jamiepstewart

First, I am a veteran of the Audi / VW and Porsche family... and love the punishment and joy!

Ok, here is my problem: I have a 2003 TTR (225) with 45K. Extremely well kept..but When I start the car in the morning and depress the clutch, it is very weak. The helper spring does the majority of work pushing the pedal back. There is some resistance, but very little. I can put the car into gear, but with very very little room for engagement. AFTER I drive the car for a while, the pedal starts to behave normally. It shifts perfectly... I am wondering if this is a booster issue? Perhaps a slave issue? Maybe bleeding the system will fix it?

I did look around the master / slave and found no visible fluid. I didnt see any leaks. Nothing. Bone dry and clean.

Thank for your help!!

AudiMick

This exact thing happened to my 2001 TT at 87,000 miles.Eventually I had to "hook" the pedal back with my foot.Not an uncommon problem.

Since you love the punishment, you are in for a rare treat!

Your slave cylinder is failing and on most TT Quattros the slave cylinder is internal to the bell housing. Apparently unlike most cars there is no internal spring inside the slave cylinder.

Transmission needs to be removed. Your clutch should be OK but since it is all apart you might consider replacing it.

Figure $1500-3000 depending on whether you need a new dual mass flywheel or not.

jamiepstewart

I am so lucky; it feels like Christmas!! Where can I sign up to give the stealership $3000 of my cold, hard cash?! Awesome!!

Although, I would MUCH rather do this job myself. It will give me and my sexy little TTR some much needed bonding time. Do you know of an excellent step by step to perform this weekend party? I am very mechanically inclined and have more tools than Snap-On... (well, not really, but a man can fantasize when he is married.)

Thank you for the quick reply.

AudiMick

I normally DIY stuff too, but my backup vehicle started mis-behaving . Having two vehicles dismantled at the same time in the garage in the middle of winter whilst the spouse's sits outside is not the path to marital bliss.

I decided to bite the bullet and have the TT fixed by a local independent whilst I remedied the head gaskets on my Ford Ranger.

I would buy or borrow a Bentley manual, I bought a new one one E-bay for $60. It's supposedly about 10 hours work. Rumor has it you drop the front cradle and subframes.

Don't know whether that means you need a lift to get it in the air.

Most expensive car repair I have ever paid for in almost 40 years of driving.

GeTT da NeTT

I haven't seen a DIY for this, but I did do my timing belt. If you have a couple of jacks, jack stands and the Bentley manual for the car, I suspect that chnging out the slave cylinder isn't that bad. If you remove all of the motor and transmission mounts and hold the engine and tranny up with two jacks, they should seperate enough to get the unit out and the new one in. YMMV, and good luck

AudiMick

No way!

Transmission needs to come out as the shaft goes right thru the middle of the slave

http://www.autohausaz.com/secure/Par.../0A5141671.jpg

A lot of newer cars have this style.

typ44q

In a shop with a lift and lots of tool and experience you can probably do it in 10 hours... maybe... if nothing at all goes wrong, in a garage that would be a seriously impressive feat! Even one very long weekend would be pushing it.

It is a HUGE project and yes the tranny has to be removed from the car to get to the slave cylinder and while you are in there you might want to do the rear main seal, clutch (though with only 45K miles it is probably fine, mine had 100K on it and looked brand new though the dual mass flywheel was bad so I replaced it with a single mass one)

When was the last time the brake and clutch fluid was flushed?
Before doing any of this I would thoroughly bleed the clutch you might just have a small piece of debris in one of the seals that is causing the problem which you might be able to flush out.

jamiepstewart

I have given up on my search for the How-To DIY. I purchased the Bentley manual and read through how to do it. I would have to be clinically insane to do this in my garage without a lift. My jack stands, floor jacks, ramps, etc are not enough to get the car high enough, nor warrant me laying my back for hours on end in a cold garage cursing endlessly. I have fixed many cars (Porsches, Audis and VWs) but the TT comes with extreme tight spaces and this job requires my car to be out of commission for several days and I dont have the time to tackle this solo.

Soooo, I called dealers and independent mechanics, here is what I found:

The prices quoted include labor, new clutch / pressure plate, throwout bearing, slave cylinder, screws, fluids, etc...

Porsche / Audi independent garage: $1,700

Audi independent garage: $,1800

Audi Dealer 1: $2,300

Audi Dealer 2: $1,900

VW Dealer (where I bought the car): $1,500!! This is our winner! AND, they gave me a free rental car!

I hope that helps a few people on the forum.

IT PAYS to shop these jobs around when you can!

Oh, and i had it towed for FREE thanks to my insurance company's towing option.

AudiMick

Sounds good, if they decide the dual mass flywheel can't be reused expect a potential re-negotiation. At your mileage unless you or a PO has been dumping the clutch it really should be OK.

Mine was about $1500 until they decided we needed to replace it ($800)but I had almost 90,000 miles and I didn't own it until 79,000.

I also replaced the plastic master cylinder at the same time.

Some places can resurface them but don't be surprised if they do some CYA.
It's possible to convert to single mass and save $500 or so but the motor / transmission might rattle and shake more due to the loss of the active balancer.