My clutch pedal went to the floor?

DIESEL21

MEMBER
1997 VOLKSWAGEN GOLF
2.0L
4 CYL
FWD
MANUAL
180,000 MILES

My clutch pedal went to the floor while I was driving and wont come back up unless I pull it up with my hand or foot, the clutch will not engage, ive been told it could be the slave cylinder but there isnt one that I can find, clutch looks like its cable and not hydrolic. I need help dionosing this problem, the tranny has a leak somewhere has build up on the bottom with some fresh tranny fluid drippping on a slow leak, if somebody could help me im about to take the tranny out and loos myself

1 Reply

BORIS K

MECHANIC
799 POSTS

Hello,

The VW Golf 3 has a self-adjusting clutch cable.
To replace it unclip the clutch cable at the transmission clutch arm.
See picture below.
Once the clip is released pull clutch cable away from transmission.
Remove driver side wind deflector at bottom of windscreen.
You will see the clutch cable come through the bulkhead and enter the interior above the pedal assembly.
Unclip the clutch cable from the top of the clutch pedal and then pull out the cable from the top. See picture below of clutch pedal.
I suggest to check if the transmission casing is damaged where the clutch cable locates. See picture below
This slot is caused by a missing rubber guide sleeve resulting in the clutch cable rubbing through the transmission casing and then snapping.
Install the new clutch cable in reverse order, ensure that you leave the white plastic retainer engaged until the cable is fully installed, see picture below Once the cable is installed unclip the white retainer and depress the clutch pedal fully a few times. This will then adjust the new cable

How to remove a transmission and replace the clutch:

https://youtu.be/6ypx8pkSf4E

Please let us know how you get along.

Cheers, Boris

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