Audi A3 clutch to the floor and gear stuck in gear!

[Michelle123]

Hi all, apologies if this topic has already been brought up but I desperately need answers...

Basically, I experienced the above problem in April of this year and was told by the recovery guy and my local garage that it was the master cylinder and had this changed. After having the master cylinder changed,..fast forward to July 2014 and the same problem has happened again clutch to the floor 1st gear stuck in gear!

Just called the garage who said that they will call me back but he did mention that the other cylinder (gear cylinder needs to be replaced) now I'm no mechanic but should this not have been changed when the said problem happened back in April?

Also, how many cylinders does a car have?

I really don't want to be shelling out another set of money if this problem could have been avoided.

Someone please respond ASAP as I want to be prepared for when they call me back.

Thanks in advance Michelle123

[HumbleJim]

Sounds a bit fishy to me, try posting in the Audi section as well.

[TheEnd]

There's two cylinders, a master cylinder which is what you push with your foot, and the slave cylinder which is connected with hydraulics on the gearbox which operates the clutch.

[anonymous-user]

iirc, don't these cars (and the VW/Seat relatives) have a silly plastic bush in the clutch pedal that snaps and leaves you stranded? ie the master cylinder is fine, but the "overcentre feel" spring is keeping the pedal down?

[Michelle123]

HumbleJim said:

Sounds a bit fishy to me, try posting in the Audi section as well.

Thank you, I will post on the Audi forum (once I know how),lol

[Michelle123]

TheEnd said:

There's two cylinders, a master cylinder which is what you push with your foot, and the slave cylinder which is connected with hydraulics on the gearbox which operates the clutch.

Thank you for your response, sorry quick question should the garage have changed the hydraulics back in April as the same problem has occurred?

[TheEnd]

They wouldn't replace everything, just what needs to be done, and it looks like they did something as it was working again.
It could be a new problem on a different part, or maybe the bit they fitted was cheap and nasty and broke again.

[Michelle123]

Hi all, I've already posted this in the technical forum so I apologise if this topic has already been brought up but I desperately need answers...

Basically, I experienced the above problem in April of this year and was told by the recovery guy and my local garage that it was the master cylinder and had this changed. After having the master cylinder changed,..fast forward to July 2014 and the same problem has happened again clutch to the floor 1st gear stuck in gear!

Just called the garage who said that they will call me back but he did mention that the other cylinder (gear cylinder needs to be replaced) now I'm no mechanic but should this not have been changed when the said problem happened back in April?

Also, how many cylinders does a car have?

I really don't want to be shelling out another set of money if this problem could have been avoided.

Someone please respond ASAP as I want to be prepared for when they call me back.

Thanks in advance Michelle123

[Michelle123]

TheEnd said:

They wouldn't replace everything, just what needs to be done, and it looks like they did something as it was working again.
It could be a new problem on a different part, or maybe the bit they fitted was cheap and nasty and broke again.

Ok, thanks for your quick response

[Michelle123]

Just got a call from the garage and they said that it was the slave cylinder, will collect the car tomorrow. Thank you all for your replies, have a great weekend x

[SmithyAG]

"The other cylinder" may be the slave cylinder, which is at the other end of the hydraulic system, and is located inside the bellhousing of the gearbox next the the clutch.

When you press the pedal, the master cylinder forces fluid down a tube and to the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder expands (best way to describe it), and operates the clutch, allowing you to change gear. Should either fail, then there is no hydraulic pressure and the clutch does not operate correctly and you end up stuck in gear. Whilst it is possible to get out of the gear by rocking the car back and forth, there isn't much point as you won't be able to drive it.

If it is the slave cylinder that has failed then unfortunately the gearbox has to come off, which is not a cheap job. If replacing it, you are best off replacing the clutch and possibly the flywheel too, as otherwise this labour will need paying for again if/when the clutch needs replacing.

[Michelle123]

SmithyAG said:

"The other cylinder" may be the slave cylinder, which is at the other end of the hydraulic system, and is located inside the bellhousing of the gearbox next the the clutch.

When you press the pedal, the master cylinder forces fluid down a tube and to the slave cylinder. The slave cylinder expands (best way to describe it), and operates the clutch, allowing you to change gear. Should either fail, then there is no hydraulic pressure and the clutch does not operate correctly and you end up stuck in gear. Whilst it is possible to get out of the gear by rocking the car back and forth, there isn't much point as you won't be able to drive it.

If it is the slave cylinder that has failed then unfortunately the gearbox has to come off, which is not a cheap job. If replacing it, you are best off replacing the clutch and possibly the flywheel too, as otherwise this labour will need paying for again if/when the clutch needs replacing.

Thank you so much, the garage called and confirmed that the slave cylinder has gone this time. I will ask them in more detail tomorrow of work they carried out.

Michelle123

[SmithyAG]

As I said, if they were replacing the Slave Cylinder, then I would expect them to quote for replacing the clutch at the same time. Basically because the amount of labour is the same, and it saves you having to pay the labour again when the clutch wears out.


Let us know how you get on.

[andyiley]

SmithyAG said:

As I said, if they were replacing the Slave Cylinder, then I would expect them to quote for replacing the clutch at the same time. Basically because the amount of labour is the same, and it saves you having to pay the labour again when the clutch wears out.


Let us know how you get on.

Surely not!

Is this really the situation on these?

Is the slave inside the bell-housing or some-such?

I have not come across that before.

[G600]

Max_Torque said:

iirc, don't these cars (and the VW/Seat relatives) have a silly plastic bush in the clutch pedal that snaps and leaves you stranded? ie the master cylinder is fine, but the "overcentre feel" spring is keeping the pedal down?

I had that problem on my Leon, it wasn't the bit of plastic that broke but the bit of metal welded onto the side of the pedal for the M/C and clip to fit into that sheared at the weld.

[S0 What]

SmithyAG said:

As I said, if they were replacing the Slave Cylinder, then I would expect them to quote for replacing the clutch at the same time. Basically because the amount of labour is the same, and it saves you having to pay the labour again when the clutch wears out.


Let us know how you get on.

External slaves on these IIRC so a fairly quick easy job, no gearbox removal, no clutch change.

[SmithyAG]

Ah, external slave makes life easier.

My A3 with 6 speed box is internal, should have probably asked what engine/box combo OP had.

[Mr2Mike]

andyiley said:

Surely not!

Is this really the situation on these?

Is the slave inside the bell-housing or some-such?

I have not come across that before.

Loads of cars use concentric slave cylinders now.

[Michelle123]

SmithyAG said:

As I said, if they were replacing the Slave Cylinder, then I would expect them to quote for replacing the clutch at the same time. Basically because the amount of labour is the same, and it saves you having to pay the labour again when the clutch wears out.


Let us know how you get on.

Well here I am two weeks later after having the slave cylinder replaced, now my clutch has gone!!!! The mechanic has informed me that I also have another problem (the flywheel).....I've asked him to only put the new clutch at this time.

I'm so annoyed with the car, mechanic practically everything......

And there's my latest update!!! Thanks for listening

[Super Slo Mo]

I really hate to say this, after all the bad luck you've had, but if it's a dual mass flywheel, then replacing it while the clutch is being done might be prudent. Dual Mass Flywheels are known to fail, it's not uncommon at all.

It does, however, seem remarkably unlucky for both cylinders and the clutch to fail within a relatively short time of each other.

Out of mild, and irrelevant, interest, what engine does the car have, and how old is it?

A second opinion wouldn't hurt if the car's able to be moved, although by the sound of it, it isn't.

Can we presume you've not suffered clutch failure on a car previously, just to rule out some kind of mad clutch slipping abuse that you might have subjected it to? I'm not suggesting this for a minute, but I ask based on having experienced my sister killing a brand new clutch in under 5,000 miles simply because she abused it continuously, despite being advised not to, although that was a bit of special case.