys wrote:definitly have a file to hand to reshape the ends of the actuating forks.. any flats on there will give a heavy peddle and poor clutch control...

also need to remove the gear linkage and clutch pipe.. in fact its prob easier to remove the box in some ways rather than the engine... (having done 3 box swaps on the syncro I would say that.. ) I have done a few engine swaps on 2wd too and still reckon its easier to remove the box...

I am sure AIdan and a few others will be along shortly to say very similar and offer some "pearls" (as I am a few pints to the wind at the mo!!!! )

cheers for the reply, are we looking at around the same, time wise then? dropping the prop and drive shafts and moving the box back sounds like quite a job.

Oh.. if its slipping already.... the more it slips the more it will wear the less miles you'll have.. so tickle the accel and if it starts slipping, ease off the accel... tickle the accel, biuld up the rpm slowly and allow it to get up to 4000 before changing gear that way the rpm wont drop too far before loading the clutch in the next gear...

thank for that. it is slipping already. bit apprehensive about doing 180 miles in it at the weekend, butt i will nurse it.

tickle tickle tickle.... and join the AA ... NOW...... not on Sat when it breaks down and costs you 150quid...... (like my bro had to 2 weeks ago!!!!)

i should be a member of the rac through my bank, i'll make sure i take the details with me.

Think there's only one clutch fro the 2.1's

All you need to know and add to Simon_TMT's guidance is in the Wiki... worth a read at least before you kick off..

https://club8090.co.uk/wiki/Ge ... ing_clutch

and yes, just keep the revs up, it's when they drop back you have a slipping problem, despite feelings to the contrary, so change down earlier rather than letr on hills and don't welly it at low rpm, wait till you're revving a bit, and whenver you get the chance, build up speed to keep in hand (e.g. before a hill


You might just check that clutch arm isn't stiff and sticking as well...

and I'd take the box out, just undo and shove the prop to one side with the seelctor rod, leaving attached at front... and don't forget to attach (Or re-attach) the reather pipe banjo, before bolting the gearbox back up.

If you have a battery impact driver, that can make getting the 2 front box mounts down (and back up) very easy and quick... once you've slid a spanner on the top nut, which is a bit tight. Make a good mental note of how those front mounts go...

thanks very much.

well i made it to norfolk on friday afternoon,and other than the screaming kids in the back of the bus, it all went smoothly. and on saturday morning we took the advice we'd been given and changed the clutch by removing the box, it took a bit longer than we'd anticipated, but that was more a result of our screaming hangovers than anything else

so thanks again to everyone for their kind advice, it's what keeps me convinced that this is always the right place to come if you want to know the real score when it comes to syncros and t3s

GLad it all worked out...

it took a bit longer than we'd anticipated,

It always does, so anticipate a bit longer...