Car doesn't want to go into gear when it's cold out
 

So...this was the first time I was driving my s in the cold....and it did not want to go into any gear.after playing with it a bit I was able to get it to third then reverse. Any ideas?


Also I haveno idea wat type of oil the previous owner used. Anyway of telling if they used synthetic or not?

Ah just flung my answer in the FAQ....well then to the second question

To your second question.. Drain the oil and have it analyzed (most brand name garages do an oil analysis).. and replace it with synthetic.

Checke your clutch fluid level. If it's low, you will need to add clutch fluid and bleed your lines to get the air out.

If this doesn't fix it, you likely have problems with your synchros. Changing your transmission fluid might help, but it's hard to tell if it will fix it.

Surprise no one has said this.. Tried adjusting the clutch pedal? Happened to me and I adjusted it, goes into gear fine now. :rolleyes:

Will it go into gear when the engine is off? If it does, then your tranny is likely OK. When it doesn't go into gear when the engine is running, that's an indication that the clutch won't disengage enough to disconnect power to the tranny and it's still being turned. When it happens because it gets really cold, that's an indication that there is air in the clutch system. Air contracts a lot when the temperature gets low. This, in turn, makes it seem like you're only partially depressing the clutch. Solution is to get the air out. Water in the system can also convert to air (vapour). If you have air, you likely also have water. Get the clutch fluid changed and bled.

If you are uncertain about the oil in terms of viscosity, then change it. Once you change it, there's no need to analyze it. The old oil is gone, so who really cares? If you are confident of the viscosity of the oil and when it was changed last and it's still got time and miles left, don't worry about whether it's synthetic or not. Just use whatever correct viscosity oil you have or wish to buy and use it for topping up. After the next change, you'll know exactly what you've got in there. Don't worry about mixing viscosities or synthetic with non-synthetic. This harms nothing and has been done as long as synthetics have existed. Ever heard of synthetic "blend"? If you have 4.5 qts of 5W40 and add 1 qt. of 10W30, you simply end up with a crankcase of a mix. Rough calculation would make it a 5.2W33 oil. No big deal.

What I was worried about are leaks if there wasn't synthetic in there. The car has about 130k miles so if the previous owner was using regular oil I might have leaks after switching

That's always a possibility. If it has leaks now, it'll leak more with full synthetic. If it doesn't leak, with that kind of miles on it, it may or may not leak with syn.

There are no leaks now...from what I can tell. Any recommendations on oil to switch to?

do you have any mods done to your car?