Problem clutch and gearbox. noise and high bite!

[benvictors]

Hi, been getting some nasty noises from my 8v GTI gearbox lately -
1. when in neutral with the clutch up there is a grinding noise, depress the clutch noise goes away.
2. when coasting in gear there is a whiring sound
3. when coasting in neutral, the grinding sound again.
4. there is no feel to my clutch and the biting point is quite high

Replaced the thrust bearing which seems to have made no difference at all
Replaced the clutch cable but if I take off the retaining clip which brings the self adjustment into play it adjusts itself to a point where the clutch seems to be fully depressed even with the pedal up (I can put it in any gear with the pedal up but obviously cant go anywhere)
If I leave the retaining clip on the cable then, as mentioned before, the clutch has no real feel to it and the biting point is high, but I can drive the car!!

If anyone can shed any light on these problems it would be much appreciated.
Cheers.
Ben.

[boneybradley]

broken clutch arm ratchet I reckon.... it's behind the green cap of the side of the box and fairly simple to fix (althougn space is limited and the only way to check it is by taking the whole arm off!)

[benvictors]

Hi Boney, checked the ratchet when I did the Thrust bearing, everything seemed ok there. The grinding/whiring/rattling sound is at it's worst when in neutral or just between the gears, mainly when lifting the clutch after a gear change.
I was thinking maybe the push rod is the culprit, am I right in saying the Thrust Bearing pushes against the Push Rod which in turn pushes the pressure plate away from the flywheel??
If this is correct, Is the push rod in constant contact with the pressure plate (Just touching when the clutch is up)??

If it is, and it is worn, then surely this would be grinding/whiring/rattling around and would explain why theres no noise when the clutch is pressed.

Next question, does anybody know where I can get a new push rod from??
Cheers.

[benvictors]

Found a new pushrod, Smashing VW in Leeds, fiver, bargain!
I'll keep ya posted as to if it makes a difference or not.
Cheers.

[axewielder]

www.brokevw.com for gearbox info