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Mon Dec 28, 2015 8:12 pm

My clutch doesn't start to grab till the very top. I would like to adjust it down, so it's about in the middle but I'm not sure how. Would love some help. This is driving my insane (no pun intended).

Mon Dec 28, 2015 9:24 pm

How much freeplay do you have now?
How far does the pedal travel before hitting the front panel?

Have you tried loosening the wing nut?

Mon Dec 28, 2015 9:30 pm

It has a lot of freeplay. No which where do I find the wing nut. This is my frist VW and I just got it. Don't know much about it yet.

Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:48 pm

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=389388

Wing nut is located driver's side rear just before the engine/xmsn seal.

Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:49 pm

Should I tighten or loosen it?

Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:53 pm

Should be tighten. Tighten a few turns and then check your pedal. Continue to adjust until desired. Don't over adjust or your clutch will slip. Good luck

Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:53 pm

The wing nut is on the drivers side of the transmission.
Here is a video to give you the general idea.

I suggest getting a Bentley manual or John Muir "How to Keep your VW Alive".

Mon Dec 28, 2015 10:56 pm

Copied from the Beatle tjread. Same setup for most vdubs

"as the wingnut moves towards the front of car the throwout bearing moves closer to ring on clutch. this will give less free play. it should be set at 3/4-1" ..i use a small vice grip on the clutch cable on front side of lever to stop the cable from winding up as i screw the wingnut towards or away from the front of car."

Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:17 am

Also double check that the Big Spring under the arm is not broken, the one on my 73 Thing was broke and it felt all kinds of funny. It had real loose free play and was grabby, with a new spring it feels normal again. They are NOT easy to change if they are rusty but it can be done with the wheel off.

Thu Dec 31, 2015 2:27 am

supersky47 wrote: My clutch doesn't start to grab till the very top. I would like to adjust it down, so it's about in the middle but I'm not sure how. Would love some help. This is driving my insane (no pun intended).

You want to loosen the nut if you want to engagement point lowered. There is a square part to the cable at the base of the threads you can grab with a pair of needle nose visegrips to keep the cable from turning. You might initially try backing the wingnut off a turn or more and see how you like it.

Excess freeplay will not hurt anything so long as you get complete disengagement of the clutch before the pedal reaches the floor. If the clutch drags causing it to be hard to get the tranny into gear at a stop you need to go back and tighten the cable a bit.