jmourra

So I just bought a sweet '89 80, and everything has been great, with the exception of the trans. On cold starts, the engines fires up perfectly, maybe idles a little low for a second, but no noticeable problems there. The trouble however, is that it wont shift into gear. The clutch feels as if it is actually pressed in an inch more than normal, so even when it is all the way down, it might not be disengaging properly. Eventually after I let it warm up for a bit, i can force it into reverse and get out of my parking space, but shifting is a little difficult. after a few minutes of driving however (or even turning off the car and going back in 30 minutes), the car will be fine, and shifts as smooth as it should. I talked to a mechanic, who said Id need a new transmission... Id rather not if I can help it, but hopefully the above info is enough to get some good opinions from you guys.... oh, and FYI, it is a 4-cylinder, 76000 miles, and the problem just started maybe two weeks ago, and has been getting worse (each time, it takes longer to warm up to shift). Thanks for any help, I appreciate it.

--James Mourra

DJ Springer

It will be good in the summer and maybe next winter you will have to replace it

QCRAZY

...but it sounds like your clutch is worn or your loosing a master/slave cylinder!! I would lean toward the bad master/slave!!

I've had good experience w/ just changing the fluid in the past, though!! Might be worth a shot, especially if it's started since the temp. has dropped. That's usually a clue to lean toward the fluid!!

HTH!!
---
Andrew
90 80q
91 90
95 90q

Seattle Scott

Maybe a pilot bearing? (Can be done during a clutch job.)

jmourra

I was thinking it was more likely the clutch.... I am currently missing the clutch release spring, which means that the pedal usually sits about halfway up, and I have a bad feeling about this... hopefully the spring will be in stock soon, and i can then have the clutch worked on.... I think this is much better than a tranny overhaul.... hopefully.... thanks for the advice

MikTip

Found the "older" gearbox's(pre 90') have a design problem. Audi machines the ring and pinion gears to "wear into spec". Leaving them "rough cut". This causes metal particles to form.This can cause the differential bearings to wears prematurely! Especially the right side diff bearing! Audi later corrected the problem by increasing the differential bearings size and load capacity. As well as closer machine tolerance on the ring and pinions.

If the bearing wears, it will cause shifting problems due to the differential being mis-aligned, and not allowing the gearbox to shift correctly. Especially noticable while cold. However usually the shifting problem persists in 2nd gear, reverse or another gear depending on model of gearbox.

If you were to open up the side differential cover on your gearbox, you would find a large magnet full of metal particles. Problem is, once the magnet gets full the remaining particles float around causing havoc. Since the gearbox is a "sealed" unit, the particles of metal have no where to go, and aid in the gearbox's rapid demise.

I've rebuilt several Audi Quattro and non Quattro, 5 speed gearbox's and they all exibited the same wear problems. In a technical letter to Audi, we addressed the issue, and were politely replied to with "our engineers are constantly improving our product" line.

If you examine Audi's newer gearbox's they have clearly addressed this issue and implemented a fix.

However if you try and get replacement bearings, most Audi dealers will try and sell you bearings
"Made in Japan".........

jmourra

Well, the problem is solved, and it seems like the most obscure problem i have ever encountered. I mentioned in my post that the clutch pedal was missing its release spring, so it usually sat in the middle position, and would pop up with a flick of my toe. I have the spring on order, but ive been driving it anyway. Well, apparently, letting it sit halfway must put a very slight amount of pressure on the clutch, and letting it sit over night actually compressed the clutch to the point where if i started it up in the morning, pushing the clutch to the floor wouldnt actually disengage it.... so basically, i let it sit over night after pulling the clutch to the furthest "up" position, and went out and started it up--no more problem. Just back to the same sweet, smooth shifting i originally had.

Hopefully this will help out somebody else in the future, as it was a true pain in the @$$. Everyones help here is greatly appreciated, especially the fact that it was a clutch problem, and not a gearbox problem as i thought. Anyway, thanks again for all your help, especially since I'm not that good at diagnosing and repairing car issues. But Im trying my best to learn...