possible tranny/clutch problem

[snoozin]

Ok, so here is the problem. my car has been fine forever, i jumped in and headed home from work. i had the cruise set for about 45 in 5th, couple thousand rpms tops. i tapped the clutch to disengage the cruise and the rpms dropped to 0 and i lost all acceleration. the tranny did not disengage though. i put it in neutral, then back in 5th and dropped the clutch to pop start it as i thought a battery connection kicked and it died. well, it didnt die. i left it in gear and pushed the gas, it revved just fine, but tach didnt move and car kept on slowing down in 5th. ended up pulling over, turning it off and starting it again and it worked fine. that was 3 days ago, no problems since. then today on my way to work, shifted out of second at about 4k rpm and into 3rd and as soon as i touched the clutch the same thing happened. rpm drop to 0, no acceleration, and tranny still engaged. i put it in neutral and coasted, turned it off and started it again and put back in 4th and continued on my way. at first i thought the clutch said goodbye, but if that was the case i dont know how shutting the car off and starting it again would change that. also thought about the cas, but again, it doesnt sound like that. so i'm completely stumped and will be taking it apart this weekend. any and all help is appriciated.

 

[Ryan95tsiAWD]

Ok, so here is the problem. my car has been fine forever, i jumped in and headed home from work. i had the cruise set for about 45 in 5th, couple thousand rpms tops. i tapped the clutch to disengage the cruise and the rpms dropped to 0 and i lost all acceleration. the tranny did not disengage though. i put it in neutral, then back in 5th and dropped the clutch to pop start it as i thought a battery connection kicked and it died. well, it didnt die. i left it in gear and pushed the gas, it revved just fine, but tach didnt move and car kept on slowing down in 5th. ended up pulling over, turning it off and starting it again and it worked fine. that was 3 days ago, no problems since. then today on my way to work, shifted out of second at about 4k rpm and into 3rd and as soon as i touched the clutch the same thing happened. rpm drop to 0, no acceleration, and tranny still engaged. i put it in neutral and coasted, turned it off and started it again and put back in 4th and continued on my way. at first i thought the clutch said goodbye, but if that was the case i dont know how shutting the car off and starting it again would change that. also thought about the cas, but again, it doesnt sound like that. so i'm completely stumped and will be taking it apart this weekend. any and all help is appriciated.

So your saying that the car does NOT die, but the RPMs drop to zero? This only happens when you start to push in the clutch but does not do it every time? Do your lights dim or does anything else electrical act funny while this is going on? I have not had this happen with any of our DSMs but I have had another car's clutch pedal assem. short out wires under the dash causing similar issues.

 

[snoozin]

yea, it's incredibly weird, i've never heard of any car doing this. the car does NOT actually die, the rpms just drop to 0. the electricals do not dim noticably (i was more freaking out about it happening than anything) However the engine DOES NOT have any connection to the tranny as the engine acts like it is in neutral (rev and nothing happens but the engine does rev) but the tranny is still acting upon the drivetrain as normal as i put it in a lower gear and it slows down as if i was downshifting. i was initially thinking something was wrong with clutch assy as it has done this only 2 times, and both times i was using the clutch. first when i tapped it to turn off the cruise and second when i shifted into second. it does not do this often at all though. never before and twice within 2 weeks now. i initially threw this assumption out as there is something cutting the engine and tranny from functioning properly together. could this possibly be throwout bearing or pressure plate problem? with the clutch spinning but not actually connecting the engine and tranny? heh, of course, the enging/tranny connection is what i know the least about. i'm thinking i'm going to tear apart the clutch pedal assy this weekend and see what i can find if anything.