The other side of the clutch cable goes to a lever that pushes in on a throw out brearing.
This lever or the sliding throw out bearing can be binding.
This all happens in the very end of the transmission tail piece, the furthest from the engine.

That is because this throw out bearing pushes on a rod that runs down the whole length of the transmission input shaft.

This rod can also bind.

So you can take the tailpiece off, check the throwout bearing, but also take this 18" long rod out. n If it has blue heat marks, then you know it was binding and needs to be greased.

You can to this without taking the tranny out of car. The other side of the clutch cable goes to a lever that pushes in on a throw out brearing.
This lever or the sliding throw out bearing can be binding.
This all happens in the very end of the transmission tail piece, the furthest from the engine.
That is because this throw out bearing pushes on a rod that runs down the whole length of the transmission input shaft.
This rod can also bind.
So you can take the tailpiece off, check the throwout bearing, but also take this 18" long rod out. n If it has blue heat marks, then you know it was binding and needs to be greased.
You can to this without taking the tranny out of car.

When working on the Golf tranny, it also helps to use a jackstand, take the front driver wheel off, and you can also take off the tranny mount to lower it, if you have a jack under the engine to control how much it drops.



There are 2 ways to get at the throwout bearing.

One is to remove the whole tailpiece I described.

But the actual procedure I believe only requires removing a round steel cover plate within the tailpiece.
I don't typically do that, because I believe you need to buy a new cover because it gets distorted upon removal. But it is only a couple of bucks. When working on the Golf tranny, it also helps to use a jackstand, take the front driver wheel off, and you can also take off the tranny mount to lower it, if you have a jack under the engine to control how much it drops.

There are 2 ways to get at the throwout bearing.
One is to remove the whole tailpiece I described.
But the actual procedure I believe only requires removing a round steel cover plate within the tailpiece.
I don't typically do that, because I believe you need to buy a new cover because it gets distorted upon removal. But it is only a couple of bucks.