[leadguy]

My 99 5-speed manual has been operating perfectly. But the other day while my wife was driving it, my car stranded her. It wouldn't engage any gears.
With the engine running you can shift through all gears (including R) without using the clutch, and the shifter feels normal - like it is actually going into each gear - but the car won't move, there's no change in the sound (i.e. no rubbing of any parts).
The clutch pedal isn't limp either. The car will not move at all.
Is this a symptom of the CMC or CSC ? I have never known a clutch or trans to go from operating perfectly to non-functioning instantly without warning.
Any ideas?:roll:

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

Did you have any work done lately, like axles, bearings, struts? If so and they pulled the axles out, they may not have reseated them all the way and one may have popped out. Since most of us don't have an LSD, one slipping axle will leave you stranded.

Also, I had a problem like that with my '66 Mustang. In that case, I was running slicks and popped the clutch at around 5-k rpms. which sheared the output shaft in the transmission right at the driveshaft yoke... Ron

 

[leadguy]

Thanks for the reply.

I had struts done about a month ago. But regarding the axles is it likely that both side would disconnect at once? Also, would that cause the clutch to play no role in the gear shifting, as I am experiencing now?
Did this happen to you?

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

Not to me, but it did happen to a poster just after they had some suspension work done. It's just a guess, but since we don't have positraction, or a limited slip differential, the wheel with the least amount of traction is going to spin. If the drive shaft is disconnected, then there's no traction on that axle.

Otherwise, it could be something in the transmission, but your wife would have heard some sort of noise when it let go. And since the car can't be driven, it can even be put up on ramps for an inspection, unless you push it or tow it onto the ramps... Ron

 

[earthworm]

Something is broken between the shift control and the transmission, or so it seems. Do you feel the normal resistance from the gearbox during shifting?
More likely is the situation Ron alludes to, an axle shaft popping out. Its only held in place by a snap ring. This happened to me with the Honda(same design). Cars are one wheel drive, lose just one axle, and we have no wheel drive.
Your chutch system is probably fine, if it were to be on the fritz, you would have horrific grinding and clashing from your transmission.;oops:

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

More than likely, it will be the driver side axle since the passenger side has the stub axle and I can't see that popping out. You might try jacking and supporting the drivers side, and see if the wheel turns freely with the transmisson in gear. If you can, my guess is that the axle needs to be tapped back in to the transmission. I used a 2x4 and small sledge to tap the hub while the lower ball joint was still loose... Ron

 

[leadguy]

Something is broken between the shift control and the transmission, or so it seems. Do you feel the normal resistance from the gearbox during shifting?
More likely is the situation Ron alludes to, an axle shaft popping out. Its only held in place by a snap ring. This happened to me with the Honda(same design). Cars are one wheel drive, lose just one axle, and we have no wheel drive.
Your chutch system is probably fine, if it were to be on the fritz, you would have horrific grinding and clashing from your transmission.;oops:

My feeling is also that something is broken or disconnected btwn the shift ctrl and trans. If that is the case, what are the most likely culprits.

 

[leadguy]

More than likely, it will be the driver side axle since the passenger side has the stub axle and I can't see that popping out. You might try jacking and supporting the drivers side, and see if the wheel turns freely with the transmisson in gear. If you can, my guess is that the axle needs to be tapped back in to the transmission. I used a 2x4 and small sledge to tap the hub while the lower ball joint was still loose... Ron

Would the axle popping out take the clutch out of the equation? When it happened to you, it sounds like you were still able to shift normally (using the clutch) but that the power wasn't being transferred to the wheels due to the axle. But I can shift thru the gears with engine running w/o using the clutch.
Is the axle pop-out diagnosis consistent with the useless clutch occurrence too?

 

[leadguy]

More than likely, it will be the driver side axle since the passenger side has the stub axle and I can't see that popping out. You might try jacking and supporting the drivers side, and see if the wheel turns freely with the transmisson in gear. If you can, my guess is that the axle needs to be tapped back in to the transmission. I used a 2x4 and small sledge to tap the hub while the lower ball joint was still loose... Ron

I replied earlier but it didn't post for some reason. Anyway.

Was your clutch still working or needed to shift into gear when your axle was disengaged? It seems that if the axle were the issue I would still need to shift normally, using the clutch pedal, and there simply would be no power transferred to the wheels. Is that not correct?
I can shift thru all gears without using the clutch with the engine running.

 

[leadguy]

I replied earlier but they didn't post for some reason. Anyway.

When your axle was disengaged, was your clutch still needed to shift in and out of gears? It seems that if the axle were the issue I would still need to shift normally, using the clutch pedal, and the problem would simply be that no power is transferred to the wheels. Is that not correct?

I can shift thru all gears without using the clutch with my engine running.

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

This did not happen to my Saab; it was another poster on saabnet.com IIRC. And maybe last year.

If your clutch feels ok, and the engine is running, but you can shift normally, the worst case would be the splined area on the clutch disk coming loose from the transmission input shaft. You might be able to look in the bell housing by removing the black access cover, but the access hole is not very big, and you will need a high intensity light to see anything... Ron