06' MCS 118,000miles. I am second owner purchased at 112k
Clutch said to have been replaced by Previous owner at around 100k.

I purchased this car a couple months ago, it is my first MCS, I love the car but it has been a bit of a headache of failing parts and issues.. But I come from the VW world so it's nothing new to me.
About a week ago after a quick stop at store I back out of parking spot, pull onto road, push clutch in and cannot shift into 2nd. Pump clutch pedal, no change, try other gears, no engagement. Pedal feels fine and returns fine. Shut car off, change into all gears, figure nurse car 3 miles home and worry about it then. Put in 3rd, start car, let out clutch and creep up to speed. Attempt to shift and all is suddenly fine.
For the next day or so, no issues, local stop and go driving. Go out later at night with wife, drive around town stop and go, plenty of shifts with no issues. Park, let sit a couple hours, back out of spot and won't change gears again. Same thing as above, shut off car, put in gear, drive a little and magically all is good. Next day, check slave, no leaks, check cables below airbox, some minor wear but not broken or falling off. Order slave anyway at dealer. Drive 40minutes to dealer, highway with no issues, get to dealer, park, go in get part come back out, no engagement. Noticed when I shut off car, put in gear, press pedal to floor and start car wants to roll a little. No clutch shifted to highway get home and just about home and everything works normal again.
Replaced slave cylinder next day, noticed a tiny little bit of seepage when removing old one but not significant, also checked clutch master(no leaks). New slave installed, bled system, good pedal, no issues.
Drive all around probably 100 miles, stop and go, plenty of shifting, zero issues. Same today all through town, running errands stop and go, shifting no issues. Stop at grocery store with wife, let sit 30minutes, back out of spot, won't go into gear. Shut off car, put in gear with pedal down and start, car surges slightly like clutch pedal is not down. Same rev match shift, by the time I get 7 miles home it's back to normal.
From experience it feels hydraulic, but I'm lost now. Lines, slave and master aren't leaking, issue is very intermittent. No air in lines, no sponginess or loss of pedal
I have only checked fluid level in trans, not drain and fill.
I have read about shift forks being cracked, bent and broken but the issues is very intermittent. When all is operating fine there is no issues at all..
I tried the search but didn't come up with anything.. But will continue looking.

 

Bump.. Anybody?

 

I've read that a cracked, broken or bent shifter fork (inside the bell housing) could display those symptoms. Have you checked that off of your list?

 

I haven't checked that off the list as of yet..
With the issue being extremely intermittent I find it hard to believe that could be the problem. I drove 2 days again with no problems, then out of the blue no engagement. If I shut car off put in gear and start with pedal down it wants to roll.. Which it shouldn't.
Yesterday I replaced clutch master, it wasn't expensive and quick to replace. Thoroughly bled system and so far so good. Drove it around last night, I'd say about 75-80 shifts with no issues.
I did disassemble the old master, there was no external leaks. The rod pushes into the housing and there is an oring on the clip that holds it all together. Then further down that rod is a collar with another oring and then the magnet on the end for the clutch safety switch. I am assuming collar and o-ring acts as a check valve? So that there is no loss of pressure while pedal is depressed? Then when pedal is released it passes opening for line that leads to slave and allows pressure to return. The magnet at the end had some small debris on it, maybe this caused some wear in the bore or to the o-ring.
Who knows.. Have to see how today goes.

 

Good luck, let us know if the new master cylinder fixed it

 

Well I replaced the clutch master and thoroughly bled the system. All was good for a few days and lots of shifts. Probably about 200 miles or so.
A couple days ago after driving and letting sit for a few hours it wouldn't engage again unless I **** the car off put in gear and started. Again when doing this the vehicle lurches like the pedal isn't down.
I had my wife operate the pedal while I checked travel at the slave and it's the same when it's working right and when it isn't. So my next assumption is its shift fork, throw out bearing or clutch related. It's so intermittent.. I can go days with zero issues and out of the blue it happens.
But.. After driving today my battery light came on and the Alternator I replaced in June is only putting out 12v. So I guess I'll pull the trans while I replace the alternator again, may as well pull the leaking header off see if I can weld it or replace and I guess I'll do rear main seal, front cover seal, oil pan gasket.
I really like this car but holy sh@t.. one thing after the next.

 

Man, I really feel your frustration. I've owned around 20 cars in my life and I've loved working on most of 'em. What it really comes down to, with regards to working on a previously-owned car, is what the previous owner(s) did to it, and how well; how it was driven and how it was taken care of. It's that unknown that kills you. Sometimes it's just time for the parts to go, but so often the problem is a combination of a couple/few problems that were never dealt with, and that makes it so much harder to track down the issue.

You know, of course, that if you pull the trans there's no reason to not replace the clutch and rear seal while you're in there...? Unless you already know how many mile are on it. More $, yes, but then you'll know what you've got.

 

Filmy,

That's exactly my thought at this point, the more I replace now the less I'll be replacing later. I just hope to get to a point where I feel comfortable driving it for a while instead of having the "what the hell is gonna break today" feeling. But, like I said I come from many years in VW's, so I am kind of used to it. Hahaha...

 

Refinisher-
did you ever solve this?

Shift linkage? Shifter retainer - plastic ring holding shifting rod in place?