not sure if this is something i need to fix or be concerned about. nothing useful came up when i searched.

when i push down on the clutch, about a second later, i hear a soft "thud" or "clunk" from somewhere. not sure where to look or what to look for.

the car is bone stock, the clutch feels good, doesn't slip. it's a little jerky between shifts, mainly b/c i don't know how to drive this car yet, and the only other clutch related issue is that when i'm cruising on the fwy and put it in 5th, sometimes i have to really push it in there. it doesn't shift as naturally in there as the other gears, but after the 1st time it goes into 5th, that prob. goes away.

tia!

btw, did you guys know that the owners manual recommends shifting at 15mph from 1st to 2nd? just thought it was interesting.

Im not 100% sure but could be a throw-out bearing...

someone else may know better than I

If it was the throw out bearing you would hear a grinding noise, usually due to the ball bearings inside coming out.

If your having problems shifting into 5th its usually a sign that the tranny is starting to go....deffinitly not good

well, i wouldn't call it a "problem" per se... just gotta push it in there from time to time. anything to be done here so it doesn't get worse?

I've never heard of a 5th gear synchro failing before anything else. It's not like you downshift into it all the time or anything.

If you're hearing a dull thud, your subframe bushings may be starting to go. If it's a clunk-like sound, it could be part of the driveshaft. Does the smoothness of the shift have any correlation to the frequency/intensity of the noise? And can you hear it with the gearbox in neutral?

My brothers 325is has a throw-out bearring come loose and it was all intact and worked it just kinda wobbled and made some noise, once he got a new one and got it pressed back on the noise went away

I've never heard of a 5th gear synchro failing before anything else. It's not like you downshift into it all the time or anything.

If you're hearing a dull thud, your subframe bushings may be starting to go. If it's a clunk-like sound, it could be part of the driveshaft. Does the smoothness of the shift have any correlation to the frequency/intensity of the noise? And can you hear it with the gearbox in neutral?

5th gear synchro?

One gear being particularly hard to shift into is usually a dead giveaway that the synchro of that gear is worn. 2nd is usually the first to go, followed by 1st, and I've never heard of a worn 5th on a 5-speed. 5th is synchronized too, if that's your question.

Could the linkage possibly have some wear in it that would cause the shifting into 5th problem?

Also possible, but I don't know enough about shift linkages to say what to look for. The fact that it happens only when first shifting to 5th, and doesn't continue, leads me to further suspect the synchro rather than the linkage.

It's a dull thud, and the frequency/intensity doesn't change. it only occurs a second after i push the clutch from neutral to put into gear.

I've never heard of a 5th gear synchro failing before anything else. It's not like you downshift into it all the time or anything.

If you're hearing a dull thud, your subframe bushings may be starting to go. If it's a clunk-like sound, it could be part of the driveshaft. Does the smoothness of the shift have any correlation to the frequency/intensity of the noise? And can you hear it with the gearbox in neutral?

Check out the subframe bushings.

It's a dull thud, and the frequency/intensity doesn't change. it only occurs a second after i push the clutch from neutral to put into gear.

Center support bearing.

anyone want to get together near los angeles and do a DIY center support bearing n guibo day?