Steve:

Again and again I've seen this complaint on the Vanagon list; shuddering
clutches seem to be common with Vanagons.  And I've never really seen the
"definitive" answer to why this occurs - I'm sure that's because lots of
things can cause these symptoms.

The good news (at least for us aircooled folks - and I'm assuming it's
the same for them thar watercooled vans) is that it doesn't cost a ton of
money (of course, "a ton of money" is a situational definition) to cure
this if you do the work yourself.  Complete clutch kits are somewhere in
the territory of $125, while motor mounts are somewhere in the $10 each
range.

On Sat, 1 Aug 1998, Steven Manning wrote:

> I have this problem wit my '84 vanagon that started while on a trip in
> Colorado a few weeks ago. When I let the clutch out from a stop in first
> gear or reverse, the rear end shakes and shudders until I get a little
> momentum going. I also noticed the clutch is not as sensitive as it used
> to be.
>
> Could this be the beginning of the end of clutch plates and throwout
> bearing?? If so, how deep does my pocket have to be $$  ?.

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Tom Young               young@sherlock.SIMS.Berkeley.EDU
Lafayette, CA  94549    '81 Vanagon
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