Clutch Issue

So I've been searching the interwebs and I cannot quite pinpoint my symptoms.

My Mk4 is my DD and all was good when I parked it at home on a usual afternoon. The next morning I went to take off for work and the clutch pedal travel was real short. It was engaging and disengaging ok, but really close to the floor. With a foggy mind, I used my foot to pull the pedal up and the travel went back to normal, however, the engagement/disengagement point is now super high and when I push the pedal to the bottom it sounds like something in the clutch assembly is rubbing metal on metal. I checked the brake fluid and it appears to be good, and I don't see any immediate leaks at the master or slave cylinders.

Thoughts? Any help would be appreciated. The local euro shop suggested replacing the clutch assembly and the master and slave cylinders to the tune of about $2k. I'd rather do my own work, but I'm a bit hesitant on the master cylinder due to being a part of the brake hydraulics.

Thanks!
John

Is it original clutch? If so most likely time for a change, or the fork has malfunctioned(they bend or wear through the pivot ball), or the pressure plate.

Basic clutches can be had for about $300 there(In USA off amazon or trusted vendors) with fork/ball/transmission seal and if you have decent skills can get this done in 6-8 hours, or over two days of easy working/drinking.

You can remove the slave and see if there is any visible issues with the fork area.. cant really see much at all in there though to know.

Probably the fork. Once it starts doing things like this there's a non-zero risk of it breaking entirely, at which point you're stranded.....

In all probability the gearbox has to come off....

Thanks for the quick responses!

What has me perplexed is the manifestation of this problem literally overnight. Any thoughts on that?

steve6 said:

Is it original clutch?

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I cannot say for certain; it has 330k mi on the clock and I've put the last 60k on it.

Beerd said:

Thanks for the quick responses!

What has me perplexed is the manifestation of this problem literally overnight. Any thoughts on that?

Click to expand...

If the clutch fork failed (or the pivot) it's not unusual for it to do so with no warning at all.