I just registered with this forum today (Aug. 12/07) so please excuse any "newbie" tendancies. I have a 2004 S4 with a manual shifter and roughly 20,000 miles on the odometer. Everything is factory (no chips, extras, etc.). I have always found shifting into 2nd gear and even 3rd gear to be a bit of a "challenging" experience. The shift is never smooth it seems and the car tends toward dropping revs very quickly oncethe clutch is depressed. As a result, the engagement into 2nd and 3rd gear seems to result in a "thud" or chunky feeling towrads the rear of the car. It is as if the gears are slipping and not catching smoothly. I have driven many different manual cars (American & Japanese) and never experienced anything like this before. I have tried shifting at varying RPM's and the problem is worst at low RPM's but still not absent at high RPM's. I love the overall car (power, interior, road feel, etc.) but this issue is makingme question either the car or my ability to shift manually. I did read in Road & Track that even their test driver complained of having a hard time engaging in smooth shifts into 2nd & 3rd gear and I read a similar complaint in the Toronto Star review of the S4. Anyone have any suggestions on what causes this problem (me or my car?) and if it is a mechanical issue, how do I fix it? Thanks!

 

1st to 2nd sucks! i have always hated that CLUNK! crap. i usually have to feather the clutch more going first to second than any other gear change. normally, i go with 4k as a good reference for shifting this thing. any less, you jerk around and clunk a bit, and any higher you might as well be having fun or your just wasting gas. one of these days, i'm finally gonna stop being lazy and get a jhm short shifter to help aleviate this issue - http://www.jhmotorsports.com/products/shifters.html. reduces the throw less than others i've seen, but it focuses on getting rid of the play in the stick, which i've noticed that after 25k miles is a little more sloppy than new. that's gonna be my solution to at least reducing the clunking.

 

Change the fluid. Get a snub mount, make sure you don't have any broken engine/trans mounts.

A TSB doesn't hurt.

The downside, this is the weak part of the 6sp. The forks bend, & syncro's go out.

 

mine clunks like that as well.... it pisses me off too. It seems to be a common problem. I to have tried all sorts of different shifting methods and get the same clunk! result...