So yesterday I was about to leave from work and i notice that when I try and get into first its extremely hard and wouldn't go in. I turned my car off all fluids where fine, no leaks, but when my car is off it can go into any gear. So I start it up in first and miraculously it was able to go into every gear after that. Im really confused I know when I engage the clutch and it didn't wanna go into no gears I assumed my clutch was out. What are some possibilities? I have a 03 wrx I might drop the tranny down today after work and hopefully see what went wrong. All input is welcomed thank you I club members

 

First off, get a good amount of ideas and thoughts before dropping your tranny. idk if youve done this before, but its a good amount of work if you are just dropping the tranny (remove front half shafts, disconnect wharneses, disconnect mounts, remove drive shaft) a good amount of work for what seem like a possible syncro starting to go out (which is not uncommon) my first is a PITA to get in sometimes. and makes a wretched grinding noise when put into first a little too hard. what works for me sometimes is when starting, let off the e brake before engaging in first or reverse. sometimes the miniscule amount of play in the gears when the ebrake is released is just enough to make those gears mesh.

thats my .02. hopefully you find the cause. IMO, its not the clutch (does the clutch sqeal or make noise at idle with no pressure on clutch pedal and then stop when clutch pedal is applied? if so, then yes, 90% chance a bad Throwout bearing, pilot bearing, or if a recent clutch replacement was done, the pivot points on the release arm were not cleaned and re lubed. i know this because i have this exact issue. GL!

 

I haven't taken down a subaru transmission yet but I understand gotta make sure its worth taking down. Well it never has done that before it was a cold start although I don't think that would be the case. I was able to drive home because when the car is off I can put it into every gear although when I turned my car on it wouldnt budge to any gear. The clutch makes no noises, but i engaged it in first gear off then turned my car on and after that I would be able to get into any gear just fine. It might be the throw out bearing as you said .

 

Any inputs anyone ?

 

Gears and synchros just happened to be not lined up? Sometimes I wasn't able to go into reverse but I let the car roll an inch and it would be fine.

 

ok. to find out my real problem i would still have to consist bringing the tranny down atleast to see if everything is working properly. correct?

 

i mean you could. Subaru makes servicing these cars rather easy. But I honestly dont think its the clutch (the only thing that youl would be able to visually inspect if you brought down the tranny. It doesnt sound like the TO. If it was indeed the TO causing you not to go into gears, id imagine youd be hearing noises/your TO would be obliverated. but you drove the car. This is quite the weird scenario. in short you seem to be going arounf the issue by engaing in one gear when engine is off and start it with it in that gear. I dont see how that would make that much of a difference on the tranny. Only two things i can think of at this point either internal tranny damage or electrical/CPU issue. Just thoughts off the top of my head. Im guessing you done have any CELs?

 

Yeahh I also thought it was wierd that after I turn off the car engaged it into gear and it started working. I've been driving it today and haven't ran into any problems. And no cel's

 

You have an old transmission, likely with worn synchros and old fluid. I regularly have the situation you describe where the shifter will not engage any gear with the car stationary. Once you let the gears turn a tiny bit, even the free motion from taking off the e-brake, suddenly the shifter is able to move into gear. This is nothing to worry about.

 

Problems getting into gear only with the car running are more likely to be with the hydraulic system, and not with the clutch mechanism itself. Do you notice any difference in the feel of the pedal, specifically has it gotten softer and has the amount of free play increased? These are signs of air or water in the clutch fluid and/or a failing master or slave. Open the clutch fluid reservoir and inspect the fluid, is the level low or is the fluid dark? If it's low look for signs of leakage around the slave (on the trans) or master (inside the car by the pedal).
Even if everything looks ok try doing a full flush of the fluid, especially if it hasn't been done in a long time. This alone can solve some issues with difficult shifting if the fluid is old and contaminated.
If the system is very difficult to bleed you may need to replace the master and slave even if there aren't any leaks. I recently had this happen- once the system was cracked open for bleeding it was unable to build up pressure again, it turned out the slave was partially frozen. Replaced both the master and slave (it's always a good idea to change them both at the same time), pedal feel and shifting are now much improved.

 

not a bad idea. this skipped my mind. i guess you can see it as a brake system. when theres air in the system, the system isnt putting out its full PSI and maybe the hydro clutch system has enough air in it to not allow the TO to push on the finger quite enough to realease forks? IDK. This IS weird. LOL

tru, i have this problem as well as a lot of others. but OPs problem is not this. it is where his gears sometimes ONLY ENGAGE when the car is OFF and TURNED ON WHILE IN GEAR. BUT, when he tries to start his car in N and THEN tries to select a gear, nothing....

 

It might be something like the brake system idea. I might do this today, although since the first time it has not yet to have gotten stuck or not engage in gears when I start it without engaging into gear first. I still listen for any wierd noises when engaging into gear but nothing sounds bad. I imagine if i drove at higher rpm's I could hear something while engaging into gears but still nothing. Thank you guys for the input !