Very hard to get in Gear, any thoughts

[USAFS4]

It is very difficult to get car into Reverse (hardest), 1st, 2nd, when car is is on. Have had the stick pop out of my hands trying to put into 2nd and heard a little gear grinding. Clutch pedal travel is still the same, and I have no brake warning light.

I did some research and found that if the car will run through the gears while its off I likely have a clutch problem, rather than a slave cylinder problem; which I tried and it glided through fine when car was off. However I didn't need to push in the clutch to row the gears while it wasn't running; is this normal?

Thing is I went STG III a few months back and have a new STG II Kevlar clutch (& lwfw), and new slave cylinder (Have about 3500 miles on them so far). I did recently install Apikol Rear diff carrier bushings and I have stiffer motor mounts and trans mounts. Perhaps stiffening everything caused something get out of alignment?

Finally, someone suggested that perhaps the flywheel is fused to the clutch, and to fix it one could start the car while in 1st gear to separate the two. Is this bad advice?

[The_Jerbel]

You have no problems shifting into 3rd-6th?

[Corrado]

Sounds like your shifter or possible linkage is out of alignment? Check JHM's website, they have some good info on the shifter mechanism in general.

[USAFS4]

You have no problems shifting into 3rd-6th?

Shifting 3rd-6th is not difficult.

Sounds like your shifter or possible linkage is out of alignment? Check JHM's website, they have some good info on the shifter mechanism in general.

Knowledgeable friend also suggested this to be the problem. Thing is I didn't notice a shift in the neutral position of the shifter. Perhaps something else shifted causeing it to be out of alignment? I'll chk it out anyway.

[MLFHNTR]

That would be where I would start too. Would be different if it was one gear alone or all having problems

[USAFS4]

That would be where I would start too. Would be different if it was one gear alone or all having problems

Just realized. If the problem is shifter alignment, then it wouldn't matter if the car was running or not, right? I should have the same problem rowing gears when the cars is off? Except its smooth as glass when the car is off.

[NishadJoshi]

Struggling with this as well... This could be a number of different things...your best bet is taking it to someone who can rip the transmission apart and rebuild it, then while he's in there, he can tell you what else you may need to replace. Try realigning the shifter base first though... I know that doing this can lead to a world of difference.

[Scotty@Advanced]

Just realized. If the problem is shifter alignment, then it wouldn't matter if the car was running or not, right? I should have the same problem rowing gears when the cars is off? Except its smooth as glass when the car is off.

That would indicate a clutch issue. It may be shifter alignment, but my money is on the clutch. If the clutch has air in the system, or is marginal, you can have issues with just 1-2 gears and rev.

[dahound]

You have a transmission problem. I have had the same issue with Jhm Shortshifter, i changed back to stock and it is alot better. One way to get it into reverse is go into 3rd to 4th then reverse. this worked for me.

[USAFS4]

That would indicate a clutch issue. It may be shifter alignment, but my money is on the clutch. If the clutch has air in the system, or is marginal, you can have issues with just 1-2 gears and rev.

When you say clutch (may have air in the system) do you mean air in the line to the slave cylinder? So I could just bleed it, or replace the slave?

[Das General]

Dude, just try adjusting your linkage. They are held in by two shit bolts and could very likely loosen enough to fubar your linkage.


You should be able to row through the gears with the car off. Adjusting the linkage is a bit of trick unless you can gauge the proper degrees. How's your clutch pedal feel? If there was air in it, it would feel spongy and have some slack in it.

[hallman77]

I had exact same problem... troubles with 1st, 2nd, and Reverse... hardest was going into 2nd, that was a tough push! Took it to the shop and had a guy rebuild tranny and put in Stage II clutch kit, etc... main issue was the shift fork was bent and over time, my 1st and 2nd synchros went too... lots of $$ but my God, its smooth as butter now... i forgot what it was like to shift a normal car... this is a common problem seems like... good luck

[jaimeson]

I see this more and more. Mine is notchy goin into first and rev is a bit tough too. I think about checking alignment with angle finder and possibly goin back to stock shifter. My A4 has stock shifter and all though it has slop in the plastic ball, it shifts like a hot knife goin through butter. Good luck on this buddy!

[mikehawk666]

reverse 1st and 2nd were sticky for me, reverse at times id have to shift to 2nd just to shift out into reverse. rebuilt transmittion and all is better. hoping this isn';t the case as it's expensive, but it may be..

[AnotherB5S4]

USAFS4 ,

I am actually having the same problem, Car on and gears will shift until car warms up, then all of sudden Nada, NONE of the gears will work. But turn the car off and the gears are smooth and can engage all gears. I actually had this problem on the way home from work one night. Here's how it went.....

-Get off work, get in car start driving towards home, I hear the loud Beep sound(low fuel level), so I stop off at the gas station. I shut my car off and go buy a slurpee and some gas. Turn car on and goes into first and i am off to a roll next comes second gear and grrrrrrrrrind,"okkkk" try 3rd and then grrrrrind, 4th,5th,6, all will NOT engage. So what did I do to avoid having to pay a tow truck to come pick me up? I shut car off and bada bing, I can select any gear I want. So i put it in 3rd and slowwly creep to a roll and I drive in 3rd gear the rest of the way home. So What I am thinking is some sort of Pressure plate failure, maybe the Self adjusting mechanism thing? I am currently in the process of removing engine and drivetrain for a solution. What leads me to believe it is the Clutch or pressure plate is if it were the well known Synchro issue, then it wouldn’t engage gears when car is off, right?

IS my issue similar to yours?

[infinkc]

Sounds like it's something wrong with the pressure plate springs.

[S4-ORCE]

If you can get into gear while the car is off, then its a clutch issue. If you can't get into gear with the car on or off, then its most likely a transmission issue. Probably the collar gone bad, especially 1st and 2nd gear collar.

[awd2ks4]

i can get my car into gear without pushing the clutch in when the car is off all the time. And i have no issues with shifting. But being able to row thru each gear 1-6 that i cant do.

[USAFS4]

USAFS4 ,

I am actually having the same problem, Car on and gears will shift until car warms up, then all of sudden Nada, NONE of the gears will work. But turn the car off and the gears are smooth and can engage all gears. I actually had this problem on the way home from work one night. Here's how it went.....

-Get off work, get in car start driving towards home, I hear the loud Beep sound(low fuel level), so I stop off at the gas station. I shut my car off and go buy a slurpee and some gas. Turn car on and goes into first and i am off to a roll next comes second gear and grrrrrrrrrind,"okkkk" try 3rd and then grrrrrind, 4th,5th,6, all will NOT engage. So what did I do to avoid having to pay a tow truck to come pick me up? I shut car off and bada bing, I can select any gear I want. So i put it in 3rd and slowwly creep to a roll and I drive in 3rd gear the rest of the way home. So What I am thinking is some sort of Pressure plate failure, maybe the Self adjusting mechanism thing? I am currently in the process of removing engine and drivetrain for a solution. What leads me to believe it is the Clutch or pressure plate is if it were the well known Synchro issue, then it wouldn’t engage gears when car is off, right?

IS my issue similar to yours?

Well mine is still drivable (barely), but the problem seems to be getting worse. As far as everything is fine when the car is off, then the problems start after its running, then yes I would say very similiar. I'm hoping it's not the clutch cause its brand new.

[mholme]

If you start the car in second with the clutch in, is it easy to get out of gear and go right into third?

[xccess]

what your snub mount look like are they in place ?

[J-b5]

if the collar is bad, its not going to shift smooth no matter if the car is running or not. issues that only pop up when the car is running generally point to clutch not disengaging correctly and/or syncro issues.

Im no expert though.

[S-Power]

It's your Shift collar thats gone bad, I have the same issue and your 1-2 syn's are probably also goin out.

[Scotty@Advanced]

Well mine is still drivable (barely), but the problem seems to be getting worse. As far as everything is fine when the car is off, then the problems start after its running, then yes I would say very similiar. I'm hoping it's not the clutch cause its brand new.

I'd bleed the clutch hydraulic system, check the shifter bushings and re-align the shifter. if this doesn't fix the issue then it's some mechanical part of the clutch, or possibly internal to the gearbox.

If you need internal gearbox parts, or a clutch, I stock them at the best prices.

01E rebuild parts

Overhauled and modified gearboxes

[J-b5]

Is there a decent writeup to bleeding the clutch? I wanna get that blue crap out of there.

[MikeyB3]

I just had my clutch go funky and I'm having the very same issue. While I'm no mechanic, I have my money on the clutch too, and not the trans.

[USAFS4]

More and more things are pointing to my clutch.

Shifter, check (rowing through gear while car is off without issue means shifter alignment is fine) I
Clutch pedal, check (travel of pedal is normal and no fluid is missing from the reservior, and I have no brake light)

That leaves the BRAND NEW CLUTCH!!!! I believe me and the vendor will be having a chat very soon.

[AnotherB5S4]

What kind of clutch did you install? Did you allow for proper Breakin period before riping on it? Have you tried bleeding clutch slave with a pressure bleeder( motive ) while car is level?