Clutch Replacement or....

[fixmyac]

Hi,

Recently my 2005 S40 diesel had trouble first thing in the morning. Very Very hard to get it into Reverse gear. It would be ok once the engine is warm.

Few weeks later it has gotten worse. 1st gear is also near impossible until the engine is very warm.

A lot of people told me its probably clutch oil, mechanic says I need a new clutch and flywheel. He said that without looking at it. He attempted to drive it cold and called me. I ask him why it would work perfectly ok when the engine is warm (really perfectly!). He didnt have much to say about that.

Not sure what to do. Replace the clutch and flywheel, or try another mechanic?

[msh]

Hi
mine does the same as yours
I changed the gearbox oil made no difference. I guessing that the parts inside of the dual mass flywheel need to warm up
Mark

[Clan]

Hi,

Recently my 2005 S40 diesel had trouble first thing in the morning. Very Very hard to get it into Reverse gear. It would be ok once the engine is warm.

Few weeks later it has gotten worse. 1st gear is also near impossible until the engine is very warm.

A lot of people told me its probably clutch oil, mechanic says I need a new clutch and flywheel. He said that without looking at it. He attempted to drive it cold and called me. I ask him why it would work perfectly ok when the engine is warm (really perfectly!). He didnt have much to say about that.

Not sure what to do. Replace the clutch and flywheel, or try another mechanic?

It would be the clutch plate sticking on the splines , why they suggest a flywheel , who knows , as long as it passes the volvo play specifications and isnt overheated it would be ok to re use , they don't fail on a daily basis ..

[msh]

thanks Clan

[Scouseladchris]

Iv noticed a problem with mine when cold start up struggles to find 1st and 2nd once im in seconds it juggers in low speeds once warmed up its perfectly fine ? Is this similar to yours ?

[msh]

yes sound very similar

[VolvoOwnerSimon]

Hi Guys, I have a 2005 S40 1.8 and for the past couple of weeks I have been experiencing exactly the same problems, Struggling to engage 1st, 2nd and reverse. I only bought the car about 12 weeks ago from my local main dealer and I have had it back to the dealership on numerous occasions and they have constantly said there is not a problem which I completely disagree with, The service manager said stiff gearboxes are a common problem yet claims there is not a problem. Any ways it has now progressed to the point where the dealer principal has stepped in and said he wants his Master technician to take the car home and use it for a couple of days to see if he can experience said problem and also he will change the gearbox oil to see if that makes a difference, I have pointed out what a previous member (Clan) has said about the clutch plate sticking but this has been dismissed I assume they are just reluctant to remove the gearbox as the car is still under warranty etc. But if it gets to the point were they do remove the gearbox and re-grease and so on a shall report back if it makes a difference of any kind.

Thanks Simon

[V50scoobS70]

This is exactly the same in my V50.
After a couple of changes in the cold mornings,mine is ok.
It was exactly the same with my FL220 18 tonner from new,so I am not too concerned.
Regards Andy:thumbs_up:

[VolvoOwnerSimon]

It does get better eventually but it takes quite some time, plus on occasions I have had to try and engage 1st or reverse to or three times cause it won't go in how hard I try and it has flicked back out of gear a few times also. The cars gearbox was as smooth as silk when I bought so I would like it back that way.

Thanks Simon

[Rooster]

Try changing the gearbox oil and flushing the clutch line with fresh brake fluid as people change brake fluid but never think to do clutch line aswell,

Bled some in past that came out like black sludge as it had never been changed

[Clan]

Hi Guys, I have a 2005 S40 1.8 and for the past couple of weeks I have been experiencing exactly the same problems, Struggling to engage 1st, 2nd and reverse. I only bought the car about 12 weeks ago from my local main dealer and I have had it back to the dealership on numerous occasions and they have constantly said there is not a problem which I completely disagree with, The service manager said stiff gearboxes are a common problem yet claims there is not a problem. Any ways it has now progressed to the point where the dealer principal has stepped in and said he wants his Master technician to take the car home and use it for a couple of days to see if he can experience said problem and also he will change the gearbox oil to see if that makes a difference, I have pointed out what a previous member (Clan) has said about the clutch plate sticking but this has been dismissed I assume they are just reluctant to remove the gearbox as the car is still under warranty etc. But if it gets to the point were they do remove the gearbox and re-grease and so on a shall report back if it makes a difference of any kind.

Thanks Simon

The best way is to demonstrate the problem to them ..
A final check that it is the clutch plate sticking on the splines is when you are trying to get it into gear keep some pressure on the gearlever to engage the gear then turn the engine off keeping the pressure on , if it slips into gear as soon as the engine stops it is exactly what i suggested earlier .

[VolvoOwnerSimon]

Hi, sorry to drag old thread up. I eventually demonstrated the problem to the dealership by taking a video on my phone of reverse gear not engaging which forced the dealership into action, to which they agreed to take the gearbox out and re-grease the splines (As a good will gesture), after I asked what the possibility of clutch drag would be they said it would be very unlikely but did not put up much of a fight.

But they also said that whilst the gearbox was out it would be advisable to change the Concentric Slave Cylinder no matter on condition as its the first part to fail?! To which I agreed but they said they would contact me to let me know on state of clutch which they did not. Any ways long story short, Re-greased splines and new concentric slave cylinder and fully synthetic oil and clutch was in very good shape apparently.

I got the car back on Saturday just gone and have only done about 50 miles and so far it has not refused to go into gear but its still so stiff to get into gear and when changed from gear to gear its like you can feel the cogs dragging its hard to explain but it doesn't feel normal. So I'm kind of left scratching my head as the dealership believe this stiff gear change is a CHARACTERISTIC of the vehicle and the last lot of work they have done was a good will gesture which I theoretically had to pay for even though Its still under warranty, So it looks highly unlikely they will want to do any more as from there point of view they have checked everything.

So is there possibly anything else that could cause the stiff gear change or anything that I can take to dealership to drop this Characteristic nonsense? sorry for extended report lol Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Simon

[danielm85948]

Hi, sorry to drag old thread up. I eventually demonstrated the problem to the dealership by taking a video on my phone of reverse gear not engaging which forced the dealership into action, to which they agreed to take the gearbox out and re-grease the splines (As a good will gesture), after I asked what the possibility of clutch drag would be they said it would be very unlikely but did not put up much of a fight.

But they also said that whilst the gearbox was out it would be advisable to change the Concentric Slave Cylinder no matter on condition as its the first part to fail?! To which I agreed but they said they would contact me to let me know on state of clutch which they did not. Any ways long story short, Re-greased splines and new concentric slave cylinder and fully synthetic oil and clutch was in very good shape apparently.

I got the car back on Saturday just gone and have only done about 50 miles and so far it has not refused to go into gear but its still so stiff to get into gear and when changed from gear to gear its like you can feel the cogs dragging its hard to explain but it doesn't feel normal. So I'm kind of left scratching my head as the dealership believe this stiff gear change is a CHARACTERISTIC of the vehicle and the last lot of work they have done was a good will gesture which I theoretically had to pay for even though Its still under warranty, So it looks highly unlikely they will want to do any more as from there point of view they have checked everything.

So is there possibly anything else that could cause the stiff gear change or anything that I can take to dealership to drop this Characteristic nonsense? sorry for extended report lol Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Simon
it may be the gearbox oil is the wrong type.

[Welton]

My car is fitted with the Getrag 6-Speed M66 gearbox. I have owned the car for 6 years and taken it from 24K miles to 78K, in that time I have always experienced difficulty in selecting reverse and first gears when the gear oil is COLD. Once warmed up a little the problem goes away and the gear changes are excellent, probably the nicest feeling gearbox I've had.

Clearly this issue is going to be pronounced in this cold snap we've had where the ambient temp has barely exceeded +5 deg C. Gear oil is quite thick in order that it can cope with the higher temps experienced on a fast motorway run on a hot summers day for example. It's quite hard to get an oil that covers all situations.

If your gears feel ok once the car warms up then I wouldn't worry too much, certainly in the summer the 'cold' starts are barely an issue.

[VolvoOwnerSimon]

it may be the gearbox oil is the wrong type.
All the work has been done at my local Volvo dealer and they quoted to me that they put the best fully synthetic oil in my gearbox they could.

My car is fitted with the Getrag 6-Speed M66 gearbox. I have owned the car for 6 years and taken it from 24K miles to 78K, in that time I have always experienced difficulty in selecting reverse and first gears when the gear oil is COLD. Once warmed up a little the problem goes away and the gear changes are excellent, probably the nicest feeling gearbox I've had.

Clearly this issue is going to be pronounced in this cold snap we've had where the ambient temp has barely exceeded +5 deg C. Gear oil is quite thick in order that it can cope with the higher temps experienced on a fast motorway run on a hot summers day for example. It's quite hard to get an oil that covers all situations.

If your gears feel ok once the car warms up then I wouldn't worry too much, certainly in the summer the 'cold' starts are barely an issue.

Thanks for the Info Welton, I was thinking perhaps it is due to the colder temperatures and it may well be but my only reservation with this theory is when I bought the car in October this problem was not there and the change from gear to gear was great, Granted the temperature was slightly warmer in October than it is now.

I think I should perhaps just persist with it until temps rise and see if I have similar issues. I have a 5 Speed Ford gearbox coupled to my 1.8 Ford Duratec engine I believe it is and one thing the dealership did say was the 5 speed gearbox's were common to have stiff changes? Anyways thanks and if any one else has any info advice etc It will be much appreciated.

Thanks Simon