mike000
Well-known member
About 10,000 miles ago, I did a clutch job on my Passat 1z/02A, using an OEM SACHS VR6 clutch, as recommended on the forums. The car ran flawlessly for years. The differential eventually developed excessive backlash, and cracked the transmission case, creating a very slow seep of oil out from inside the bell housing, though never enough to get any residue whatsoever on the flywheel, pressure plate, or clutch disk. I just changed the transmission to a MK3 Jetta TDI unit (also a CTN code, just like the trans I took out), and reused the clutch. New OEM hardware was used, as they're torque-to-yeild bolts, and everything went together smoothly. First time giving it more than half throttle in 4th gear, the clutch slipped, and even worse in 5th. I have absolute no clue why, as the thing grabbed like an animal beforehand, and never had a single issue. I just pulled the transmission back out, assuming I must have made a mistake, or the trans came with a bent clutch level or something, but everything looks to be in tip-top shape. This is not my first time doing a clutch or transmission install, so I'd like to think that I didn't make a dumb user-error, but anything is possible! Help before I start throwing new parts at it without a proper diagnosis