transmission problem

[cow0man]

Seems to be tranny problem. I have lifted car off ground and all wheels turn freely, except for front wheels, they will spin, but requires a good grip and some muscle. Car in neutral, spin one wheel, other side turns opposite direction. Place resistance on opposite wheel, I am unable to turn by hand.
On ground, with car still in neutral, can push car about 6" in either direction and it comes to abrupt stop, again no brake used.
I amable shift through all gears freely. Car will move about 6" under power and then engine will die.
Clutch was rebuilt about 5-6K miles ago.

I am at a complete loss and seeking ideas.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Louie710]

Clutch was rebuilt or replaced with a new one?

 

[cow0man]

was replaced with new.

 

[Nero Morg]

Will the engine run in neutral, car not moving? What happens if you push the car forward with it running in neutral? Does it still stall?

 

[cow0man]

Engine runs perfect. Continues to run while in neutral when pushed forward and back to the point it will no longer roll. Shifting through the gears is smooth. Clutch is working fine.

 

[Nero Morg]

Sounds like the transmission is binding up internally then, drain the fluid see if you get transmission glitter out of it.

 

[Powder Hound]

Sounds to me like Nero Morg is on the right path. Did you do the clutch swap or did someone else? If done in your driveway/garage, is that where the car was, is, and will not move from?

My point is this: if there was a problem getting the transaxle back up in place, and the outer drive flange(s) was (were) removed to make that happen, then something may have fallen out of place when the replacement maneuver was done, and that part is now jamming up the gears.

BTDT: I now have a future spare transaxle in my garage having done exactly the same thing, to my sorrow. It is fixable, but it requires the labor to separate the transaxle halves and figure it out. IMO, if this is the problem, then you'd be ahead to get a replacement working unit and deal with your own on a more convenient schedule.

Cheers,

PH

 

[Tdijarhead]

I think Powder Hound is probably correct. I have read of several members who have had this happen to them. That passenger side axle flange needs to be removed to aid in transmission removal but especially to help in reinstallation. It very easy to remove, one bolt.

Sometimes and maybe someone knows why but something internally moves and the axle flange can not be put back into its proper position. Every time I remove the transmission in one of these cars I think about that and wonder if it will happen to me.

 

[cow0man]

I had a shop do the clutch change. Will be trying to get it back over there tomorrow. Car drove about 3-4k miles since work was done.

Appreciate the insight.

Thanks

Do you think I could disconnect one of the axles to be able to push it around without doing any more damage?

 

[Nero Morg]

As long as you secure the axle so it doesn't flop every which way and damage itself, sure. Just move it slowly in case the axle catches something. One less part to replace.

 

[Tdijarhead]

If you drove it 3-4 thousand miles after the new clutch, then it’s more likely that they didn’t replace all the clutch parts, like the clutch arm, pivot pin or the clip and one of those items has failed.

 

[cow0man]

Disconnected 1 axle and am able to push car around now. Debating weather to swap transmission myself or take it back to the shop where they conducted the clutch work. Any suggestions recommendations?

I am guessing it to be a 6-8 hour job to swap transmissions.

Been looking for transmissions, non at the local pick a part, but found online for 650 shipped and has about 120k miles.

 

[Nero Morg]

If you feel it's a job you can tackle, go for it. Should be a days project easy. As long as it's geared for a TDI, any transmission from an ALH/BEW will work. You just might need to swap the shift tower over to match your shift linkage. In my opinion $650 is a little steep, because you can get them at wrecking yards for about $230, but if it's the shipping that's expensive... Dealers choice.

 

[Louie710]

Too many people on here wasting money on mechanics that barley know these vehicle. 650 shipped i think is fair if your getting it from a vendor that guarantees its in good shape. Ask if they can do a better price, never hurts to ask and worst case they say no. You got plenty of info and good people here to help you get it done on your own.

 

[cow0man]

I appreciate all the input. Will work on finding a tranny now. The one I did find was on e-bay for about 650 shipped.

 

[Louie710]

I appreciate all the input. Will work on finding a tranny now. The one I did find was on e-bay for about 650 shipped.

I would probably try go this route and send the man an e-mail

Dutch Auto Parts, gearbox sets, engines, turbos, injection pumps

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No wonder nero morg said that was a little steep

 

[cow0man]

Thought I would give an update to what I had found. After pulling the tranny, I found a hole on the interior of the bell housing. There was a large pin that I could push with my finger, I am guessing it was a retaining pin in the planetary gear. After I pushed it in as far as it would go, the transmission would turn freely.

It took me about 3 hours to get the old transmission out, and then about 6 more to get the replacement in. It went much easier once I removed the driver side cv axle. Then had trouble with the metal gasket between transmission and engine.

I may have may have found the cause of the issue. The pl;astic nipple coing out of the the brake fluid resevoir was broke allowing the fluid to leak to a level below the line going to the the the master clutch cylinder. Kid says that he did not notice any difference when shifting while driving the car.

With the new used transmission in, I am able to run through all the gears with no issue. With car running, not able to go into gear, which led me bleeding the the hydraulic line, which in turn led to more fluid going into the brake fluid resevoir abd seeing the fluid leak through side where the nipple is.

Hoping the replacement resevoir is the last piece of the puzzle.

 

[Nero Morg]

Well that is definitely an interesting failure. Good find!

 

[cow0man]

Now in need of help. Clutch is bled, new master slave cylinder. I am still unable toput car into gear or take out of gear when car is running.
Through the port on top of the transmission, I can feel the cluth release lever move when the clutch is depressed. Any ideas?



I am just about to my breaking point at this point.

 

[rhill2901]

Wasn't this your original problem when you started the string? Something is up with your clutch fork and clutch. you might have to pull your transmission again. As a troubleshooting visual, maybe connect the hydraulics with it removed and have someone push clutch pedal in. I don't think fork is releasing the clutch for some reason.

 

[Tdijarhead]

When ever I replace a clutch I change everything complete clutch of course, but also the throw out bearing, clutch arm, pivot pin and clip. Did you change all of those? The clip is a little wire that holds the arm on the pivot pin. The pin has a plastic top that wears out at which point the clip will not keep the arm in place, and the clip can wear or break also.

I had to pull a transmission once after I put a new clutch in with a worn pivot pin ($10) at the time, to replace it. I don’t plan on letting that happen again.

 

[KrashDH]

You sure your shifting linkage is properly adjusted/ re installed?

As others have mentioned, fork, clip, pivot ball, slave cylinder could be the issue.

I just replaced my clutch last weekend. I replaced everything but the fork. My OEM was in fine shape. As well, I liked the quality of the OEM fork over the aftermarket one I had in hand, so I re used the OEM one (new clip, pivot ball, throwout, etc).

Did you get the transmission installed correctly? Ie DID NOT use the transmission bolts to "draw" the transmission in.

I would possibly look into re adjusting your shifting linkage from scratch if u think your install went good. Dieselgeek has to a couple of good videos.

 

[cow0man]

Last update. Car is on the road finally. Clutch disk had to be replaced. The center of the disk had popped loose from the outer part. Not sure how to describe, but I guess the kid broke it when the car would move 6" back or forwards. He must of been trying to force it.

Thanks for the input from all of the above.