Clutch drags on engine when coasting in neutral

[gearmar]

I have a 2003 Golf. 5 speed manual transmission. Everything worked perfectly after I replaced the clutch, flywheel, release bearing, clutch fork, new VW OEM gear oil, and brake fluid. Now, after 2 weeks, I have a problem. When the car is moving slowly/coming to a stop, I put transmission in neutral and coast or brake to a stop. The engine seems to be dragging against the clutch. Engine sounds like it is struggling to stay running but it does not die. Idle RPM becomes erratic. The exact instant the car comes to a complete stop, the struggling stops completely and the RPM smooths out. Everything else is fine. Car shifts well. Clutch engages and releases well.

This dragging happens when I release my foot off the clutch with the transmission in neutral when coming to a stop. If I keep the clutch pressed while coming to a stop with the transmission in neutral, the problem does not happen. That's why I think its the clutch.

Any ideas what might be wrong?

 

[Windex]

Likely that your fuel IQ is in need of adjustment.

The clutch wont drag per se when the transmission is in neutral, it is fully clamped down. The transmission allows this by disconnection of the input shaft from the output shaft.

The input shaft is still still spinning at full engine speed in neutral.

The symptoms you describe are common on ALH cars, moreso with aftermarket injector nozzles - have you ever replaced yours?

just search "slowdown shudder" and you can read all about it.

 

[gearmar]

My injectors are original OEM. I've had them cleaned several times in the past. I believe my VCDS has a readout for IQ, so l will research that. If it turns out to be an IQ adjustment, I will be scratching my head on how the injector problem would happen with 2 weeks of replacing the clutch.

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Did you OEM clutch replacement? If not what weight flywheel did you install?
When having the injectors "cleaned" what did that shop say about your 19 year old nozzles?

 

[gearmar]

I replaced with a LUK 17050 clutch kit which includes the flywheel. The specs do not give the weight of the flywheel. The injectors were cleaned twice by the VW dealer. Last cleaning was about 3 years ago, and they did not say anything about the age of the injectors. Do you think its something that needs to be replaced after 19 years?

 

[Windex]

Any idea how the dealer "cleaned" the injectors?

My guess is they poured something into the tank and called it a day. That's the usual dealer MO.

How many miles on the car?

 

[Nevada_TDI]

Dealer's are notoriously less than full disclosure when it comes to certain things...
The injectors can be rebuilt dozens of times and brought right back into spec when done by an authorized service center.
You don't mention mileage, but at 19 years old a fresh set of nozzles mounted in your injector bodies can do a lot for reliability and fuel economy.
Not that the injectors are directly related to the swap of the clutch, but sometimes two unrelated symptoms occur at the same time leaving you scratching your head, and wondering how or why?

 

[gearmar]

I've got 295,000 on the car. I want to get another 100,000. From this post, looks like I've got 2 things, (1), the IQ settings, and (2), rebuilding the injectors. And it sounds like perhaps I should think that the clutch replacement is unrelated to the slowdown shudder.

The LUK clutch kit included the flywheel, and it was for a 2003 Golf, so I'm going to assume everything is within spec on that.

An injector rebuild/cleaning was something I've been thinking about. I don't want to take it to the dealer. The good local shop with lots of tools has been me, DIY, and youtube.

 

[oilhammer]

Sounds like typical slow down shudder to me. A timing and/or IQ tweak may be all that is needed.

 

[gearmar]

I believe you are correct. My IQ was reading 1.8. With VCDS, I got it to 3 and the engine sounds much better. Just for fun, I changed the fuel filter and it went to 3.5, but the number is wobbling all over the place. But it never goes below 2.8. Originally, I was thinking that the new clutch was the problem, but maybe is was just a coincidence.

Now on to the Central Control Module for Central Convenience, which seems to be the continual curse of my life. I just hate that thing. I can't get the car inspection to pass.