A200 CDI W169 2005 Transmission / Clutch Problems
11-15-2014, 01:20 PM
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A200 CDI W169 2005 Transmission / Clutch Problems
Hello everyone,
New member here in need of a bit of help. I recently purchased a 2005 W169 A200 CDI manual as a gift for my fiancee (and a bit of a personal guilty pleasure, I admit).
The configuration I was looking for seems very rare (3 doors, 140bph diesel, manual, vario roof, leather, black) so after quite some time spent searching, the only one I found was advertised with a problem. Not ideal in a A or B Class, I know, yet I decided to take a chance and buy it without the ability to test drive it.
The car is now at a garage and I'm in major need of ideas and advice from you guys so that I know what to do next week when we start work on it. The symptoms are really interesting and I will definitely share the outcome/solution when it gets fixed
Now, to get to the point, here is the information I feel is relevant for the issue:
- When first inspecting the car, the problem seemed to be somewhere in the clutch command system (hydraulics or mechanical) because it would not go into gear with the engine started and if you put it in gear with the engine off and use the starter motor it would move so the clutch itself was biting.
- I called out a mobile mechanic and we checked the hydraulic system for leaks(none found), bled it (for a while...) but no air came out. Sadly this operation made no difference but it had to be tried before moving on.
- I decided to drive the car to a shop (~20 miles away) which is not a huge deal if you know what you're doing and there's no traffic (1AM). It's just a matter of pacient rev-matching and using the synchros to help. Put in in 1st, cranked it, gave it a wee bit of gas and I was on my way.
- After changing between 2nd and 3rd a few times - I was pressing the clutch anyway but that made no difference - something strange started happening. It felt like it was mending itself. At first it was much easier to get it into gear without the need to perfectly rev-match and then, maybe 10 minutes into the trip the clutch started working exactly like it is supposed to in all conditions (while moving, driving off etc.). Weird, right?
- When I got to the garage I took a short break with the car in neutral at idle (cool off turbo) then wanted to move it a bit so I pressed the clutch, selected 1st - went in okay - then before I even got to start depressing it the car started moving forward and the original problem reappeared, back to square 1.
- The car had the clutch kit, flywheel and slave cylinder renewed in 2013, ~12.000 miles ago. That's not a guarantee that they are not at fault but I don't think it's likely.
At this point I'm suspecting the gearbox (input shaft forks, locking pins, old/too thick oil) and/or a mechanical problem within the bellhousing (slave cylinder, clutch fork etc.).
What do you guys think? Any opinion or advice helps. Thank you so much in advance!
Cheers,
Octavian
New member here in need of a bit of help. I recently purchased a 2005 W169 A200 CDI manual as a gift for my fiancee (and a bit of a personal guilty pleasure, I admit).
The configuration I was looking for seems very rare (3 doors, 140bph diesel, manual, vario roof, leather, black) so after quite some time spent searching, the only one I found was advertised with a problem. Not ideal in a A or B Class, I know, yet I decided to take a chance and buy it without the ability to test drive it.
The car is now at a garage and I'm in major need of ideas and advice from you guys so that I know what to do next week when we start work on it. The symptoms are really interesting and I will definitely share the outcome/solution when it gets fixed
Now, to get to the point, here is the information I feel is relevant for the issue:
- When first inspecting the car, the problem seemed to be somewhere in the clutch command system (hydraulics or mechanical) because it would not go into gear with the engine started and if you put it in gear with the engine off and use the starter motor it would move so the clutch itself was biting.
- I called out a mobile mechanic and we checked the hydraulic system for leaks(none found), bled it (for a while...) but no air came out. Sadly this operation made no difference but it had to be tried before moving on.
- I decided to drive the car to a shop (~20 miles away) which is not a huge deal if you know what you're doing and there's no traffic (1AM). It's just a matter of pacient rev-matching and using the synchros to help. Put in in 1st, cranked it, gave it a wee bit of gas and I was on my way.
- After changing between 2nd and 3rd a few times - I was pressing the clutch anyway but that made no difference - something strange started happening. It felt like it was mending itself. At first it was much easier to get it into gear without the need to perfectly rev-match and then, maybe 10 minutes into the trip the clutch started working exactly like it is supposed to in all conditions (while moving, driving off etc.). Weird, right?
- When I got to the garage I took a short break with the car in neutral at idle (cool off turbo) then wanted to move it a bit so I pressed the clutch, selected 1st - went in okay - then before I even got to start depressing it the car started moving forward and the original problem reappeared, back to square 1.
- The car had the clutch kit, flywheel and slave cylinder renewed in 2013, ~12.000 miles ago. That's not a guarantee that they are not at fault but I don't think it's likely.
At this point I'm suspecting the gearbox (input shaft forks, locking pins, old/too thick oil) and/or a mechanical problem within the bellhousing (slave cylinder, clutch fork etc.).
What do you guys think? Any opinion or advice helps. Thank you so much in advance!
Cheers,
Octavian
