Hello,

I have an 88 Vette Z52 with the DN 4+3 (only 46,000miles), I am in the middle of a road trip with the car and the clutch has suddenly started slipping.




Its an odd issues, so before anyone just says it's a worn clutch/flywheel please hear me out.

I'm 800miles into a 2000mile road trip, it's all highway, no gear shifting, no speed changes... I set the car in 4th with OD on and just cruised. When I left home the car showed zero signs of a slipping clutch, even under hard acceleration. At about the 600mile mark I started to notice the transmission acting a bit odd. It would start to slip with limited throttle input. This is odd because there has been no reason for the clutch to wear, the cars been in a constant gear at highway speeds with no slippage, then suddenly it's started to slip under load.... It's not a typical symptom of a worn clutch, although it feels like a worn clutch. I was wondering if heat (it's a very hot day), or low transmission fluid level could cause this?




Its going to be a pain in the *** getting the transimmon worked on in the middle of a road trip, so before I dive into a clutch replacement, I was wondering if anyone knows of any other issue that might trigger clutch slip in a 4+3 box? It's just strange that there has been zero symptoms leading up to this... and then just started to slip badly.




Thanks for any help guys!!




Dave

 

Does it slip only when the overdrive unit is engaged? If so, either the overdrive unit is low on fluid or it is failing. Check it in direct drive and see if it continues to do the same thing. Remember, the overdrive unit is essentially an automatic transmission and when they slip, it does feel like clutch slippage.

 

Yes, it seems to be doing it in direct drive as well... If a seal between the OD unit and the clutch and flywheel starts to fail, can oil leak into the clutch housing? I'm not sure of the layout on this gearbox and as I'm on a road trip all I have is an iPhone... Laptop and workshop manuals are all at home.