Difficulty getting into gear??? Update!!!!

[Brownies3]

I had something very similar a couple of weeks ago, just could not get it into any gear unless I turned the engine off, then it would slip in easy. At first as already suggested here it was thought that it just needed bleeding, the brakes and clutch would both be affected by this. Unfortunately for me they bled the system but this had no effect. They thought it could be the master cylinder or the clutch. In the end they felt it was the clutch so replaced that, the problem was with the 'fingers' on the clutch. Not a cheap job I am afraid.

[adsgreen]

Worth changing the fluids for something decent - both brake/clutch and gearbox oil.
Ive found without fail cold weather gear engagement issues to be the voice of oil in the box.

If doing it when warm then possibly something else.

[RS4pete]

That seem logical. If its mechanical it'll be there all the time. If its the fluids it'll improve as the engine/gearbox warms up.

[ROY]

Same here
1st a bit more difficult than other gears but its not causing me a problem
It went in for service at Audi on Monday and seems a bit better.

[michael26uk]

If you google clutch problems on the B7 RS4, there are loads of problems worldwide but no definitive answers.I picked up my saloon last week, and after a 1 and a half hour motorway drive home the clutch peddle stuck to the floor, another common clutch problem.

I'm starting to wonder if the clutch is just not up to the job, but I'm not paying for one while it's still under warranty.

[cherub72]

Mine also has trouble getting into gear. Will be interested to see what's causing it.

[Ginors4]

Went to local garage today, mainly to get new milltek cat back exhaust fitted, however my mechanic suggested it was more of a sync issue in gearbox which seems to be quite a familiar pattern through this forum. Having only owned the car for two days now I have decided to perhaps change gearbox oil for now and monitor it for a couple of weeks. I have noticed that is only when in stationary and selecting gears and does appear to be slightly worse when cold. Driving normally seems absolutely fine which suggests to me that it my not be clutch related. But I may be wrong

[Tile Diver]

Well!!!

Thought I'd give an update on the above topic:

Finally got the car back from the French main dealer, 2 weeks they had it which didn't help my paranoia as i was working away and the wife was dealing with it in my absence.

So first of all, the car seems to be driving perfect, no sign of any gear selection or clutch issues, as expected.

I asked them to look at all the small issues first before taking the gearbox out, i.e. clutch return pipe, bleed the clutch, stuff like that, which they said they did with no problems found.

So it was out with the gearbox £££££ !!! I'm still not sure what the main issue was, with my broken French and the dealers broken English, but they replaced a few bits related to the clutch / gearbox, see photo attached. I also had them replace the clutch return pipe, pressure plate, friction plate, pressure plate bolts and the release bearing as a precautionary measure. I was also going to get them to replace the flywheel at the same time but after inspection they said it was in good condition and didn't need to be done, I hope it doesn't come back to haunt me!!

If anyone can identify the parts in the photo It would be much appreciated, i know the one is the release bearing, so just the other stuff.

So I'm happy the car is going well although my wallet is considerably lighter!! anyway, no one ever said RS ownership was inexpensive!!

Cheers!!

[MikeFish]

A mechanic told me several years ago when I was having problems with another car that if I had trouble selecting the gears only with the engine running it was a clutch issue but if it did the same when he engine was off too it was a gearbox issue.

[adsgreen]

One looks like a solenoid (reverse gear lockout?) and the ring looks like the part Arthur points to as the source of the sticking clutch pedal issue.

[Dal]

Master and slave cylinders

[F@tBoyF@t]

Master and slave cylinders

+ the switch on the left is a clutch switch

- Dave (aka ROY) changed this recently - in fact that's most likely the wooden flooring in his front room...

Wasn't your car a low mileage (c28k) example?
You haven't had much luck with it so far.

As you say, RS4 ownership is never going to be cheap?
- not for the faint hearted, which is why I smile when I see these ...."trying to choose between a BMW 118d or an RS4 - what can I expect by way of fuel consumption?" posts

[Dal]

Master and slave cylinders

+ the switch on the left is a clutch switch

- Dave (aka ROY) changed this recently - in fact that's most likely the wooden flooring in his front room...

Wasn't your car a low mileage (c28k) example?
You haven't had much luck with it so far.

As you say, RS4 ownership is never going to be cheap?
- not for the faint hearted, which is why I smile when I see these ...."trying to choose between a BMW 118d or an RS4 - what can I expect by way of fuel consumption?" posts

Love fuel consumption posts..it's a 4.2 V8 ffs...

[Tile Diver]

Master and slave cylinders

+ the switch on the left is a clutch switch

- Dave (aka ROY) changed this recently - in fact that's most likely the wooden flooring in his front room...

Wasn't your car a low mileage (c28k) example?
You haven't had much luck with it so far.

As you say, RS4 ownership is never going to be cheap?
- not for the faint hearted, which is why I smile when I see these ...."trying to choose between a BMW 118d or an RS4 - what can I expect by way of fuel consumption?" posts

F@tB@yF@t,

Its a long story, but yeah the engine has only done around 28k as it was replaced by Audi at around 17k due to a fault that they couldn't pinpoint, so I'm not sure whether the clutch would have been replaced then, I wouldn't have thought so, therefore the clutch has done 48k like the rest of the car has.

But your correct I haven't had much luck so far, although my previous front disc and pad replacement fiasco was my own doing, as I wanted to do it myself and it turned into a nightmare!!

The car is all back together now and its driving great, who only knows for how long though!

As for fuel consumption... it is what it is and I knew what the score was before I bought one so it doesn't come as a shock, I still drive it as it should be driven up and down the valley and wouldn't have it any other way!!

Oh, the wife said to me the other day "why does everyone look at the car? and she said 2 guys stopped in their tracks the other day just staring at it, she read their lips, an RS4 they said!!

People who know what it is, know what it is!!

[Tile Diver]

Cheers for the identification on the parts too folks!!!