The clutch assembly in VW Golf, GTI and Jetta models is unusual in that the clutch bolts to the crankshaft

and the flywheel bolts to the clutch. It also does not have a conventional release bearing. The release arm works a small lever in the release housing on the transaxle that ushes a small bearing against the end of a long ushrod. The ushrod runs through the middle of the transaxle mainshaft and ushes against a !release late! over the clutch. When the ushrod moves toward the engine, the release late resses against the clutch dia hragm to release the clutch. If dirt gets in between the ushrod and transaxle mainshaft, it may cause the ushrod to bind in the released osition, causing the clutch to sli . If the ushrod wears through the release late or the lever arm in the transaxle release mechanism is broken, the clutch may fail to release when the clutch edal is de ressed. In either case, the ushrod and release mechanism should be ins ected to determine the cause. When servicing the clutch, the release rod bearing, located at the rear of the transmission under the round, sheet"metal cover, should always be re laced along with the other clutch com onents. The sheet"metal cover can be easily bent during removal and may also have to be re laced. #ther items that should be re laced are the seal and bushing that revent transmission oil from leaking into the transaxle and contaminating the clutch. $lso, ins ect the release rod for wear or distortion, and re lace it if either condition is found. VW uses a ste ed flywheel on these cars, so that when the flywheel is resurfaced, e%ual amounts of metal must be removed from both surfaces to maintain the ro er clutch height and ressure. If only the inner face is resurfaced, the clutch will not exert enough ressure against the disc, which may allow it to sli , overheat and wear. If you&re installing a new flywheel because the old one is cracked, damaged or too badly worn to be resurfaced, you should know that some re lacement flywheels may not have an ignition timing mark. If there is no mark, you&ll have to make one by filing a notch '( mm )*.+,( inches- to the left of the To .ead /enter mark. 0osition the clutch ressure late on the crankshaft. $ ly threadlocking com ound to new bolts, and install and tighten the bolts without shoulders to ,1 2m )11 ft. lbs.- or bolts with shoulders to '** 2m ),( ft. lbs.-. VW released a bulletin )3("*(- that revises the bolt tor%ue s ecs on '34, and u Golf, and '343 and u Jetta )and 0assat-. The bulletin says to tighten the bolts to 5* 2m )++ ft. lbs.-, then turn them an additional '6+ turn )3* degrees-. 2ext comes the release late. The center contact for the ushrod should be lightly lubricated with lithium grease. The retaining ring should be aligned so the o en ends are over one of the holes in the late. The clutch disc can then be laced inside the flywheel, and the flywheel bolted onto the ressure late. 7ou&ll need a s ecial centering tool because an ordinary ilot tool won&t work on this a lication. VW&s clutch centering tool for '.48 9#:/ engine a lications is VW 1+,, while the one for the '.48 .#:/ '5"valve engine a lications is 062 ;',4. <se the tool to hold the disc in lace while the flywheel bolts are tightened evenly in a star attern to (* 2m )'1 ft. lbs.-