Throwout bearing???

[adaysnight]

it's on my April built '55, all stock. took it for a spin around the block to test the heater i just fixed and all of a sudden the clutch pedal became very soft to press and shifting was almost impossible. i limped back home in 2nd gear, lucky enough to get it into 2nd by matching the engine speed with the gear and grinding a bit into gear. made it to the garage and tried reverse but the grind was too much and the car stalled, had to push it into its place in the garage.

anyway, first thought was that my clutch cable snapped or came off the pedal hook. i took off the pedal assembly, made sure that the clutch cable was on the hook and bolted all back. clutch pedal still very soft and tranny doesn't shift, grinds only. cable moves with the pedal, in and out of boden tube moving the tranny arm, like it should, what could it be, the throwout bearing or something else? i had no prior issues with the clutch or shifting into gear.... thanks for your suggestions and happy holidays!

[kaieric]

did you control adjusting nut is correctly locked with the locknut? i recently had some issues when locknut didn't lock sufficiently. clutch pedal lost tension when i just drove around the block having operated it less than 10 times.
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7/1958 RSA Beetle Cabriolet RHD

[esde]

Most likely that one of the two arms that push on the throwout bearing has snapped. Could also be a failing cable, sometimes when a few strands in the cable break, they become slightly "stretchy".
Doing the arm in the car is a bit difficult, and occasionally the old one can be welded back together, which is good as the early release arm for split case transmissions is not easy to find. The factory just welds them in two spots and they break after 60-70 years.
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[adaysnight]

thank you! i will definitely check the clutch cable for fraying/tension and proper lock nut/adjustment before proceeding to the fork/arm which means dropping the engine, which i have never done and am not looking forward to. i hope it's the cable...

[esde]

Of all the engines to pull, the 36hp is probably the easiest. Smaller, lighter, and less connections to worry about. Hardest thing is the two upper bolts need two people, one to hold the bolt while the other loosens the nut..
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[adaysnight]

had time today to check the clutch cable action. as already mentioned, clutch pedal goes all the way to the floor without much resistance and tranny doesn't shift, grinds if trying to put into any gear. clutch throw out bearing arm moves with the pedal/clutch cable. took photos of arm with pedal up and all the way down. tried to remove the nuts holding the cable to the arm but they are stuck, may have to cut the cable to remove and inspect for stretching/unraveling and then replace with a new one of course.

please let me know if you think the action distance looks normal or too short/long. i'm hoping it's a cable issue and not the arm/fork/throw out bearing clips, etc. i really don't want to pull the engine if at all possible... thank you!

[RustPatch]

Help me out if I'm being dumb or blind but ... where is this bolt??

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I've been known to be wrong.

[esde]

[Teeroy]

Need to pull engine and inspect TO bearing and fork. Something is off, the arm is leaning towards front of car too much at rest. Looks like the wrong adjustment nuts too (not adding to/causing your problem though). They are probably tightened against each other is why you can't get them off.
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[adaysnight]

thank you for your help. i will try to remove/inspect the cable first before pulling the engine *ugh!*

[adaysnight]

the saga continues... pulled the clutch cable today. had to cut the head/loop off to pull out the back because the threaded end wasn't going into the bowden tube to allow for pulling it from the front of tunnel.

anyway, even before cutting the head off i saw that one strand had snapped and the cable was unwound as you can see from the closeup pic. also, there was a part of another cable shrink wrapped? to this clutch cable. perhaps someone had used it to pull it through but how? doesn't make much sense.

i'm going to replace it with a new one, install/adjust and see if i can shift again. perhaps i dodged the bullet of having to pull the engine for now, what do you think? thank you

[esde]

That would do it! When a strand or two get broken, the rest of the cable becomes stretchy. The part shrunk wrapped on is weird, but maybe how they pulled the new one in. Fingers crossed
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.

[adaysnight]

any recommendation on which clutch cable to get? this is for an April built '55.

thinking of getting this one,

https://www.amazon.com/Clutch-Cable-Beetle-2267mm-...amp;sr=1-2

loop looks like my old one.... thank you

[Dan22]

I have heard Empi quality is not so good but I have no direct experience.

I bought this one.
https://www.wolfsburgwest.com/cart/DetailsList.cfm?ID=111721335
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https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[heimlich]

Genuine VW
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/detail.php?id=2150318

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[adaysnight]

has anyone used this type of clutch cable? thanks

[Dan22]

It does not look good that is does not have rounded inside edges where the pedal hook has to pivot. I would not use it unless you file the inside fillet like the original.
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1-0900722 die langsame grüne Schildkröte
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=765074

[adaysnight]

[adaysnight]

installed the new clutch cable, adjusted the pedal free play to about .75" and car drives and shifts fine. one odd thing is that the bowden tube bracket on my car is not a separate piece but is part of the transmission housing. i was lucky that it was likely recently changed by the previous owner and was still very flexible, so i was able to bend it out from the bracket loop when installing the clutch cable.

did original transmissions on a '55 have the bowden tube bracket as a separate piece bolted onto the housing or was the bracket non-removable like mine? just trying to figure out what type of transmission i have... thank you.

[esde]

The split case transmission used till 1960 uses the separate bowden tube bracket that is attached with two upper case bolts.

1961 and later were the tunnel style transmission, with all 4 forward gears synchronized, and the bowden tube bracket is part of the differential side cover

It could also be a separate bracket that fastens using the side cover bolts

Based on the pic of the clutch arm you posted earlier, I think we figured that your car already had a later tunnel style transmission, correct? Or is it a split case like the first picture I posted?
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modok wrote:
Bent cranks are silent but gather no moss. I mean, ah, something like that.