Increasing clutch "feel"
 

Haven't posted for awhile, the car has been parked since June when suddenly the engine started sounding like a washing machine when it's agitating the clothes, chug, swish, chug, swish, chug, swish. Gonna have that fixed, whatever it is, and at the same time want to do the clutch and IMS, but ya know, the clutch on my '01 S has always bothered me because it's so on/off, in other words, it seems like there's only a quarter-inch of pedal lift between being not-engaged and engaged. It can't be just that the clutch is simply worn, it's felt this way to me for the whole 50,000 miles I've owned it.

I'm soliciting ideas on how I can increase the amount of feel to engaging the clutch. Change that quarter-inch to an inch-and-a-half. Should I install a stronger clutch? A particular brand? Or are worn clutch hydraulics what is making the clutch feel like a light switch? I flush the brake fluid every two years, but it's true that I've never been able to flush/replace the clutch fluid. TIA.

Search for the clutch helper spring fix. It lessens the assist from the stock clutch pedal. Pretty cheap and easy thing.

Hello Auflos,

Honestly I would be way more concerned about the noise your engine is making (per your description) than the feel of the clutch pedal..

There are several posts regarding replacing the helper spring, but again the engine noise should be diagnostiqued (..?) by a qualified person

Good luck

I have a bunch of extra McMaster Carr helper springs and am frequently in the Enfield CT area.
If you are interested, PM me and I can arrange to give you one.

Water pump
 

Well, the diagnosis is in, and the washing machine sound is the water pump destroying itself. Clutch is almost gone, too, and before I swap the helper spring I want to see what a new clutch feels like. Thanks for your kind offer, Stroked, I may take you up on it, but not for awhile.

<this. This helper spring arrangement tends to give the clutch the on off feeling as the effort changes from low to high during clutch release. The travel actually feels exceptionally long to me. I would be very interested if there was a way to shorten it with a cup car clutch or something......and remove the helper mechanism

<this. This helper spring arrangement tends to give the clutch the on off feeling as the effort changes from low to high during clutch release. The travel actually feels exceptionally long to me. I would be very interested if there was a way to shorten it with a cup car clutch or something......and remove the helper mechanism

This helper spring arrangement tends to give the clutch the on off feeling as the effort changes from low to high during clutch release. The travel actually feels exceptionally long to me. I would be very interested if there was a way to shorten it with a cup car clutch or something......and remove the helper mechanism

Fun! Keep in mind your coolant system will need to be flushed several times to try to get all of the debris out if the impeller did indeed self destruct. Hopefully its just bearings and no actual debris!