S80 2001 not engaging gear

[Robertross]

When my S80 is not running I can move the gear lever to any position. As soon as I start the car I cannot engage any gear. This problem developed very suddenly. Any ideas as to what has gone wrong? Thanks.

[Clan]

Originally Posted by Robertross

When my S80 is not running I can move the gear lever to any position. As soon as I start the car I cannot engage any gear. This problem developed very suddenly. Any ideas as to what has gone wrong? Thanks.

It will be the clutch not disengaging for some internal reason ... Probably time for a new clutch ;-(

[bychan]

I had the same problem with my car,the clutch centre plate doesn't move freely on the input shaft splines, (old grease gone hard on spline), what i did clutch peddle down select 1st start engine and drive away and change gears as normal, my volvo s80 seems to have cured itself for the time being,hope this helps.

[petey]

Obviously the next thing to do is to place th car in-gear and try to start with the clutch pedal down. It’ll bounce around, but it might free up if it’s a stiction thing. Be prepared for it to jerk forward....

[Robertross]

Hi Guys, thanks for your comments - they were spot on. My local mechanic (ex Volvo employee) suspected that the clutch slave cylinder was faulty, so took the clutch out of the car (the slave cylinder is inside the clutch - brilliant design!). The slave cylinder WAS leaking, but what was not helping matters - and almost certainly the main cause of my problem - was that the clutch pressure plate was neatly split into two halves! All fixed now.