Clutch issue?

Press on the clutch pedal with your hand; how far does it go down before you encounter resistance?

carp - im not at home to do that.  Will get back to you.  In the meantime, what is that test checking? 

Clutch cable freeplay.  If it's more than about 3/4" you need to adjust the big wingnut on the transaxle end of the cable.

Could it be that the shifter is out of alignment?

I was wondering the same thing, since he is having trouble getting into 3rd and 4th.

why wouldnt Vintage adjust this before they sent it.  I have to assume that it didnt happen while on the truck.

Is this something that I can look at very easily or will I need to take it somewhere?

Yes, I would think that Vintage should have checked this before shipping regardless of whether it's the clutch cable or the shifter, but neither are major service items.  The shifter is a trial and error thing, but not too hard.  I am sure someone posted easy instructions here at some point.  It can be done from inside the car.

 

The clutch adjustment is easy as well, although you'll need to jack up the car and remove the driver's side rear wheel to get to the wingnut.  On it, use a 13/64" open ended wrench to keep the cable from turning.  There is a hex area just forward of the threads.  If the clutch is the issue, just hold the cable still with the wrench and turn the wingnut a few detents until you have the freeplay where it should be.

Clutch cables stretch over time but shouldn't while being hauled on delivery vehicle.  Not sure how VS shortens cable - shortening holder could have slipped.  Easy to tighten up cable.  Adjusting shifter stop plate is easy too - but trial and error.  1/2 hour job. The madness begins when you decide to upgrade the OEM sloppy shifter to an aftermarket one!  Not sure why so stiff - unless you are maybe used to new hydraulic clutches.  Might need some grease at pedal or rear bowden tube.

 

I'm sure how to do both was covered on SOC -

 

http://www.vw-resource.com/plateadj.html

 

VS should have adjusted and tested before shipping car - sure they will reimburse for adjustment. 

 

Lane - I assume this is what you mean by in the car...but what would the torque specs be???

 

Another medthod of adjustment was provided by someone from the RAMVA Newsgroup -

• Partially unbolt the shifter. Just get them loose enough that the shifter will move if you tap it at the base.

   

   

• Put the shifter in reverse.

   

   

• Tap the shifter to the right and up as far as it will go while maintaining reverse.

   

   

• Tighten bolts such that it is now difficult, but not impossible, to move the shifter by tapping it.

   

   

• Try all 5 gears. You will probably be well adjusted now.

   

   

• If not, repeat, only change the direction of the tapping to get all 5 gears to shift smoothly.

   

   

• Once you are satisfied with the shift pattern, tighten down the bolts as per the torque specs in the manual.

Not a clue.  This is one of those places where I would just tighten it until I couldn't move it any more and say I'm done.  Don't overthink some of this.  A lot of service items are just common sense.

I messed with this last fall when I upgraded shifters and Cory's advice was the best. Find neutral and the rest of the gears will take care of themselves.

and where do you buy common cents?? these days not many have it, first off I would call the mfg, then cral under it&check it out to see whats up.I'm not too keen on this cable shortening thing when there is a better way to do it& end up with a easyer pushing clutch..

That's great advice from TDR.  Between that and adjusting the cable you will be fine.

 

Next, get yourself a CSP shifter and you will be amazed how smooth your tranny shifts.  Search www.cip1.com.

 

Good luck with your VS.  I love mine and know you will be happy with yours.

The pedal freeplay; if I remember correctly as per the VW Service Manual is 3/8" measured at the pedal. You are right in that the car shouldn't have any shifting issues from the shop. VS has specially made already shortened cables; they don't use any adapters; I know because I changed mine a few years ago after 4 or 5 years of using the car so yes, they will stretch and break over time but not straight out of the shop. Make sure the shifter bushing (where the ball end of the shifter goes at the end of the shifting rod) is new, correctly placed and well greased. Also verify that the shifting rod bushing in the tunnel is in and in good shape and that the shifting rod is greased too. Make sure the bowden tube by the transaxle has the right deflection as per the VW Service Manual; this is done by adding or taking out washers. Finally check the shifitng rod/transaxle coupler in the back by the rear seats under a lid with two screws that has the VIN inscribed. Let us know how it goes. Good luck.

Hydraulic clutch! So much easier, standard on all of our new builds.

Teething problems such as that should be sorted before the car is shipped.  Not everyone who buys one of these cars is mechanical enough to solve all the issues that the manufacturer can before shipping.

 

I hope it's an easy fix for you.

 

 

Looking at the clutch cable first is probably the way to go.

 

 

Concerning adjusting the shift gate, it can be tough to figure out exactly how tight the bolts should be since there is probably some brand new carpeting under it that really needs to be compressed.  One quick shift manufacturer suggests that you first tighten the shifter top plate to 5 ft/lbs, tap the shift gate using a punch or screw driver + hammer until it's right, then tighten it up to 13 ft/lbs.

 

This site is helpful:

http://www.vw-resource.com/plateadj.html

 

 

 

I think the first thing TDR should do is pass the responsibility right back to the manufacturer, who should give the go ahead to a local VW mechanic who will send the invoice directly to the manufacturer after the fix. This should be handled over the phone, not by the customer crawling under and over all parts of the car to fix it himself.

Anyone heard from Analise?

Yep,

 

She works for VS now. She is in charge of shifter & cable adjustments.

thats some funny stuff.

 

I am just trying to figure out how one moves the stop plate with the stick and all the parts on top of it.  and is the bolt plate supposed to sit in the carpet or ???

The shifter assembly is NOT supposed to be on top of the carpet.  That'll make it nearly impossible to adjust.  Just loosen the two bolts and the whole shebang can slide around - or even come out entirely.  That part is really pretty simple.  A ball on the bottom of the shift lever sits in a cup on the end of the shift rod.  That rod goes back to the coupler at the front end of the transaxle.  In the transaxle is where the magic happens.

 

All the shifter does is move one end of the shift rod through the pattern.  That pattern is reflected (in reverse for the left-right motion, I believe) at the other end of the rod and thus at the coupler.  The reverse lockout floored me when I saw how brain dead simple it was.  Pressing the shifter down against a spring allows a little lip to slip under a tab on the lockout plate, allowing the shifter to be moved into the reverse location.  That spring, by the way, is why VW shifters feel so rubbery, and most after market shifters use a springless lockout that gives a better feel.

I am not talking about the stop plate but the base plate.  is that supposed to be on carpet?  I have tried to adjust several times but not really getting that much better.  The stop plate is in the right setting on the tunnel but the base plate ends are sitting on carpet.  I assume that is ok?

 

VS told me to take it to a shop but, I wanted to see if it was a fairly simple fix.

I don't think it should be on the carpet as the location of the base plate (if it's what I think it is) relative to the lockout plate is what makes things work.  I'm far from a VW guru and I'm doing this from memory, so I'll let someone else speak up here.

MARTY !!! That was just NASTY !!!..but funny :-)....TDR, As tempting that it is, if you bugger around with it, which you shouldn't have to, might that have any warranty implications down the road if you are not sure of what to do in the first place ? If you get it into a shop and have a pro do it right, he'll know what to look for ( carpet wise too ) and make a quick fix that you can depend on. If something else goes wrong, will VS think you may have had your hands on that too ? It might be a slippery slope....

agreed.  I have it in a spot where it is driveable for now.   Will call a vw place tomorrow and get it fixed along with having brakes bled.  VS is aware of these issues and said to send them the bill.  thanks everyone.  I just detailed her and I must say it is a really good feeling to have a speedster in my garage again!

TDR, correct me if my short term memory is foggy...But, didn't you ask that VS put some miles on your build before shipping to feret out anything that needed tweeking, adjusting?

 

Do I recall Kirk agreeing to 50miles?...or was it 25?...What does your odometer read?  

I didand it showed up with a whopping 12 miles on it.  Rhese issues had to have been there when they test drove.  I must say the car is beautiful and all these issues will get fixed and they said it was covered so thats cool but i have yet to actually enjoy the car.  Now i have to take it to a shop.  I was also told there would be a fuel pressure regulator but it wasnt on...and i was told the 40idf carbs dont need a regulator? Hmmmm

For the life of me I don't understand a builder not paying attention to these pissy details! Doesn't he have a simple 'Check List' that gets initialed by his wrench who worked on it??

 

Now it's going to cost him money, money, at what? $90/hour when it could have been flagged and corrected for nickles and dimes before being shipped out the door.

If it has a mechanical fuel pump, and you have a fuel pressure gauge and a stack of fuel pump gaskets, you can dial it in without a regulator. If you have an electric pump most(facet,CB Perf.) are self-regulated.

When I installed my dual Dell 40's I installed a pressure regulator and set it up at 3 psi as directed. It starved the carbs for fuel so I just took it off and they now work great with just the stock mechanical fuel pump; go figure.

TDR, from a stop can you put the clutch in and put the transmission into first gear without the engine stalling?  If you can, how far out can you release the clutch pedal until the car starts to move forward? 

If the clutch starts to engage almost immediately after you start to release the clutch pedal you need to adjust the clutch cable.  If it releases half way up or more I would think it is a misaligned shifter plate.

I think it is a mix of both actually.  It does connect cery soon after letting it out and it is grinding at the plate.  I am gonna get a local shop to fix asap and fet the brakes bled as well cause they are going to the floor.  Ahhh the madness....ohhhj the madness!!!

TRD, you're not alone.  Many of us have had troubles with our new rides.  My totally rebuilt IM has had its engine out twice in 3000 miles (I supplied IM with the engine, so the fault is mine) and is apart for a full inspection because of serious overheating.

 

$hit happens.

Impala, did you verify with a known good gauge? Or did you just set it to 3 psi and ASSUME that it was correct?

Can I get an Amen!

Amen? Todd, it sucks that your expectations are not being met. But this seems to be the nature of these beasties, and the people who "build" them. You realize that you are gonna have stuff happen, 'cause you previously owned one. It took a couple thousand miles for me to iron out most of the bugs on my Spyder, and I built(ok final assembled) it. It took until after 3K before I thought it was long-distance worthy. Now, at 27K, I can drive it anywhere and feel confident. But I do carry a small tool kit!