£££ SPENT NEW CLUTCH AND NOW IT IS VERY STIFF - HELP

Hi Guys, I was hoping someone can offer me some advice. I recently spent a small fortune having my clutch/clutch cable replaced by a local garage and after they returned the car I discovered that the clutch pedal is now so heavy you can hardly push it down all the way…..they are saying this is normal for these cars…but my old clutch was fine……when they removed the old clutch it was an original vw one, they say they ordered the correct clutch by using the serial numbers off the old one to compare at motorserv I believe…….what else could be wrong? The car originally went in because I was driving it one day, pushed the clutch pedal down to change gear and it never came back up…..prior to this it had been slipping a bit at high revs but only slightly.At first the garage thought the cable had pulled through the bulk head because it was rotten which I know is a common problem on these cars….but it turned out it was not rotten, but something had gone wrong to still force the cable out through the bulkhead???????Now new clutch and still buggered……what could be making it so stiff????I have spent a fortune and am getting nowhere…..the garage are just now saying there must be another problem ontop the worn original clutch…….sorry for the life story :cry:  :cry: Any help would be greatly appreciated as I want the garage to sort the problem but not at another few ££££££!!! HELP????

is it a big block clutch ie a 1.6 or a 1.8?
Bert

Sorry, yes its a Sportline 1.8 gti 1993.

where does the pedal sit now? and if you look at the clutch arm on the front of the gearbox what position is it in? has the cable been fully adjusted too? (loads of thread showing on top of the white plastic wheel on cable)
Bert

I am not really mechanically minded....from inside the car, the clutch is pretty much sitting in its normal position.......although if anything, it perhaps feels slightly closer to the floor than it used to???

you need to look at the gearbox end first
Bert

myfirstcarwasagolf said

……….. I want the garage to sort the problem but not at another few ££££££!!! HELP????

Really, they should be sorting it out free of charge, if its not quite right. Have you paid them any money yet?

Its possible that its simply the routing of the clutch cable, if it bends too tight then the clutch will feel stiff. Have they located it back into a sensible position and secured it with cable clips etc?

Hi Paul...yes its all been paid up.......not cheap.....and yes they will be sorting it free of charge...I just dont want them turning around and saying everything is fine it must be something else....as I wouldnt no the difference.....bloody garages...hate them!

definitly not right. maybe they used the cheapest and nastiest clutch kit they could find? proper sachs clutch is very light when new (well, for a cable clutch anyway)

I will get the name of the clutch they used.....

mine was super heavy and it was only due to the route that the clutch cable was run.

get them to check the way they have routed the cable. as far as im aware it should come out of the whole up and over the manifold and then down to the clutch pedel. so sort of up and over no through or around if that makes sense.

mine is lovely and light now.