Problem with clutch, help required!

[moglie]

When I drive the car hard the clutch depresses as normal but then does not return to its normal position... It instead sits very close to the footwell and there's virtually no travel in the clutch.

Hoping someone can shed light on the problem and ways to fix it.

Thanks

[Timster]

Problem... lots of people have it. It's partly due to the Clutch Return Pipe. Audi are aware and replaced mine under workshop campaign or whatever they called it.
(do a search and go back about 6 months).

It isn't the whole story however and IIRC nobody has yet found a complete solution other than changing the whole clutch.

[Dave7]

Tister,

Was yours ok after they replaced the return pipe? Mine is fine at the moment but just wondered from your experience whether it was done under warranty or what this campaign is about? Audi near me told me that when I replace the clutch i should have the pipe done at the same time which would be a minimal cost over and above the clutch replacement cost which is what I think most people are doing anyway.

It doesn't always solve the issue though apparently.

[moglie]

So there's no complete solution to solving this problem? That sounds like a bit of a nightmare?

If they were to replace the entire clutch and clutch return pipes etc would this go some way to alleviating the problem? I ask because I've just bought the car and it comes with a years full audi comprehensive warranty and id be making a strong case for the dealership to get the problem sorted as best as possible!!

[Timster]

So there's no complete solution to solving this problem? That sounds like a bit of a nightmare?

If they were to replace the entire clutch and clutch return pipes etc would this go some way to alleviating the problem? I ask because I've just bought the car and it comes with a years full audi comprehensive warranty and id be making a strong case for the dealership to get the problem sorted as best as possible!!

As I say....You'll need to do some searching on these forums from last year. I managed to to find (think it was on a spanish forum IIRC), Audi's admission and relevant workshop TI? numbers relating to the clutch return pipe.

Here you go...
http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f= ... it=+clutch
And...
http://forum.rs246.com/viewtopic.php?f=35&t=93492

Audi UK then honoured the campaign and replaced mine FOC.
It "sort of helped" as in... it's not as pronounced as it was. I still get it when really pushing-on and when dropping 4-3rd and 3-2nd. But rarely now.

I think it was also due to the hydraulic fluid overheating due to the pipes proximity to the manifold.
Arthur wrapped his in heatshield.... don't know if that helped.

General consensus seems to be, go replace with a Sachs Clutch.

[mondo2126]

Moglie, i have same problem, had pipes, slave and master cylinder replaced still happens, biggest problem is that its intermittent and hasn't done it when i've had the audi tech out with me, usually happens after a bit of spirited driving high revs in 3rd but is happening more frequently now, fair play to Ewen at Aberdeen Audi he has been very helpful
Timster
if replacing with Sachs do you need to replace the flywheel as well and anyone got a rough idea of cost

[moglie]

Moglie, i have same problem, had pipes, slave and master cylinder replaced still happens, biggest problem is that its intermittent and hasn't done it when i've had the audi tech out with me, usually happens after a bit of spirited driving high revs in 3rd but is happening more frequently now, fair play to Ewen at Aberdeen Audi he has been very helpful
Timster
if replacing with Sachs do you need to replace the flywheel as well and anyone got a rough idea of cost

Its a bit worrying to hear that regardless of the steps audi have done so far the problem still seems to persist. Quite annoyed as i only collected the car on friday and it was given a full health check by audi. I expected i could then take the car and enjoy months of care free driving before its next service...

Its a worrying prospect to think that when pushing the car on (and that is what these cars are built to do after all) this issue will continue to reoccur....to say I'm cheesed off would be an understatement....

on the up side, if i were to replace the oem clutch setup with an uprated sachs clutch will it stop the problem I'm having with the clutch not returning to its normal position???

Thanks for all the advice so far everyone

[Rigsby1208]

I had the exact same problem... New car from audi dealer, clutch pedal not returning when driving enthusiastically, mine also went quite stiff as well. It just back from dealer after fitting new clutch pipe. I haven't had a good drive yet but first impressions are not good. The clutch seems much heavier than before, but seems to returns better when driving hard. It also still seems to get stiffer when driving hard. Generally clutch feels a bit weird and it's very hard to change smoothly 1-2 and 2-3. Thinking of taking it back to be looked at again.