AudiTTR225

hey guys, i've got this issue with my clutch in my '01 ttr quattro that has been happening for a while.

a bit of a long read, but please bear with me....

here's my problem: whenever i'm cruising down the road and i punch the gas to accelerate quickly, the clutch slips, the rpm's spike, and the car, well, doesn't accelerate much. it happens in most of the gears and at various speeds. i have to apply more gradual pressure to the gas pedal to avoid the clutch slipping so i can accelerate. my car only has about 60-65k miles and i've heard that this clutch should be good for much more than that, considering i don't "ride" the clutch and i don't abuse it. one theory presented to me earlier was that oil had leaked into the bell housing and was causing the slipping, which sounded logical to me and i figured whatever small amount of oil that had gotten into the clutch would soon burn off and the problem would go away.

it didn't.

while i was changing the oil recently, i realized that the oil filter wasn't tight enough and had leaked oil all over the bell housing and other parts under the car. i figured "well, there's the smoking gun", and i tightened the new filter much better than the last, wiped off as much oil from under the car as best i could and figured whatever residual oil was left inside the bell housing would burn off shortly and the problem would disappear. well, it's now been about 1k miles since the oil change and the problem is still just as bad as ever.

so, what am i looking at here? is it a) the clutch disc is simply worn out and i need to bite the bullet and replace the clutch, b) there may be oil in the bell housing, but i'm wrong in thinking it will simply "burn off"- i'm going to have to disassemble the clutch and thoroughly clean it, or c) something else is wrong here.

thanks for taking the time to read and i'll really appreciate any feedback.

kodiak_karlito

was there a dramatic loss of of oil between the last oil change? I would imagine anything more than 1/4 - 1/2 quart per 3000 miles is too much to be burning up in the turbo or lost through a leaky oil filter. Maybe a bad rear main seal(I have not dug that deep into this engine so I don't know) is consistantly leaking fresh oil onto your clutch.

another thing to possibly look into is the level of tranny fluid.

AudiTTR225

there was an alarming amount of oil missing, but i'm relatively convinced it was leaking from the poorly tightened filter, as the filter itself and surrounding area were covered in oil. it had been about 11k miles since i last changed the oil (...and before anyone lambasts or yells at me for that, please keep in mind that the dealer only recommends changing the oil in this car every 10k miles, so it wasn't THAT badly overdue, and i always use full synthetic).

as far as transmission fluid, it's a 6-speed...

i just had a thought... think it's possible that enough oil has leaked into the bell housing that it has pooled in there, unable to escape or burn off?

J. Patterson

"so, what am i looking at here? is it a) the clutch disc is simply worn out and i need to bite the bullet and replace the clutch, b) there may be oil in the bell housing, but i'm wrong in thinking it will simply "burn off"- i'm going to have to disassemble the clutch and thoroughly clean it, or c) something else is wrong here."
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Unfortunately you will need a clutch either way. Possibly a dual mass flywheel too since it has been slipping a long time. The oil leak at the front of the engine could be a tear in the PCV hoses. They are right above the oil filter under the intake manifold. Many of the early cars are requiring PCV system rebuilds.
Good Luck.

kodiak_karlito

just because it's a 6-speed doesn't mean that it doesn't have tranny fluid. if I'm wrong let me know, but there are still moving parts in there that need cooling/lubrication. it's not as much as there is in an auto, but I'm pretty sure it is still in there.

and yes there may be enough oil pooled in the bell-housing that you are not burning it off fast enough, or it is still leaking.

I suggest taking it and having the tranny pulled and serviced, unless you can do it.

AudiTTR225

well, what i meant by mentioning that it's a 6-speed is that (and i could be mistaken) i was under the impression that checking and/or changing the manual transmission fluid on these cars is a lot more complicated than unscrewing a fluid reservoir cap under the hood. i think it needs to be filled through the drain hole using a syringe-like apparatus...

maybe i'll try loosening a couple of the bolts on the lower part of the bell housing and see if any oil drips out. if not, i guess i may need to bring it in for service - i'm not gonna get into changing the clutch myself; i changed the timing belt myself and vowed not to get into a project like that again!

thanks for the input.

Gray_TT_2003

Your actual problem is the springs that apply the pressure to keep the clutch pressed against the flywheel. What happens, specially if you are modified is that the springs start lose their strength and therefore loses pressure against the flywheel and when you accelerate hard your car produces too much torque and it slips. I am talking about the springs on the pressure plate.

If your clutch was actually worn out, you would have a rough engagement and possibly slippage.

M power this!

u simply need a new clutch. while they're in there, they can check for other annoying leaks. done.

J. Patterson

Yup. Truth is hard to accept sometimes huh? :-)

eddierocks16

Don't Listen to these guys. They have magical TT's that don't break. Like many TT owners on this website to who don't LIE saying there TT is never broken.

There is no need for alarm on this. This is a common issue. Mine does this to randomly. Pressure plate disc etc are all ok. Your assumption about the oil is right.

I do a ton of high way driving in mine especially at high speeds. When you change your oil you MUST use a pressure washer or garden hose to spray the excess off the block, hoses etc. Over time that oil will come down. The wind will pull it back up into the clutch housing. Its a very light mist. This will cause the clutch slippage issue exactly how you speak. Go get a few cans of brake cleaner. Spray the hell out of the clutch area from the bottom between the engine and trans. Then use a garden hose to spray the hell out of every thing to. Like the front of the engine and up the holes on the bottom.


Your clutch slipping issues will go away.


Next with every oil change you must pressure wash or spray with a garden hose any oil left to prevent this from happening again.

I hope I got to you before you spend a ton on money on bad advice. Take it from some one that has been there and done with this exact issue. When it first happened to me I was like WTF ^&%&&&**^$$% another piece of sh*t audi TT issue mine only has 60k miles to.