clutch replacement help please!

[dhashley]

i'd really appreciate some help...
my clutch went out, and i replaced it with a smf and new clutch kit. i put everything back together, but now the car won't go into gear-i can't engage the clutch. it will start fine, and even if i push it in neutral and someone lets out on the clutch it will stop, but i can't go into gears when it's running. i can go into gears when the car is off. i bled and bled and bled the clutch, so i don't think that is it, but who knows.
1. i pulled the slave cylinder and if i hold it halfway down and someone pushes the clutch pedal i can keep the slave halfway down (with A LOT of pressure)-is that right (or air bubbles?)? or should i not be able to keep it from extending when someone pushes the clutch...i just don't know how much pressure it should have. like i said, i bled it for a LONG time, and i didn't see any leaks, so i think the line is fine. i have a vag com, but don't know how to bleed with that, but i'm going to look it up tonight before going at it again in the am
2. the transmission: (i really don't want to have to take it out again...). when i but my finger in where the slave engages the lever, the first inch or so moves with very little resistance...in fact, it doesn't always come back to the edge of the bellhousing, but only one inch-then, there is VERY stiff resistance. i wasn't able to push it any farther. so, am i supposed to be able to push farther-could it be that the bearing or something came off (i don't know how that could've happened). i just don't know how stiff the pressure plate is supposed to be. am i supposed to be able to disengage the clutch (press the PP) with my finger?
thanks in advance!
david

[YMZ]

Originally Posted by dhashley

am i supposed to be able to disengage the clutch (press the PP) with my finger?

I don't think even Schwarzenegger could do that unless he really was an extraterrestrial...

When you bled the clutch system, did you use a pressure bleeder? (That's the preferred way...)

Yuri

[dhashley]

great...so hopefully i won't have to drop the transmission again.
i've bled it two ways-
1. yes, with a pressure bleeder (pump up a jug with an outlet hose connected to brake fluid reservoir and bled out about 20oz of fluid from bleeder screw)
2. connected a hose from bleeder to reservoir and pumped clutch pedal by hand

i'm thinking that the pedal shouldn't be able to go down if i have the slave pressed down in my hand...so that would say either a leak or air right?
maybe there's air in the ABS pump?. i didn't bleed the brakes (don't know if that's important). like i said, i'm going to see if vag com can bleed the system...

[YMZ]

I don't think the 2006 Jetta's clutch system is all that different from the 2003 with which I'm familiar, but...

You really should not have pushed in the clutch pedal with the slave cylinder out of the bell housing, as you may have caused damage to the slave...

When power-bleeding the clutch, you do need to move the clutch pedal halfway to the floor when opening the bleed screw... (the pressure of the pressure plate will move the slave "back" when the screw's opened... after closing the screw you need to pull the clutch pedal up...)

I'm not aware of any Vag-Com (VCDS) procedure for bleeding clutches... the brake system, yes (particularly the ABS pumps), but unless the fluid level got too low in the reservoir and air got into the brake lines, I don't think you need to bother with this...

Yuri

[dhashley]

just found out i was supposed to use a retaining pin for the lever/bearing-could this be that the bearing fell off during reinstallment?...like i said, the lever is there-i felt it with the slave out

[YMZ]

The bearing should be clipped onto the release lever, so unless you really, really screwed it up, I can't see the bearing coming off... As for pinning (or using a bolt) to hold the release lever in place while putting the transmission back... not a bad idea as a safety, but I've found that the lever tends to stay in place anyway... of course, if it slipped out of place, it could become damaged when you tighten the transmission onto the engine... can you see or feel the indentaion in the release lever where the slave cylinder pushes?

Yuri

[dhashley]

yeah, it's in place...i feel the divot where the slave abuts it...i just wondered about the bearing possibly falling into the wrong spot.

[YMZ]

What type of clutch did you put in? Luk? Sachs? Valeo? Did you use the throwout bearing that should have come with the new clutch? (Valeo is a different size than the others...)

I would carefully try another bleeding...

Yuri

[dhashley]

i put in a valeo. yeah, valeo sent me a throwout bearing and i put it in the lever-it seemed to fit nicely. ok, i'll try another pressure bleeding with pedal halfway down

[dhashley]

update-i spent the first half of the day yesterday bleeding the system and taking out/putting back the clutch master cylinder-that thing is a pain...along with the clutch pedal. made no progress, so i decided to drop the transmission again. ugh. but there was part of my problem at least.
FOR OTHERS DOING THIS: make sure you line up the dowels from the flywheel on the right spots on the pressure plate. i made that mistake. the pressure plate lines up with the bolt holes 2 ways-one with the dowels in the right spot, and one not. i put it in the wrong spot.
so i fixed that, but the transmission back together, hooked in the slave and set the battery in there to see if it would shift...and it did! i was so happy. put the axles, everything else back together. i got ready to drive off, but then, it wouldn't go into gear! i hadn't done anything to the hydraulics since i tested it! only axles, downpipe, air intake, etc. what i did notice was that i wasn't getting any resistance until the clutch pedal was halfway down, but i had somewhere to be last night, so i didn't get to investigate. maybe the master cylinder came out of the back of the pedal, or maybe i need to bleed it, but i don't see how air could've gotten in there-i didn't change anything after the successful test-the slave cylinder was already attached...
i'll follow up when i fix it...