Here's a fun one! A couple weeks after acquiring "The Unicorn," a new-to-me B5.5 GLS 1.8T 4Mo 5sp. Wagon, I was zipping around town one day when the clutch pedal went to the floor and wouldn't return. Though I've been a VW/Audi geek my entire motoring life, I'm embarrassed to admit that I couldn't remember if my new ride had a cable-operated clutch or hydraulic. To spare you the suspense, it's hydraulic. Carefully speed-shifting the car from Seattle down to where I live northwest of Tacoma, I set about looking for leaks. With no obvious signs of a brake fluid leak, (the clutch master and slave cylinders, although a separate system completely, are supplied from the brake system fluid reservoir,) I just assumed that unless there were a mechanical fracture of the shift fork, my issue more than likely was the result of a failed internal o-ring in either the clutch master or slave cylinder. Not terribly uncommon, given the car has over 220k miles on the clock.
First, I procured a replacement clutch master cylinder. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new unit was constructed of metal versus the plastic-bodied piece that I removed:
![]()
![]()
Once installed, I began the PITA process of bleeding the system. Unfortunately, I quickly noticed brake fluid pooling beneath the clutch slave cylinder which is mounted to the top of the transmission bellhousing. F#%K.
So, off to buy a new slave cylinder. As with the new master cylinder, the new slave was made of metal instead of plastic. It took me a while, however, to realize that the actuator rod on the new unit was about 1/4" longer than the one on the old part. What this meant was it was impossible to get the new one up into position and compress the rod enough to get the mounting bolt hole to line up and get the bolt started. Once I figured out what was going on, I was relieved to find that I could remove and reuse the actuator rod from the old slave. Just pop the accordion boot off, replace the rod, and pop the boot back on. After finally getting the new slave cylinder installed, I once again began the bleed process.
Imagine the symphony of swearing that ensued when I again found a puddle of brake fluid forming under the brand new slave cylinder!
Apparently the problem all along had been the metal/rubber hydraulic line, which by the look of it, had found somewhere sharp to chafe against for the past 15 years. Our friends at the Volkswagen Engineering Department knew damn well that this was probable, because they insisted upon producing the line with a rubber grommet which was intended to PREVENT the rubber line from rubbing on adjacent metal structure:
![]()
It was just a matter of time before a hole developed.
Well, because I'm a stubborn and spiteful SOB, I was damned if I was gonna fork over the $171 that VW wanted for a new line. No sir. Instead, I figured I'd make use of a stainless-braided brake line that I'd picked up some years ago and modify/fabricate a solution to my problem.
![]()
![]()
![]()
We'll see how it works when I get it installed.........more to come!
First, I procured a replacement clutch master cylinder. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the new unit was constructed of metal versus the plastic-bodied piece that I removed:
Once installed, I began the PITA process of bleeding the system. Unfortunately, I quickly noticed brake fluid pooling beneath the clutch slave cylinder which is mounted to the top of the transmission bellhousing. F#%K.
So, off to buy a new slave cylinder. As with the new master cylinder, the new slave was made of metal instead of plastic. It took me a while, however, to realize that the actuator rod on the new unit was about 1/4" longer than the one on the old part. What this meant was it was impossible to get the new one up into position and compress the rod enough to get the mounting bolt hole to line up and get the bolt started. Once I figured out what was going on, I was relieved to find that I could remove and reuse the actuator rod from the old slave. Just pop the accordion boot off, replace the rod, and pop the boot back on. After finally getting the new slave cylinder installed, I once again began the bleed process.
Imagine the symphony of swearing that ensued when I again found a puddle of brake fluid forming under the brand new slave cylinder!
Apparently the problem all along had been the metal/rubber hydraulic line, which by the look of it, had found somewhere sharp to chafe against for the past 15 years. Our friends at the Volkswagen Engineering Department knew damn well that this was probable, because they insisted upon producing the line with a rubber grommet which was intended to PREVENT the rubber line from rubbing on adjacent metal structure:
It was just a matter of time before a hole developed.
Well, because I'm a stubborn and spiteful SOB, I was damned if I was gonna fork over the $171 that VW wanted for a new line. No sir. Instead, I figured I'd make use of a stainless-braided brake line that I'd picked up some years ago and modify/fabricate a solution to my problem.
We'll see how it works when I get it installed.........more to come!
