Ok, I'm bringing this up because a few things have cropped up in a fairly short period of time that are giving me a bit of concern. I got in my stock '08 R56S (6MT) a few days ago and pushed the clutch pedal down to start the car. Pushed the START button, and got no crank at all. Radio came on, dash lights and everything, but the engine wouldn't turn. I figured I'd just pushed the button too early, so i let go of the clutch and pushed it back down again. Waited 2 seconds, then pushed the START button again. Still nothing. Repeated the process, but stepped on the clutch REALLY HARD this time, pushed the START button, and the car started normally. I didn't think anything of it, so I went about my day.

The next symptom: I think yesterday I started noticing that my gear shifts were getting a little stiff and overly notchy-feeling. For the past 5 years of ownership, it's been a really nice, pleasant *snick-snick* kind of feeling, whereas now I'm having to really work to get the car in gear. It's a definite and distinct change in feeling. The car has about 135k miles on it, and I have never changed the trans fluid, so I ordered some RedLine MTL and will be doing a fluid change when that arrives in a few days to see if that helps. I haven't looked for puddles of fluid under it, and it's been rainy here for the past few days so I don't even know if I'll find anything.

The last (and most difficult to describe and replicate) symptom I noticed only happened twice over the past few days. When driving, I *think* I noticed a tiny bit of clutch slip when I accelerated. The rpms went up faster than normal and the car didn't really accelerate. Then, after a second, it went back to normal, accelerated as expected. Again, I haven't noticed this regularly but since something seems to be acting up, I figured I should mention it.

The transmission has felt fine when it's in gear. Acceleration is strong, it's not making any abnormal sounds or anything. It's not grinding when it goes into gear, it just feels very very chunky when trying to slot it into gear.

So my first step is going to be to check under the car for signs of leaks. Then I'll do a fluid change and see how the old fluid looks and smells. I'll report back sometime this week, but if anyone else has had these kinds of symptoms and can help shed some light, I'd appreciate it.

 

Not engaging easliy is probably the release bearing (or as you call it throw out bearing). Possible other reason is slave cylinder leaking - low pressure from pedal not engaging the TB enough. Clutch slip, most likely worn clutch plate, other reason, oil on friction surfaces from leaking crankshaft seal. Your mileage would indicate wear and in need of a clutch replacement (obviously if you are in there anyway then change the crank seal whether it is leaking or not because eventually it will).
I predict the above and nothing wrong with the transmission although the idea of 'lifetime oil' is nonsense so change it anyway!

 

Thanks for the quick reply! Yikes - I'm not super thrilled with the prospect of doing a full clutch replacement, especially considering I just dropped $2600 on a timing chain replacement and turbo rebuild. But, if needs must.

Anyway, before I go full hog and pull the trans, sounds like the first thing I'll be checking (and probably just replacing as a matter of course) is the slave cylinder. Actually, the first first thing I'll do is check the brake fluid level and see if I'm missing any. That might help point me to a faulty slave cylinder.

If that doesn't do it, I guess I'll just have to pony up and do the full clutch, flywheel, and throwout bearing replacement. Plus the rear main seal, and master and slave cylinders for good measure.

 

One quick tip to prevent grief --- when changing tranny fluid, remove / loosen the fill plug first. This is to ensure you can get fluid back in, after the drain plug is removed.

 

Definitely a good tip. I'll be sure to do that.

I also thought of one other niggling symptom that I thought I'd mention. The clutch pedal, when in the process of being depressed, feels slightly chattery. Chattery may be too strong a word, actually. You know the feeling of an old wood floor creaking underfoot? That's sort of what the clutch feels like when being pushed down. I don't know when I first started feeling this, but maybe it's been made more evident by the other things I've noticed. My best uneducated guess is that this, too, is a symptom of the throwout bearing coming to the end of its life.

I did check the brake fluid level yesterday, and found that it was normal. I was parked on a slight decline, and I forgot to check again when I got home and was parked on a level surface. I also didn't find any oily spots under the transmission, so I'm kind of doubting that the slave cylinder is giving up the ghost. Besides, the clutch push feels strong, not spongy or anything. So it's looking more and more like I'm just going to bite the bullet and pull the trans to do the whole shebang. Anything else that I could or should check before I go and empty my wallet?

 

I'm late in posting, but I hate when threads leave off and a solution never gets put up.

The problem I was having was from a generally worn clutch system. The throwout bearing was indeed shot, the clutch was worn down, and the flywheel was probably a little glazed. However, the biggest factor was that my pivot pin was broken off. This allowed the clutch fork to chatter around and begin to crack around the throwout bearing. It also took a gouge out of the inside of my bell housing. I believe the extra flex in the cracked clutch fork was the reason for my hard shifts and failure of the clutch position sensor to allow the car to start.

I replaced every component of the clutch system inside the bell housing, including the pivot pin and clutch fork. I also swapped out the clutch position sensor as a matter of course.

I didn't touch any of the clutch hydraulics, but after reassembling everything, the car feels brand new again. I've put about 1500 miles on it since the swap and I haven't had any recurrence of the issues I was having before.