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Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 8:49 am
by BennoGTi
Hello everyone,
Just wondering if anyone can shed some lift on my little problem!
When the car is in gear, any gear. There is a clunk when I press the clutch pedal down to change gear? Not only is it a clunk notice you can physically feel the clunk like the engine is rocking, which is making me think it could be a worn engine mount?
Any suggestions would be great, cheers
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 12:41 pm
by gti-joe
I have the same problem, seems to be worse when the engine is cold and then gets a bit less noticeable as it warms up but is still there. When reversing it is a very loud clunk if I lift the clutch a bit too quickly and feels like the engine is moveing about excessively.
I thought it may have been the engine mounts and replaced the right hand one with a Vibra-technics one. It has improved quite a bit but is still there. On removal of the old engine mount it did look pretty knackered and I could move the centre bolt about with ease so presume it was knackered.
I am now looking at replacing the left hand one aswell to see if it eliminates it completely. Forgot to say I have the Super Pro torque arm bush fitted already so kind of eliminated that from the equation.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 9:27 pm
by BennoGTi
Yeah that sounds very similar mate, also forgot to add that it does the same when you stop accelerating, or when say cruising at 60/70 and turning off cruise control.. clunk
Sounds like the engine mounts if yours seemed to get better by chaning one, are they fairly easy to chance by yourself?
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2013 9:45 pm
by gti-joe
Yeh mine is the same when you step of the gas.
The right hand one was pretty easy. Just undo the coolant reseviour bolts so you can move it around and a long bar and ratchet is all you need with the correct sockets, 13mm and 16mm if I remember correctly. Remember to put a trolley jack under the sump and raise it so the engine is just resting on it.
Havnt done the left hand one yet but I believe its just a case of removing the battery and tray and maybe the air filter housing and unbolting it and replacing.
Got my Vibra-technics mounts from C & R Enterprises ebay shop, they were the cheapest I could find.
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/VW-Polo-9N-Vi ... 19cec5ed6a
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/110843260230? ... 1497.l2649
Saying that I notice they have just gone up by about £8 in these links.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Jan 29, 2013 1:19 pm
by gti-joe
Just a wee update on this guys.
Took my torque arm off to have a look at the bush and found that there was quite alot of play between the internal metal sleeve and the Super Pro poly bush so much so that the metal sleeve just fell out when I removed the torque arm from the mounting, and the poly bush itself had alot of play where its pressed into the actual torque arm, I could turn it 360 degrees by hand where it is meant to be a very tight fit
Also the poly bush seems to have got all hard and brittle and didnt seem to be doing the job it was intended for anymore.
Replaced with a Vibra-Technics torque arm and viola clunk and knocking seems to have dissapeared.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 10:57 am
by BennoGTi
This is good news mate, thanks for the update
Hoping to get mine changed soon, full set of mounts!
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Mon Feb 11, 2013 3:06 pm
by gti-joe
Defo worth while doing them all, my engine is solid now and no clunks and knocks, very pleased with the out come.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 8:04 am
by BennoGTi
Did you fit the top mounts yourself? Is it a big job?
I have had the dogbone mount changed just over a year ago so hopefully that is ok and its just the top mounts I need
Garage wants £199 just for fitting the top mounts, plus £290 for the Vibratechnics top mounts themselfves :/
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:05 pm
by 9N3 Turbo
BennoGTi wrote:Did you fit the top mounts yourself? Is it a big job?
I have had the dogbone mount changed just over a year ago so hopefully that is ok and its just the top mounts I need
Garage wants £199 just for fitting the top mounts, plus £290 for the Vibratechnics top mounts themselfves :/
Do you mean engine mounts?
£199 to fit. Are they having a laugh.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Tue Feb 12, 2013 1:18 pm
by gti-joe
Yeh pretty easy, just need a basic tool kit and a jack.
For the right hand side mount I put the jack under the engine to support it. Then took the expansion bottle of its mountings so I could move it around, didnt need to disconect any of the hoses to it. Used a ratchet with a long bar to undo the three 16mm bolts that hold on the cast bracket to the block and removed it. Then undid the four 13mm bolts that hold the mount to the chassis leg, you have to kind of move some of the air con pipes slightly to get the socket onto the bolts, the mount can then be manouvered out of position. Just reverse the process for fitting the new one. Took me an hour total and I am no mechanic.
The left hand one is a bit more involved. You have to remove the battery, battery tray, air filter housing and the inlet pipe to the air filter housing. Once that is all removed you will see the mount. Again support the engine with a jack, undo all the bolts, three on the chassis leg and two on the mount to engine (17mm if I remember correctly) and the mount should just lift out of position. Again reverse the process for fitting the new one, you may need another pair of hands to get all the holes on the mount to chassis leg lined up ok before tightening the bolts fully. And then put air filter housing, battery tray and battery back in the car. Took me around two hours total.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 12:13 pm
by BennoGTi
9N3 Turbo wrote:BennoGTi wrote:Did you fit the top mounts yourself? Is it a big job?
I have had the dogbone mount changed just over a year ago so hopefully that is ok and its just the top mounts I need
Garage wants £199 just for fitting the top mounts, plus £290 for the Vibratechnics top mounts themselfves :/
Do you mean engine mounts?
£199 to fit. Are they having a laugh.
Yeah the right and left engine mounts
Sounds pretty straight forward joe, i'll probably look into doing them myself!
Cheers for the info

Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:10 pm
by buzzmotorsport
Where did you get the mounts from? was it awesome?
Thanks
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:24 pm
by 9N3 Turbo
buzzmotorsport wrote:Where did you get the mounts from? was it awesome?
Thanks
They're on eBay sold by C&R think this is the cheapest I found them.
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:27 pm
by 9N3 Turbo
Re: Clunk when in gear then pressing clutch to change
Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2013 8:29 pm
by 9N3 Turbo
May be worth us contacting them direct to see if they will do us a group buy?