Gearbox / Clutch problem

Mustang-owner

Mustang-owner

Donor
Hello all,

Sorry for the long post.

On Thursday evening I had a gearbox/clutch problem.

As I pulled into my parking space at work and dipped the clutch I realised I couldn’t take the car out of gear. The gear lever wasn’t just stiff, it felt still partially engaged. I was in second gear, and with my foot off the break and the clutch fully depressed I could feel the car wanting to move forward. I turned off the engine and managed to force the gear lever into neutral. However it was almost impossible to select any gear.

I have not noticed any issue with the gearbox/clutch before this (i.e. pedal travel seems normal, no clutch slip even in 5th at 35mph and foot hard on the gas, gear-changes smooth with no synchromesh gind ever).
I had just completed a 1.5 hrs, 58 mile journey.

I let the car cool down and checked gear selection again, but just the same. I removed the bonnet and, with a colleague sitting in the car trying to select every gear, I checked all linkage’s in case something had got caught. All components were free to move with no obstruction. The master cylinder had the correct level of fluid.

The car was parked in a way where it was protected from the wind, outside temperature according to the car was zero.

Anyway, by 07:00 Friday am there was no change. Starting the car, dipping the clutch pedal and trying to select 1st gear I could feel movement at the front wheels. It appeared the clutch was not able to engage/disengage fully with the pedal fully depressed.

I decided to turn the engine off, select 1st gear, start the car and try to change gear by driving as though it was a “crash-box”, i.e. double declutch on the way up and rev the engine to match gearbox revs on the way down. This was reasonably successful, so I decided to make my way home.

The route I chose put another 15 miles on the journey, but meant I was predominantly driving on dual carriageways or trunk roads, with only one built-up area to drive through. There was no difference to the gear change as I entered the built up area. I drove around the ring road in 3rd, and as I was leaving, and entering a dual carriageway I noticed it was easier to select the next gear. I was about half way home.
Over the next 10 miles or so the gear-changes were becoming easier, and by the time I got home everything was back to normal.

Yesterday afternoon I started my car and tried to select a gear but the problem had returned.

Today I have checked the gearbox oil level and it was ok (it took about 1/4 litre).

Again, when taking it for a short drive there is no clutch slip, even in 5th at 35 mph and accelerating.

I'm currently on 111462 miles.

Has anyone any ideas what to check next or what the issue could be.

Thanks

Jeff
 
Check your gearbox oil level.I had a peugeot that had similar problems and it was almost devoid of oil.Sounds to me like the gears are trying to disengage but friction is holding them, keeping them engaged and making gear changing difficult.
 
Hi Jeff
If its a clutch problem, with the engine switched off you should be able to move the gearlever through the gate and select gears without too much trouble.
If its a selector problem the change would still be very stiff.

If you suspect the linkage there is a good youtube guide on the basic gearchange setup - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp9ggefOjAE

Another club member had problems with the centre shaft in the gearbox which had corroded and would not turn as the change cables tried to rotate it to select the gears

Cheers Spike
 
Doesn't sound like a gearbox problem to me. Sounds like the clutch is not disengaging, possibly a fault with the master cylinder or the clutch pressure plate.
 
Update

Thanks for the replies so far.

Spike:

If this was a linkage issue I assume it wouldn't be intermittent (but I don't know - so clarification on this point would be really useful).

After I added the 1/4 litre of oil yesterday I drove the car for 10 minutes and rechecked the level - no more oil required.
The gear selection was still very stiff in all gears, including reverse. With the car in 1st gear, on level ground, and foot off of the brake and clutch pedal pressed to the floor there was forward movement (albeit marginal). All gear changes were complemented with "grind".
The oil I used was not a quality oil, but it was the correct spec. I will order some Castrol TAF-X from Opie today and give the gearbox a full oil change.

However

I have driven to work this morning to find from the start of my journey to the end (54 miles) the gear change is back to normal!! When selecting 1st gear with the engine running there is no grind and no forward movement. The clutch pedal travels the correct distance before engagement is noticed.

The only abnormality I noticed on my journey was that periodically (only 2 or 3 times) I heard a sound that was akin to worn prop-shaft U/J's - that clunking sound. This happened in (I think) 2nd to 3rd twice and 4th to 5th once.

Outside temperature this morning is a balmy +2 deg C.

Any more thoughts, as I'm confused??
 
When I had similar trouble last year it turned out to be the syncro assembly for 4th gear.

It was a complete pain to select/deselect gears and needed two hands to dis-engage reverse.
 
Hi Jeff
To me, it sounds like a clutch is not fully disengaging which would account for the stiff gearchange. Although not identical symptoms, in previous years some members have reported strange clutch issues during cold weather - http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3326&highlight=cold+clutch I don't understand the link between cold weather and clutch operation but if the problem goes away when it gets warmer then go for a brake (and clutch) fluid change if it has not been done recently.
Note the clutch hydraulics share the same reservoir as the brake system but need draining and bleeding seperately.

PS I only added the info on gear change adjustment / reset because another member had raised this as a possible issue and its easy to check

Cheers Spike
 
Spike:

You’re not the only one baffled here. Thanks for the confirmation to the suggestion of gear-change adjustment / reset.

I recently visited Skipton Auto's (mid December) where Mike provided me with a full service including a brake fluid change. The full system was bled, including the clutch.

I have a genuine Ross-Tech VCDS and a scan yesterday showed no failures whatsoever.

As there are many members in European countries where the winter temperature far exceed those we are currently experiencing it is really strange my issue could be related to the cold.

It seems as though all the logical ideas put forward by yourself and other members have a reason why they may not be the cause. However I really appreciate all the ideas.
I haven't had time to view the 2 links you've posted yet, but will tonight.

My only thoughts are that possibly my gearbox oil is lower than I believe ( lifting the front of the car on axle stands), and that the original oil had become gloopy and lost some viscosity. The 1/4 litre added may just have made the difference.

I will change the gearbox oil for Castrol TAF-X ASAP.

I believe we are due for another cold(ish) snap, so it'll be interesting to note if this makes the issue re-appear.

Once again, thank you all for the replies - I'll post an update if anything changes, or if I locate the cause.

Cheers

Jeff
 
Hi Jeff
The tdi club forum has lots of info on gearbox oils. Some of this is conflicting but the consensus seems to be the later synthetic genuine VAG oils have a significantly lower viscosity than any of the 75w90 transmission oils from other companies and give a much better gearchange in cold weather.
The latest VAG oil spec is G70

http://forums.tdiclub.com/showthread.php?t=192534

Cheers Spike
 
Last edited:
It has got nothing to do with the oil in the gearbox, if you have the clutch pressed to the floor and the clutch is working correctly there should be no drive to the gearbox. The problem lies somewhere within the clutch.
 
Daz,

I would tend to agree, however if the issue was caused by clutch plate, pressure plate, release bearing, etc it would be most unusual for this type of mechanical failure to be intermittent - OR WOULD IT?? The same logic could also be applied to hydraulic issues such as master or slave cylinder seal issues, brake fluid issues, air bubbles, etc. Also if there was any fouling of the gear-linkage it would be almost impossible for the issue to clear and exact issue return, this is why, I think, the gearbox oil theory is being explored.

The car has been driven a total of 270 miles over the past 2 days in temperatures no lower than -1 deg C. Upon arriving home tonight, there had been no re-occurrence of the problem. However, 20 minutes after parking the car in 0 Deg C, on a 1-in-3 downward slope (where it’s always parked) I had to go back out again. Once again it was not possible to dip the clutch fully and smoothly engage any gear with the engine running. When starting the car in 1st gear with the clutch fully depressed it was (only just) noticeable the clutch was partially engaged. Once driving, the car was "difficult" to change gear and grinding. 20 minutes later, stopped at traffic lights and when I moved off all was back to normal.

A most odd, head-scratching problem.

I have no issue in replacing any component to resolve the problem, but it would be annoying, for example, to remove the gearbox in prep for a clutch change to find it was something less time consuming (and less costly).

Anyway - as always - thank you all for your effort in thinking about what may or may not be wrong.

Spike – PM on its way

Cheers

Jeff
 
Personally I would be looking more closely at the hydraulic side of things, although you don't want to start replacing parts before you are sure where the fault lies. A tricky one.... either way I hope you get to the bottom of it sooner rather than later.
 
Dont want to sound blunt but it sounds like u have a clutch problem.
I had the same problem in one of my old cars, clutch would be down and the gears dont wanna go in.

Have u ever had the clutch changed on the car since its birth?
 
The car has the original clutch with almost 112 000 miles.

I have owned the car for 2 1/2 years and have no idea how the previous owner drove it.

I am used to driving and maintaining everything from this little A2, old American muscle cars through to Scania 6x4 HGV tractor units but I'm baffled how the issue comes and then goes, leaving the car perfect to drive.

I have performed an ABS brake output test to run the ABS motor-pump to purge any air back to the reservoir, but this has made no difference.

Cheers

Jeff
 
34k tdi90 unable to change gears.

Gutted Newbie tdi90 owner with 1 weeks warranty left!(thankfully)

Last night drove to local supermarket then later started car and couldnt get car into gear(properly stuck)!! Managed to select 2nd gear and drive less than mile home. Still same this morning and only just able to select 2nd gear(hugely stiff!) but wouldnt be happy driving at all. When trying to select reverse, car judders and gears grind. Also some juddering and rattling when running in neutral. When engine off stick moves through gears seemingly normally. There was a knocking on gearbox on gear change prior to this problem and also when engine turned off after running whirring nosie (like plane taking off although not very loud) coming from engine area.

Any ideas please and any costs?
 
Poss Clutch DMF probs ??

Hope you got car sorted Mr Mustang
New to the forum thing so don't know if posting this right, in right place e.t.c
Anyway, hope mustang got all sorted but its the start of my probs. After some time reading yet more horror stories on the net, I'm thinking that it may be the dual mass flywheel that may be problem with my tdi90 and with knock on effect upon clutch. This should be covered by indy dealer warranty but not the hassle you want with new car, nothings ever simple eh. Lets see on Monday morning when they should be ringing.
 
Clutch problem?

Hi guys
I've not sure if I've posted this in the correct place or not but here goes...
I have a A2 2003 1.4 TDI sport and have been experiencing problems trying to get it into gear. Firstly the clutch pedal was getting sticky half way down (When i put my foot of the clutch it went down fine but then got stuck half way up when coming back up) this happened a few times but then seemed to go away. On Thursday when i stared the car i couldn't get any gear except for reverse which was very stiff and the car kind of jolted a little. When i had moved off a little i was then able to select first. When i left work that evening i had the same problem but this then got worse as i was driving home and i wasn't able to select any gears when the engine was on, i couldn't possibly move the gear stick into any gear. I had to put the hazards on, turn the engine off, go back to neutral put it in first then start the engine then i could just manage to move off ok.
We took this to a clutch repair centre who told us it could be the master cylinder and suggested we try to replace this first then replace the slave if the first repair didn't work. Does this sound right or can anyone advise trying anything else. I must be honest I've only been a driver for a short time and i have very little knowledge of cars so I'm pretty clueless. I'm panicking a little though being almost 8 months pregnant!!!
Thanks, sorry for the long post :)
 
Hi Jenni, welcome to the A2oc.

This was posted by mike skipton about stiff cluches.

"Just to follow up on this, a stiff pedal is normally caused by wear to the guide tube that the release bearing slides along when you press the pedal.

The hydraulic systems in the A2 are such that they'll very rarely cause stiffness at the pedal and the spring fingers on the clutch pressure plates are so stiff that you'll rarely get pedal lag (where the pedal is slow to return after you release the pedal).

Having recently had my clutch replaced, I was amazed at the lightness of the new setup - it's something that I'd got used to and it was astounding to feel such a light pedal action when the new sleeve and bearing were in place.

Now, the bearing itself is rarely at fault - it's normally the sleeve it operates along, which is a cheap item (around a fiver), but to change the sleeve requires the removal of the gearbox from the car, so you're looking at 4-5 hours labour. As you're paying out for this, you may as well change the entire clutch at the same time, especially on non-dual mass flywheel cars (so that's all A2s apart from the TDi 90).

Mike Mars asked me today if biting point would be different as the clutch wore, but it won't change, so is no indicator of a wearing clutch. The first indication you'll get is slipping, when the friction plate is down to the rivets. In my experience, clutches in non-mapped cars are good for around 100,000 miles. In tuned cars, this will drop to around 75-80,000 miles and in extreme cases (like that of Tank!), you can sometimes get as little as 35-40,000 miles from a friction plate.

They're not cheap items to replace, but are an integral item to driving pleasure and as a side benefit, I've noticed a slight improvement in economy since replacing the clutch, probably from better transfer of energy from the engine to the wheels.

Cheers,

Mike"

From this thread http://www.a2oc.net/forum/showthread.php?t=16591

But yours is difficult to get it in gear as well.I would surgest getting a vag specialist garage to have a look?

I don't know a lot about gear boxes I'm afraid so can't be any more help sorry.

Congradulations on your pregnancy.

All the best

David
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top