Clutch and Transmission questions

[1badF350]

Morning everyone,this is my first post here although I have been lurking for awhile now..I have a few questions and was hoping you all would mind sharing your knowledge with me.

Our 16 year old son borrowed his mothers (my wife) 1999 Beetle 1.8 turbo last night, Long story short, barley made it home!!! Clutch is shot!! could smell it the minute he pulled in the driveway..Goes into all gears,(engine off) and will not even pull out of its tracks.. I will drain the fluid tomorrow once I get it over to the garage (off site)and also verify that there is no interal damage!!! Who knows what really happened while he was driving? (my boys can tear up anvils!!)
Car only has 71,000 miles and is her little daily driver..(so for now shes back to driving her Powerstroke Excursion)I have read over alot of threads with the search feature but wondering what would be the best replacement clutch for this car? it is stock (now) but have been considering putting in an aftermarket chip, With that in mind which would be the best clutch to use? Would like one that could handle going either way without giving her the leg shakes while holding the clutch in at light!!
Also, this is a 5spd car and wondering if a later model Turbo 6spd could be installed in its place? if so what modifactions need to be done?
Thank you all in advance for your wisdom any info?

[1badF350]

Also, I will be doing this repair myself, I am an ASE Certified Master Tech who is now reitred from the profession except for doing all my families car work.

[mullardel34]

Wow! If you do chip the car, be certain to get an ECU flash that allows you to set and code-lock a "valet" mode, which severely limits turbo boost and essentially renders the car a gutless wonder until you unlock the "performance" mode...

OK, on to clutches. The OEM clutch/flywheel comes with a dual-mass flywheel, which is supposed to (1) provide the mass/momentum at the end of engine output shaft that is necessary to keep the engine spinning smoothly and dampen vibrations when the clutch is depressed and (2) keep the flywheel's mass near the center of flywheel rotation, reducing the amount of power required to increase the speed of rotation. Essentially, a dual-mass flywheel is an attempt to balance conflicting forces. The end-result is smooth operation. A kit for the 5-speed manual with the OEM dual-mass flywheel and matching clutch is available for about $500

Almost all of the upgraded/higher-performance clutches convert your drive-train to employ "lightweight" single-mass flywheels, usually made of steel or aluminum. The aluminum single-mass flywheels are usually designed to give better engine RPM spool-up times and reduce rotational mass in order to unleash some extra horsepower. The "lightweight" steel flywheels are designed to achieve similar results, but the steel flywheels usually weight about twice as much as their aluminum counterparts, so rotational mass is higher with the steel flywheel. Bottom-line: the aluminum flywheels allow quicker RPM spool-up but can be perceived as a bit twitchy, while the steel flywheels can handle high power levels and deliver a smoother perceived engine response.

The first performance step up from stock/OEM performance is often referred to as a "Stage 1" clutch/flywheel kit, designed to handle power output of around 225-275bhp. Stage 1 clutch/flywheel kits range from around $350 up to around $1000. Clutch pedal effort rises somewhat with a Stage 1 clutch/flywheel kit.

The second performance step up from stock/OEM performance is referred to as a "Stage 2" clutch/flywheel kit, designed to handle power output greater than 300bhp. Stage 2 clutch/flywheel kits range from around $700 up to around $1200. Clutch pedal effort rises abruptly with a Stage 2 clutch/flywheel kit.

The third performance step up from stock/OEM performance is referred to as a "Stage 3" clutch/flywheel kit, designed to handle any amount of power that your engine can possibly deliver; we're talking stupidly over-boosted, fire-breathing, self-imolating 1.8L turbo-engines. A hydraulic ram may be necessary to depress the clutch pedal...

So troll the forum sponsors for clutch/flywheel kits at the various performance stage ratings. Given your modest performance requirements (and keeping in mind that we're talking about your wife's daily driver), it's likely that a Stage 1 clutch/flywheel kit will handle any engine-chipping that might be applied and yet keep the clutch effort to a minimum.

Good luck!

[1badF350]

OK, thank you for the information, any chances of doing a 6 spd swap instead of the 5 speed?

[mullardel34]

Yes, it's possible to swap-out the 5-speed manual for the 6-speed manual, but that's going to be quite a bit of work.

Here's the posting from a fellow forum member who actually performed the transmission swap:

5 speed to 6 speed manual swap the outcome

Good luck!