Changing clutch/flywheel in 6-speed transmission (2009 Jetta Sportwagen)

Hi everyone,

I didn't see an introduction section on the forum, but this is my first post so hello!

First some vehicle information:
2009 Jetta TDI 2.0 Sportwagen. It has the 6 speed manual transmission. It has 250 000 kms

2 days ago while driving I pushed in the clutch to change gears and the pedal stayed there on the floor. I coasted into the nearest parking lot, called CAA and had it towed to a local NAPA mechanic. They took a look at it and told me that the clutch slave cylinder had let go and since this is an internal slave cylinder (great), they would have to drop the transmission. Also it would likely have contaminated the clutch plates with brake fluid so the clutch should be changed. They recommended changing the flywheel and swapping to a SMF kit as well. All in all I'm looking at $3000 CAD to have it done at the shop.

Well, I can't afford that, so I've decided to do it myself. I've done a similar procedure on my 1992 Ford Ranger (also with an internal slave cylinder), which I realize is a completely different beast, but I'm no stranger to wrestling a transmission out of a vehicle. Having said that, what's my best angle of attack here? This is my first VAG vehicle and while I usually use a Haynes repair manual, I understand that the Bentley is the best option for VWs. Are there any special tools required that I might not have beyond a basic mechanics toolkit? Any tips or tricks you might recommend?

Also, I've heard conflicting info on single mass flywheels causing the synchros in the 6 speed transmissions to crap the bed, one thread seemed to suggest that it was a short shifter that was the culprit instead... is there a consensus on this?

Thanks for any info you can provide, and I look forward to hearing from the community!

Hi welcome to the forum,
I'm a retired mechanic but couldn't repair my own 2 years ago since I had no place to work on it so had an independent import garage replace my clutch. I think you might need a few specialty wrenches for bolts with an accessibility issue and a decent set of tripple square sockets. Check Metalnerd a vendor on this forum for tools as they are well categorized and described on his website. My clutch would have lasted for many more years but the dampening springs in the dual mass flywheel were beat right out resulting in a bad engine vibration at idle that couldn't be corrected. I had the shop install the single mass flywheel kit with the dampened clutch disk instead of the OEM DMF setup. I was a lot happier with that clutch than I ever was with the original since I had a problem from day one adapting to the characteristics of the OEM. I've driven standards for 5 decades including transport trucks with a commercial license but had a problem getting a feel for its operation and frequently stalled the car or had to slip the clutch much more than I wanted to to prevent stalling. I could never find the sweet spot on that clutch where you could engage it to set the car in motion with one smooth continuous stroke of the clutch pedal. The new setup with a single mass flywheel and dampened clutch disk feels more appropriate. Good luck with your repair.

Can the 6sp syncros take the vibration induced by the SMF?

There is an excellent youtube video, very detailed, about 2 hours long that helped me tremendously. It was a euro model VW/Seat van, but the tdi configuration was identical to my 2014 JSW. Got me over one gian hurdle, but now need to figure out the next. Here is the link, I think...
https://youtu.be/uIlKyu-diL0

Hey all, thanks for the replies. I ended up getting it done successfully. I bought a Valeo SMF conversion kit from RockAuto and watched a few YouTube videos. This was the one that helped me the most, it was almost an identical procedure to my Jetta:

https://youtu.be/lHLhXhiwzgo

I only ran into a few snags, mostly in the suspension (sway bar links were both seized) but everything is back together and working well. There is no additional noise that I can hear in the cabin from the SMF. I used Pennzoil Synchromesh I'm place of G52 in the transmission hoping that the more viscous fluid will dampen some of the vibrations from the SMF. It shifts flawlessly and like I said, I can't hear any additional noise from gear lash. I will update if I run into any issues.

Your '09 6spd likely still has brass synchros. That is something I would have had a dealer check before buying the SMF kit though! That's interesting you don't have ANY chatter at idle at all??