Clutch engagement window

[harrymarlin]

On my Bus (and other cars), once I hit resistance on the clutch, I have about 30 degrees to fully disengage or engage the clutch, but on my Beetle, it's closer to 10 degrees (as soon as I feel resistance I've nearly fully disengaged the clutch). I have .5" of free play on my clutch, but it feels like the entire travel of my clutch pedal is wasted, as all engagement or disengagement happens within .5" after that (and I feel like I must be near breaking something if I push the clutch to the floor).

Is this normal, or am I just overthinking this?
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-Harry
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1967 Ruby Red Convertible Beetle ("Becky")
ISO Albuquerque "Imported Motors" dealership paraphernalia

[sjbartnik]

You are undoubtedly overthinking it, but...

The engagement window as you describe it is mostly a function of the type & manufacturer of the pressure plate. Not much you can do about it.

One thing you can check is to make sure that the Bowden tube for the clutch cable has the appropriate amount of bend in it as shown in the Bentley manual.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[harrymarlin]

[Bruce]

You're not overthinking it. There's lots you can do about it.

What year is the car? What type of clutch is in it? (Coil spring type, or diaphragm spring type?) Can you post a pic of the lever arm on the trans?
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[rcooled]

[gt1953]

Never gave it much thought at all...Mine works to engage and disengage. To me I really do not care if is it a half or three quarter or even a inch. As long ast it works. I do pefer the non spring type clutch disc, it has eight rivits instead of three to transfer power.
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Volkswagen: We tune what we drive.
Numbers Matching VW's are getting harder to find. Source out the most Stock vehicle and keep that way. You will be glad you did.

72 type 1
72 Squareback
({59 Euro bug, 62, 63, 67, 68, 69, 73 type ones 68 & 69 type two, 68 Ghia all sold})

[Cusser]

I have 5 vehicles with manual transmissions that I drive, two are VWs. The clutch pedal operation in ALL of them are a little different !!!

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1970 VW (owned since 1972) and 1971 VW Convertible (owned since 1976), second owner of each. The '71 now has the 1835 engine, swapped from the '70. Second owner of each. 1988 Mazda B2200 truck, 1998 Frontier, 2014 Yukon, 2004 Frontier King Cab. All manual transmission except for the Yukon. http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335294 http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/album_page.php?pic_id=335297

[sjbartnik]

I've found that if you have insufficient bend in the Bowden tube, it can make the clutch action feel more like an on/off switch which I think is the problem you're describing. It's definitely something worth checking and is easy to modify.

Easy compared to say, replacing the pressure plate, which of course requires an engine pull.
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1965 Volkswagen 1500 Variant S
2000 Kawasaki W650

[jeffrey8164]

Since we’re sharing, I’ll tell you that in my Ghia, my window is the opposite.
Depressing the pedal maybe 2” is enough to release enough for the clutch to slip however, the clutch starts to engage about an inch off the floor. So I have quite a few inches of travel for the whole process.
Full disclosure, I have a Kennedy Stage 1 pressure plate, dual friction disc and KoolRydes custom pedal assembly.
But I’m with the guy that said who cares, as long as it works.
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Volkswagen!
Turning owners into mechanics since 1938.

“Let he that is without oil throw the first rod”
(Compression 8.7:1)

[glutamodo]

[quote="harrymarlin"]

[harrymarlin]

[quote="glutamodo"]

[harrymarlin]

[rcooled]

[harrymarlin]

[rcooled]

[harrymarlin]

[rcooled]