What on earth does this Clutch bolt do...??

[blackspaven]

SWMBO's Leon had its clutch replaced on saturday, and while changing the release bearing, my mate noticed that there was a bolt sitting just behind the bearing itself that wasn't tightened up. He took it out tocheck the thread, etc. before replacing it and tightening it up correctly but today after a few days of back to normal driving, the clutch displayed the same symptoms it did before the replacement: solid clutch about halfway down which won't let you change gear, but if you put your weight on the pedal whilst accelerating, the clutch is definately engaging to some point as the rev counter shoots up.

So.

The question is, what does that torx type bolt do and what would cause it to loosen by itself? (mate says that with it loosened, we were only getting about 15% of the use of the clutch, which follows the problem we're having)

HELP!!

 

[Markyboyt]

SWMBO's Leon had its clutch replaced on saturday, and while changing the release bearing, my mate noticed that there was a bolt sitting just behind the bearing itself that wasn't tightened up. He took it out tocheck the thread, etc. before replacing it and tightening it up correctly but today after a few days of back to normal driving, the clutch displayed the same symptoms it did before the replacement: solid clutch about halfway down which won't let you change gear, but if you put your weight on the pedal whilst accelerating, the clutch is definately engaging to some point as the rev counter shoots up.

So.

The question is, what does that torx type bolt do and what would cause it to loosen by itself? (mate says that with it loosened, we were only getting about 15% of the use of the clutch, which follows the problem we're having)

HELP!!

I'm not sure what the bolt could be, sounds a bit odd.
Just one question though, if your mate doesnt know what its for, how has he tightened it up correctly?

 

[blackspaven]

I think I may have misrepresented him. He knows what it was for, just couldn't explain it sufficiently to me. He's never done a release bearing on a VAG car before so was bemused that it was on the non-flywheel end of the gearbox. To be fair, he's not a part time grease monkey; he is a full time mechanic for Fraikin and the guy helping him is a mechanic at Mercedes, so i'm fairly confident of their competency, to be fair.

 

[Nutkin]

how much was his clutch replacement :/

 

[blackspaven]

I got the replacement bits. The parts are all OEM; Sachs clutch/LUK release bearing, i've been in that area before so know it's not worth skimping on!

 

[DPJ]

It doesn't sound right to me.

They seen to have issues with the clutch hydraulics....

 

[Markyboyt]

I think I may have misrepresented him. He knows what it was for, just couldn't explain it sufficiently to me. He's never done a release bearing on a VAG car before so was bemused that it was on the non-flywheel end of the gearbox. To be fair, he's not a part time grease monkey; he is a full time mechanic for Fraikin and the guy helping him is a mechanic at Mercedes, so i'm fairly confident of their competency, to be fair.

Sorry I didnt mean to imply they werent competent, was just the question that popped up in my head when i was reading your post. I also havent done anything with the gearboxes on VAG cars and don't have a clue what the bolt is

 

[blackspaven]

No offence taken, it was a fair enough question.

Just got the car back from my usual GARAGE mechanic (had to actually get the car to him, which was the problem as my mate works out of a van: very handy!) and they had a look... surprise, surprise, the bolt/screw WAS the problem with the clutch! It sits just behind the release bearing with the connected rod going through the middle of it and appears to be crucial for the rod/arm/bearing linkage to work. When it's loose, the small linkage arm fouls on the gearbox housing so doesn't connect with the release bearing and consequently doesn't work properly

I got the two mechanics to talk to each other and they worked it out (garage mechanic couldn't see it at first cos he wasn't sure what to look for: said he thought it was bearings round the shaft at first, not a splined bolt as my mate had said) Turns out my mate didn't know the exact torque setting for it and despite tightening it and using threadlok it wiggled loose again.

So the conclusion is if your clutch goes solid and you can't select a gear, it could be as simple as popping the release bearing cover off, removing the release bearing itself and torqueing up the spline bolt behind it. The clutch now is smooth, featherlight and silent like brand new.

One happier wife!

 

[DPJ]

Which engine does this Leon have?

It sounds like an 02K box, but I still have no idea which bolt...........

 

[blackspaven]

1.6 16v Leon SX.

Bolt unscrewed itself again after about 30 miles the other day! Unless it's the arm between the rod and the release bearing that's broken but still somehow looks intact , myself and the ALL the other various mechanics can't work out why it keeps doing it!

Very strange and annoying for me, very upsetting and unnerving for my wife being stranded with no confidence in her car!

 

[DPJ]

Does the area where the bolt lives look like this....?

 

[blackspaven]

Can't say for definite, but from what i've been explained, it looks correct. My mate Dean said the 'bolt' was behind the release bearing, and the rod that goes through the gearbox to actuate the bearing goes through the centre of the bolt. The second set of mechanics that looked at it said they didn't see it at first; they thought it was small (ball)bearings that went round the rod, but when they looked closer they saw that it was actually the splines of the bolt itself.

Hope that helps?

The bolt just won't stay tightened up. Looking at the picture, I'm guessing the release bearing has been taken out, hence the round space under the arm. I'm assuming the 'bolt' we're all talking about is the thing you can just about make out under the arm itself, the rod itself being the shiny bit underneath the tip of the arm?

 

[DPJ]

Hmmm, I hope I'm not misleading you here.

Assuming similar boxes, in the picture the release bearing is still in the the round space. (The actuator rod is behind the bearing). There may well be a hollow torx bolt that the actuator rod passes through in the nearside end of the input shaft.

If that is coming loose, I think you need to be talking to a gearbox specialist.

You are trying to say that the lose bolt is preventing the release bearing from moving towards the engine, stopping in pushing the release shaft properly?

 

[blackspaven]

Not sure about the last sentence, lost me a bit, but after the bolt comes loose, something is stopping the clutch from disengaging/engaging gears. The hollow torx bolt description and the actuator rod position is spot on. Yes, it that specific hollow bolt that keeps coming loose; it's been tightened with loktight twice now and it only lasts about 30-40 miles before it comes undone. Two other people now have mentioned that the arm can break without it looking broken, which will then obviously affect what it should be doing.

Going into Seat on tuesday for them to have a look at. I'm hoping whatever it is can be fixed from that end without having to go through the expense of dropping the gearbox out.

 

[DPJ]

The hollow torx bolt description and the actuator rod position is spot on. Yes, it that specific hollow bolt that keeps coming loose; it's been tightened with loktight twice now and it only lasts about 30-40 miles before it comes undone.

The bolt will be holding components onto the gearbox shaft - it'd be my guess something has moved (probably a gear) preventing the bolt from tightening properly. Could be gearbox rebuild time.

 

[blackspaven]

You're joking??! The car's only just done 60k miles!!