Won't shift gears, help with diagnostics?
 

Hi all, My son and I are working blind on a new to us R53. We do not have any history or records on the car. We are going to do the maintenance listed in the FAQ section here in the forum. However, we are not able to drive the car. It starts and the engine sounds great. When the engine is running I cannot put the car in any gear. I removed the skid plate and the slave cylinder looks new and seems to be working fine, press in the clutch and looks like it is moving as it should, both while it is running and not. The fluid level is normal. The clutch feels fine. If the engine is off I can put it into any gear. With the engine off I can put the car in gear, start the car, let out the clutch and it stalls. Any ideas or suggestions? Thanks! OK, why did I buy a car before driving it... it was an auction, I am in the car $1,000.

Sounds like a faulty throw out bearing/clutch.

After you start the car, with the clutch in and the car in 1st, does the engine idle smoothly?
If you release the brake with the clutch still in, does the car try to creep forward?
Does it stall when you let out the clutch slowly with the brake released, or can you start driving in 1st?

+1. I had the exact same symptoms - throwout bearing had failed. Not an expensive part, but boy, getting to it takes a while.

Yes, the engine idles smoothly.
The car does creep forward.
I can start driving in 1st, in fact, clutchless shifts into 2,3,4 no problem. It drives really nice. I did not try to just drive without a clutch before. As long as I don't neep to stop I can drive it. When I stop I need to put back in neutral turn the car off, put it in first, start the car and I am good to go.

I guess I need a clutch and will replace the throwout bearing with the kit.

Or vice-versa. When I did my bearing, I also switched to a Valeo clutch (lighter weight, lighter pedal effort), did all the front suspension bushings, and probably some other stuff that I don't remember. If you're the type to do this job yourself, there are two Youtube videos from ModMini and a writeup at Pelican Parts that are well worth checking out..

It could still be the slave cylinder. They are known to fail. How much throw do you get with it when you press the pedal to the floor?

What is normal? I did not get a chance to actually measure the distance but took these videos the other day just because I was alone and wanted to see if it was working.

engine running

engine off

It’s not the slave. Pull the trans and replace the clutch/tob.