Oil on Facings/Clutch?

[To DIe for]

Greetings all,

What causes this? Symptoms? Potential Damage? My fairly new clutch has been slipping lately and im trying to narrow down the symptoms w/o taking it in. This only occurs when the motor is running cold. Its no longer a problem at normal op temp.

02 TDI GLS 5 Speed 215k MI

 

[cmitchell]

It sounds exactly like what I was experiencing. Thanks to oldpoopie I now have a new rear main seal & a new clutch. I'd also noticed that my car had been using a bit of oil. My clutch was a VR6 clutch installed only 20K ago... so it was fairly new too.

Edit: After reading what I wrote I decided it didn't sound like what I meant to say. I meant to say oldpoopie did an outrageously excellent job of replacing the main seal and the clutch, and because of his high caliber mechanical skills the problem was solved!

 

[To DIe for]

So is that seal my problem? I guessing that if I wanna replace it, I may as well replace the clutch while im down there. It figures a bad job was done considering I was dumb enough to let the dealer handle such a task. I hope they all go out of business . Any way to narrow it down to be sure this is my prob?

 

[cmitchell]

Maybe shoot oldpoopie a PM and see what he thinks. But... it sounds exactly like my issue. Justin just did the repair on March 1st, so it should still be fresh in his mind. The consensus of the experts was that once the clutch was contaminated with motor oil it needed to be replaced. Good luck... feel like a trip to Portland? Justin was a real pro at the job.

 

[cmitchell]

Just to be clear, here were my issues: The clutch was slipping, but only when the car was cold. There was no slipping at all after things warmed up. The oil level also was dropping a bit... something that had never happened before. There were no visible signs of a leak anywhere.

 

[WrEkkED]

I don't think this applies to you since you are seeing oil being consumed, but it's very important to clean off the clutch before installing it as it has oil on it to begin with for storage reasons. If you don't clean it off you will see your clutch slipping.

 

[oldpoopie]

You say a fairly new clutch. How new?
Do you see any oil loss? Leaks? Stains?
On CMitchell's car there was obvious oil all over the bottom of the motor, belly pan, bell housing, and transmission, but none above. Also, there is a rubber inspection plug on the top of the transmission right by the engine block. Cmitchell's car was leaking enough that this plug had oil on it on the inside.

If the clutch is slipping, at the very least replace the rear main seal, pressure plate, and flywheel.

 

[To DIe for]

The clutch was installed about 50k miles or so ago. There is abnormal oil consumption and from what I could see without raising the car (no belly pan) there is some oil on the bottom near the tranny, but it isn't obviously leaking either. Would it be safe to use this clutch to its furthest extent to try and save cash, or do you advise doing the job asap? I dont notice any obvious stains on the ground either.

I ordered the Valeo VR6 clutch I ordered from Aaron awhile back, but i'd still like to get some service from the current parts. Do i risk damaging anything else in the process?

 

[LessIsMore]

I put motor oil on my clutch by leaving the bell housing inspection plug out, while I was doing some work with the valve cover and tandem pump off. Some oil ran down, got on the clutch and caused it to slip badly. I wasn't eager to replace the clutch so I dribbled a Coke down onto the clutch disk through a funnel. That stopped the slipping completely for a while, then it slipped in a manageable way for a while, then it stopped slipping again. Just a handy desperation trick to postpone a clutch job.

 

[Powder Hound]

...so I dribbled a Coke down onto the clutch disk .... Just a handy desperation trick to postpone a clutch job.

Yet another handy use for a popular soft drink. That stuff is better than WD-40!

 

[Powder Hound]

... I hope they all go out of business . ...

Well, maybe just denying them the service revenue will be message enough. You wouldn't want to see what happens if VW (or any other manufacturer, for that matter) tries to run a dealership.

 

[oldpoopie]

I put motor oil on my clutch by leaving the bell housing inspection plug out, while I was doing some work with the valve cover and tandem pump off. Some oil ran down, got on the clutch and caused it to slip badly. I wasn't eager to replace the clutch so I dribbled a Coke down onto the clutch disk through a funnel. That stopped the slipping completely for a while, then it slipped in a manageable way for a while, then it stopped slipping again. Just a handy desperation trick to postpone a clutch job.

Yes, but you didnt have a leaking rear main seal continually dumping oil on the clutch.

 

[LessIsMore]

Yes, but you didnt have a leaking rear main seal continually dumping oil on the clutch.

Not surprising that providers of clutch jobs frown on this.
A, it might work so no revenue.
B, the gooey mess when it does come in.

For seal leaks, always verify the CCV.

 

[oldpoopie]

Not surprising that providers of clutch jobs frown on this.
A, it might work so no revenue.
B, the gooey mess when it does come in.

For seal leaks, always verify the CCV.

Who said I frown on it???????? I just said that it worked for someone who had a one time oil leak event, but would likely not work for someone who had a continuously leaking rear main seal. I resent that your implying the advice I give is based on drumming up business. I regularly advise people NOT to do un-nessesary work.

As for the gooey mess, the bell housing will have to be cleaned anyway from all the oil in there.....

 

[LessIsMore]

Who said I frown on it???????? I just said that it worked for someone who had a one time oil leak event, but would likely not work for someone who had a continuously leaking rear main seal. I resent that your implying the advice I give is based on drumming up business. I regularly advise people NOT to do un-nessesary work.

As for the gooey mess, the bell housing will have to be cleaned anyway from all the oil in there.....

I actually have a fraternal and sympathetic view of professional mechanics. But I have that also for the car owners. If my comment was a bit abrasive, perhaps it was because I resent you implying that I had proposed a universal solution. RTFP. To me, the whole thing with the Coke is a bit of a laugh. Now, do you really want to re-examine the issue of vendor posts and "drumming up business?" Are you denying the relationship?

 

[oldpoopie]

Forgive me for doubting your logic, but advising someone to pour coke on a clutch that is being continually oil contaminated by a leaking mainseal and expecting a miracle fix is like telling someone that putting a bucket under a leaking roof is a good way to protect your home from waterdamage.

As for reading between the lines, I dont need to. The OP asked for me to chime in this thread via PM, so I did. My advice is in no way trying to drum up work. I do this as a hobby. I have no cards, I dont advertise, I dont search for work at all. I make myself available. If I dont have car work on a weekend, then I gladly spend it with my wife. If someone needs work done and I'm busy, I send them to someone else. I certainly dont need a schlub like you to imply that my advice is in some way a ploy for work. Why dont you spend your time in a more productive manner.

 

[cmitchell]

Holy crap LessIsMore. Oldpoopie is a very highly respected TDI guru. I would trust him 100% with my car... and trust him 100% not to use me to, as you say, "drum up business". I'm confident he would never take advantage of a fellow TDI owner. You've obviously never met the man.

 

[To DIe for]

Now, now gentlemen. That's enough. I asked a couple of simple questions and I appreciate any input you guys have given but the bickering is not necessary. Besides, what poopie said makes sense. My problem is obviously continuous because I have to add oil every so often. Its going somewhere..

Old Poopie,

I appreciate your help and I apologize for any inconvenience.

Back to my question...

How long can/should I prolong this job? The verdict seems that even if the problem isn't the oil, the clutch is still slipping which would indicate work needs to be done...

Thanks 2 all for great advice!

 

[Traildog]

To Die For
I'm not clear which clutch you had installed, but here goes; If you have a SMFlywheel VR6 clutch installed at this time, I would pull the clutch apart asap. You may just need to replace the friction disc IF the pressure plate and flywheel are not too badly blued or cracked due to heat from slippage
If you have the oem clutch and DMF, run it as long as you can stand it, then replace it w/ the VR6 set up.

 

[To DIe for]

Im not sure what was installed because the work was performed by the dealer. Im guessing the setup thats specific to this model. This has been happening for some months now. I neglected getting it looked at mostly due to financial issues. What other reason is it that we dont drive super cars right?

I guess it wouldnt hurt to take a closer look under the car, but I dont have a place to jack it up. Oddly enough, the slipping is very intermittent. It seems to only happen under a specific temperature? Does this make sense to anyone?

BTW, thanks again to all for feedback.

 

[LessIsMore]

Forgive me for doubting your logic, but advising someone to pour coke on a clutch that is being continually oil contaminated by a leaking mainseal and expecting a miracle fix is like telling someone that putting a bucket under a leaking roof is a good way to protect your home from waterdamage.

As for reading between the lines, I dont need to. The OP asked for me to chime in this thread via PM, so I did. My advice is in no way trying to drum up work. I do this as a hobby. I have no cards, I dont advertise, I dont search for work at all. I make myself available. If I dont have car work on a weekend, then I gladly spend it with my wife. If someone needs work done and I'm busy, I send them to someone else. I certainly dont need a schlub like you to imply that my advice is in some way a ploy for work. Why dont you spend your time in a more productive manner.

Once again you distort what I posted and react with hotheaded and nasty rudeness. I did not advise anything. I offered a pertinent anecdote to the fellow who said “I ordered the Valeo VR6 clutch... awhile back, but i'd still like to get some service from the current parts. Do i risk damaging anything else in the process?” Then you start this war. YOU broached the topic of posting to drum up business. Odd. Pathetic.

 

[oldpoopie]

Once again you distort what I posted and react with hotheaded and nasty rudeness. I did not advise anything. I offered a pertinent anecdote to the fellow who said “I ordered the Valeo VR6 clutch... awhile back, but i'd still like to get some service from the current parts. Do i risk damaging anything else in the process?” Then you start this war. YOU broached the topic of posting to drum up business. Odd. Pathetic.

meh blocked

 

[oldpoopie]

Agreed with traildog. If the work was performed at the dealer, I'd be pretty confident that you have a stock dual mass flywheel clutch setup. As long as you keep an eye on oil level, you dont hear any strange noises, and it still is driveable, its not going to hurt anything to drive it a while longer. Keep in mind if it starts slipping too much it becomes a saftey issue if you cant propel the car out of harms way.

For a replacement I'd go with a g60/vr6 style clutch setup. It will be more robust.

These cars tend to slip stock clutches in cold weather.

 

[blsi]

Agreed with traildog. If the work was performed at the dealer, I'd be pretty confident that you have a stock dual mass flywheel clutch setup. As long as you keep an eye on oil level, you dont hear any strange noises, and it still is driveable, its not going to hurt anything to drive it a while longer. Keep in mind if it starts slipping too much it becomes a saftey issue if you cant propel the car out of harms way.

For a replacement I'd go with a g60/vr6 style clutch setup. It will be more robust.

These cars tend to slip stock clutches in cold weather.

Can you tell me more about "these tend to slip in the cold weather"? I have a 04 PD Jetta with 60k miles (original clutch) that started slipping this winter when the temps were below 10-20 degrees. It seems to be better now that it is warmer. Is there anything one can do to keep it from gettig worse or getting more time out of it? I initially thought I would replace it this summer (lot's warmer in the garage than in Dec!!) but maybe I'll just baby it a little more next winter if it makes it through the summer ok. Also where is the best place to buy a new clutch/flywheel for us do it yourselfers?

 

[oldpoopie]

Id say its a combo of the colder temps making the charge air denser hence more power, plus I'd suspect the friction material on the disk performs a little less well at cold temp.

 

[To DIe for]

Thats does kinda make sense. Im still on the contaminated clutch and its working fine. I get minor slippage out of it when I park it closer to the water because of the cooler temps, but it doesnt slip at all when I have it parked at the house.

As for DIYers, I bought mine from Aaron (BleachedBora) at boraparts.com.
You can call him directly and ask him what he reccomends, and to include all the parts neccesary to do the job (ie. bolts, gaskets, etc.)

I also reccomend tdiparts.com. Both great vendors with competitive prices.