Slave cylinder leak or clutch gone south?

Hello all. I have been the proud owner of a 2003 tdi since early last November. 140k miles. I love everything about it and have had zero complaints/problems so far until today.

I borrow my car to my brother so I could use his truck to run some errands. On his way home from school he claims he downshifted from 4th to 3rd and the rpms went sky high, the car shuddered and belched a cloud of black smoke. He stopped to check things out because he couldnt shift gears anymore. He didnt know what to do so he drove home 3miles in first gear! Didnt think to stop by the mechanic on the way or call me but whatever.

What i found was a nice trail of fluid up the driveway and a puddle under the bellhousing/tranny. Brake/clutch fluid from what I can tell. Clutch pedal is on the floor. Tranny shifts fine when car is off. When I first started there was a little rattle/chatter from clutch area but it went away. Car runs fine just unable to shift gears because of a lack of clutch.

So what happened? Did my clutch give up and taking the slave cylinder with it? I dont know what to do.

Sorry for the long post, guess I just needed to vent.

I don't think he did anything except to be at the driver's seat when the clutch slave cylinder let go...

The slave is easy to see, but a bit of work to get to. It does have a quick connect fitting that could have gone south on you.

Thanks. Its good to know he didn't do anything to abuse my car. The leak appears to be from the very top of the bellhousing. There is something of a plug up there kind of above the slave that it may be leaking from? I don't know if it makes sense but thats what it looks like.

Well I just spent the last few hours working with a mechanic friend and the slave cylinder. It is not leaking at this point in time. We took it all apart and cleaned and it has been bled several times by us. We cant figure this one out. The bellhousing/tranny area is covered with brake fluid so at some point it came out of somewhere. No clutch pedal. It just goes straight to the floor. Hes thinking throwout/clutch fork or something else in there. But were still baffled with the fluid everywhere..?

does he know how to drive stick?? and not im not trying to be a smart arss..

theory...

1.) wasted the clutch.. the slave went too far and puked out fluid..
2.) slipped clutch so much it baked the slave and boiled the fluid out

reality..

the fluid is on the clutch and may be a issue no matter what.. so kinda need to pull tranny anyways..

i know not what you wanted to read.. but theory good ive put clutch in on friday and then had to put another one in on monday as they did not know how to drive stick.. they swore they did.. till you go for a ride and watch then riding the pedal.. sadly this happens too often.. aka more then 2 times ive seen

If the seals are leaking in the slave cylinder it is going to make a mess. If the seals are leaking the slave is not going to be able to stroke the release arm. A slave could stroke and not leak when on the bench but when loaded up with a clutch release lever it can leak internally. That fluid came from somewhere and there is only one culprit. I vote for installing a new slave cylinder. You might get lucky with no clutch damage from leaking fluid but I would not bet on it. Well actually I would until I see/hear the clutch slipping after installing a new slave cylinder.

You know that the brake fluid change interval is every 2 years? You change the brake fluid and the clutch slave fluid at the same time as they are served from the same reserve tank.

Well he is just learning to drive stick. I took him out over the weekend and taught him everything I know. He was doin good. Now the story is it was after school and he was giving a friend a ride home (probably hotroddin around). When he downshifted the rpms went way up and car took a nose dive belching black smoke. The only way I can see this happening is shifting from 4th to 1st...he claims not but I know better.

I would agree a new slave is probably in order even though it appears fine. But I am really thinking there is something more to this. And I think it is goin to take a chunk out of my wallet.

__. I'm guessing your mechanic has already done this but to get to the slave cylinder, pull the two screws (one's way down next to the battery box) holding the air filter box in, remove the MAF connector and the vacuum hose and lift the filter box out of the way. You'll see the slave sitting right on the top of the transmission housing.

__. The "sudden rise in RPM's" could be diesel runaway. It could be that the over-rev (whether from a bad down-shift or diesel runaway) damaged the clutch. You're right, it's going to be $$$$.

Update: The car is all torn apart. Tranny is out and there is a mess inside the bellhousing. The lining on half of the clutch is ripped completely off. Two fingers broke on the pressure plate. Various other nicks dings scratches etc everywhere inside.

Question: What clutch kit do you guys recommend?
Im kinda on a tight budget..Heres what I've been lookin at:

http://www.dieselgeek.com/servlet/Detail?no=445

or
http://www.kermatdi.com/servlet/-strse-403/Southbend-Clutch-Stage-1/Detail?category=-Maintenance+Items%3AA4+Golf%2FJetta%2FBeetle+%28%2799.5-%2706%29%3ATransmission%2C+Clutch%2C+and+Drivetrain%3AClutches

Other recommendations?

Anybody?

03jetta_tdi said:

Anybody?

Click to expand...

__. MzLauraLee and I both went to SMF clutch assemblies on our '03 wagons. I forget where we got the parts from. Her clutch disc totally fragged and my pressure plate was getting limp. I forget where we got the parts from - I'm pretty sure we got them from different places. Both have proved to be wonderful. Go for it.

those clutch linings aren't "ripped completely off" but rather thrown off from centrifugal force. When forced into a much lower gear, the vehicles roadspeed accelerates the transmission's input shaft to a speed vastly in excess of the clutch disc's design limits. Happens in trucks semi regularly with noob operators who don't grasp what they are messing with. JFWIW