[Metal gasket]

I'm pretty sure the last one I put in, was.

That said, I did thoroughly coat the faces and gasket in sealant, before putting it all back together.

[300TDI Vacuum in cooling system.]

Is the vacuum not just because the top of the thermostat housing is higher than the coolant level in the reservoir? As the brass plug is opened, air is allowed in, from the top, allowing the level to balance out with the reservoir? (or at least to the point, the air above the coolant, in the reservoir, is pressurised slightly, and stops the coolant dropping further in the thermostat housing)...

I'll caveat the above with a big "maybe"... :-)

[Clutch fork broken?...]

If the slave cylinder pushrod that acts on the clutch fork will only come out as far as level with face of the bell housing, then you have a very knackerd clutch fork....

[Clutch fork broken?...]

Driving my 300tdi manual home last night, the clutch pedal dropped about a third, then next pump, it dropped another third, and after another pump, ended up on the floor, leaving me unable to disengage the clutch.

Some clever (but probably more lucky) clutchless changes got me home.

I've taken the master cylinder and slave cylinders off. They don't show any signs of leaking.

The push rod that sits between the slave cylinder and clutch fork seems to be too far in to be able to pushed by the slave cylinder (which has a fairly deep recess for the rod to sit in).

If i pull the push rod out as much as possible (away from the clutch fork), it's level with the face of the bellhousing the slave cylinder mates up to.

Should the push rod stick an inch or so out of the hole usually covered by the slave cylinder?