VW Jetta Clutch

[398HBX]

I have a 1997 Jetta GL. Recently the clutch started to slip whenever you accelerate, it seems to hold while driving and works fine for shifting gears. At first I thought that it was the wet road (hydro-planning), but it even slips on dry pavement. The clutch is not hydraulic and it has a "self-adjusting" clutch cable. Has anyone else here had a similar problem? I don't know if I should replace the clutch cable, the clutch or both. The car has about 130K on it.

 

[diesel4me]

Most likely the disc has worn down to the rivets,and needs to be replaced ,before it trashes the flywheel & pressure plate,if it hasn't already!..the cable is probably adjusted OK if you can shift it without grinding and the clutch dont engauge right off the floor,or way up near the top of its travel...VW's use a weird "backwards" clutch setup,like a motorcycle--the pressure plate bolts to the crank and the flywheel bolts to THAT!...I did a clutch in my 86 diesel Jetta,someone put a brand new clutch in it but they used a gas motors disc--they have coil type anti-chatter springs--a diesel needs ones made of rubber--the springs failed and came out of the disc and jammed in the pressure plate fingers...what a JOY that job was,I think I would rather pull & replace TWO chevy 4x4 clutches than another Jetta--even though it dont LOOK too bad a job,it was not easy juggling that transaxle in and out alone,you have to just about "screw" it in ,thanks to a-frames being in the way...