A4 1.8 20v difficulty engaging gears. Hydraullics? Gearbox oil? Clutch?

[ashy90]

My 1997 Audi A4 is difficult to engage gears, especially when stationary. Its a 1.8 20v with 93k miles on the clock. It is not too bad when on the move, but when stationary its sometimes impossible to select any gears. Clutch biting point is very high, but then so are all A4's of this age with this engine.

What are the clutch hydraullics like on these cars - do they ever give issues? Is there any adjustment of the clutch?

Worse case scenario are new clutch's big jobs on these cars?

[brokenroads]

Do you ever notice the brake fluid level dropping? my AEB is on 138k now and the release bearing is noisy as hell but gear selection is fine so I would check the master/slave cylinder for leaks first off and then it couldnt hurt to change the clutch fluid/bleed it through. I doubt it will ever have been done.

If it has been a city driven car it will tend to suffer more in the clutch department of course.

As for the clutch change, its a fairly big job according to Mr Clutch and the like...I got the place I got my tyres from on tuesday to give me a quote for ***** and giggles, £997!! That included a new Dual Mass Flywheel too, which ideally should be changed at the same time, although you may get away with it. A clutch kit is only about £75, when I do mine im going to remove the engine rather than the gearbox, easier for my back, but to do it the gearbox out way is pretty easy, alot of folks reckon they are easier than a transverse FWD.

[ashy90]

To be honest, I havnt checked the brake or clutch fluid.

After using it a little bit yesterday - took the car for its MOT re-test etc. it seems to have eased up a bit, and was selecting gears better. Will see how it goes!