Car is low and went up a driveway that was too steep and got beached.

I then reversed out of it and parked elsewhere no problem

Then went back drove home (20mins) and did a u turn and suddenly car lost gears and will not engage

Any idea what it might be and whether it is related to initially being beached

https://youtube.com/shorts/XmzEyK4VZ6Y?si=LboPycVv3Y01Q2Lt

 

There's nothing under the gearbox that can get damaged to the point of not being able to engage gears if the car got beached (ouch, poor thing!). The lowest point are the frame rails which are reinforced so those would have been on the ground first before the gearbox or drive shaft could have made contact. What was the shifting feel like prior to this? Age of clutch? Pedal feel?

 

that’s good to know!

shifting felt fine prior to this, however to be fair I was freeway driving on the way back home mainly.

Clutch is pretty old now though didn’t think the clacking sound when trying to engage gears was reminiscent of a slipping clutch (may be wrong)

pedal has no engagement/bite whatsoever

had thought maybe I had cracked the transmission case and now left with no oil as a possibility

 

This could just be a case of bad timing. Sounds like your clutch was on it's way out and then just happened to blow out after the beach incident. You can check your clutch fluid level to ensure it didn't run dry (meaning you have a leak somewhere) because if it did then there is no way you will be able to change gear. If you can, get underneath the car to inspect the slave cylinder.

 

Does the pedal feel different when pressing it down to the floor? Like you lost hydraulic pressure?

Maybe, try bleeding the clutch line?

 

Yeah this could be the trouble area.

 

The slave cylinder could have been damaged if something was sticking up in the right place.

A slipping clutch does not cause hard shifting.It does not clank either typically. It just does not want to pull the car (Aka rpm increases while vehicle speed does not)

clutch not disengaging when you depress the pedal does though. So if the slave or its line were damaged then that could be what is going on here. And the fact that the pedal feels like it is not doing anything furthers that thought. So, get it on stands, inspect the slave cylinder and its line.

Another quick test. Does it shift into gear fine with the engine off, but not do so when the engine is running? If this is the case, then clutch hydraulics or damaged slave cylinder is likely the issue.

 

Speculation seems easier than asking OP to investigate the issue even slightly.

I think its the rotation of the Earth, relative to the position of a whale. This happens once every 6,000 years.

 

We gave some things to check, along with the reason they could be worth checking. Should be obvious if it is related to the slave cylinder once it is up in the air. Either a visible leak, visible damage or the pushrod and arm do not move when the clutch pedal is depressed.

 

OP, have you *used your eyes* to look under the car to see what's damaged?

What do you mean by "the clutch has no engagement or biting point"?

Or is this more of a "talk about how I feel" rather than "find solutions" discussion? I often cannot distinguish.