AJay

2016 M7 Z06
The car has been in the garage and on the charger for the last month. I backed it out today and let it idle in neutral (parking brake engaged) for about an hour until the oil got fully up to temp and shut it off. Roughly 2 hours later I went out to put it back in the garage and I could not get the shifter to go in any gear. I tried pumping the clutch, shutting the car off and re-starting, I attempted to shift without the clutch and the shifter would move back and forth in neutral (as per normal) but would not go into any gear. I tried pumping the clutch, disengaging and re-engaging the parking brake. Finally, I shut the car back off and continued to attempt to shift into first and the shifter engaged. With the clutch depressed, I pushed the start button and heard a fairly loud bang from the clutch / bell housing area and I also felt it in the clutch peddle. After that, all is normal. I took the car up the road, shifted though all gears normally and returned it to the garage.

Anyone ever had this problem and can anyone tell me what happened?

The car has approximately 10K miles and has been stored in the garage since November.

383vett

Clutch master cylinder fluid level ok?

AJay

Thanks 383 Vette. Clutch fluid is below min. Also looks like I have a moisture problem.

ronsc1985

Unless it was below min previously you have a leak. The fluid is not consumed.

I don't know how cold your garage gets but my 2017 had been sitting in the driveway under a car cover for two weeks in sub 20 at night temperatures. As soon as the temperature made it into the mid 30's I took off the car cover, started and took it to get the yearly state safety inspection. The transmission shifted a little stiffly until the car was driven a couple of miles to warm the transmission.

SnowyATX

I didn't have any clutch or tranny issues but noticed a while back that I had the same horrible white "goo". Worse than what is shown. Bought a new cap and have been doing the "ranger" method for a while now. We'll see if the goo comes back.

383vett

That's some ugly fluid. Hopefully your problems will resolve after a few Ranger cycles.

madrob2020

OP, unless I'm wrong (could be) when it gets below the intake (small hole) for the clutch you will pull air into the system which will cause problems such as you experienced. I believe you will now need to refill fluid, do a complete bleed making sure you don't let fluid drop below intake as you do it. Be sure to use only fresh unopened fluid of correct spec per OM. Or better, try getting fluid back in it to drive to dealer for fix if uncomfortable to DIY. As ronsc1985 pointed out, you probably have a leak, fluid doesn't get "used up". As far as moisture, some will always be present on rubber under cap due to heat/cool cycles but the less the cap is opened the better to prevent moisture (humidity) into system. Brake fluid is hygroscopic & begins to absorb moisture once put into system. Good luck

z51vett

Here is one out of left field the clutch disc can be stuck or frozen to flywheel or pressure plate or both like our brakes do after wash and put back in garage.
z51vett
Doug

AJay

Thanks for the feedback guys. The garage floor is clean as whistle and this is the first time I've ever checked the clutch fluid. It could have been low when I took delivery of the car. I will fill with fresh fluid and ranger it out a few times when I get the car back in the road this spring. It's still under warranty so if the fluid level drops I'll take it to the dealer. BTW - How did the turkey baster end up being called "ranger"? LOL

3 Z06ZR1

Good job for the dealer seems warranty should take care of it! I would say it needs a power flush unless they give you a whole new master that thing is very bad!

AJay

So I just read in the owners manual that the fluid is only supposed to be serviced to the Min level. Based on that, mine was low but not nearly as bad as I thought. I serviced it back up to Min (which didn't take much) and I'll keep an eye on it when I get the car on the road this spring.

erick_e

http://www.rangeracceleration.com/Clutch_Care.html

AJay