Hey guys,

I've been lurking on this site for a couple of months now and have found it very helpful on a number occasions. I recently bought a new 2003 Z06 and WOW what an amazing car! I took it easy for the first 500 miles, and then began driving it more and more aggressively enjoying every minute of it. Anyway... after a little over 4000 miles I decided to try it out at the track (it was my first time at a track). I went to the track at Engishtown in NJ and did a couple of runs. My first run was a horrible 14.2, launching at 3000 and spinning through the first 3 gears. After asking for some advise from some of the other drivers I was told because the track was slippery today I should launch just above idle and feather the gas, I followed this advice and it launched great. The problem is the as I shifted into 4th the rear hopped a few times then it locked up and it felt as if the tranny was breaking into little pieces and falling off the car! I immediately pressed in the clutch and coasted into the pits. BTW, my time was 13.2 @ 79mph. I tried to put it in gear and it felt like tranny had rocks in it. I finally coasted to a stop and shut down. After a while I started up the car and tried to see if it could limp back home. The car moved for a couple of yards then the rear locked up for good and I had to get a tow all the way back home. Can someone tell what might have happened? Has this happened to anyone else? I guess I should contact a dealer about warranty, anyone know of a reputable dealer in the NY/long Island area?

Thanks in advance for your help

Jim

P.S. Also posting this in the Tech forum
:confused: :sad:

 

If you dont have mods, just take it to the dealer. They dont know you were drag racing it.

 

The Z06 tranny is not built as strong as it should by in my opinion. Especially the 4th gear blocker ring. When you shift hard to fourth, this ring is what keeps you from over shooting fourth. Well, since it is weak, it allows you to slightly overshoot which puts undue stress on the 4th gear syncronizer. The syncronizer probably came apart and took out 4th gear and probably 3rd gear and the 3rd gear syncro also. Your dealer will rebuild your tranny for you, but they will put the same crappy parts back in. If you want to drive your car this way, you should have it rebuilt by a race shop with hardened shift forks and better syncro's/blocker rings. Otherwise, I suggest that you are especially gentle on the 3/4 shift.

This happened to me and GM rebuilt it. I granny shift to 4th ever since.


Good luck with your repair.

 

There has been a problem with the aluminum shift forks in 2001/2002 tranny's having too much give and breaking the 3-4 syncro. According to my GM mechanic they made a change in 2003 to put in steel shift forks like the Viper, and so far problems are way down. I now have the steel shift fork, and new syncro's, all under warranty.

Frankly it souds like you have damaged something else, probably in the rear end from what you describe, not the tranny. Clean the car off (race numbers, rubber behind the wheels) and take it to a reputable dealer. Go to the service manager and ask if they have a Vette specialist for a mechanic, meet the guy and BOND with him. This will pay off big time down the road. Ask the mechanic which service advisor he prefer's to use to make his life easier.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Les

 

I just bought a pre-owned 2002 ZO6. Would the dealer switch out the aluminum fork for a steel one? My tranny shifts just fine, although I have not been at the drag strip yet. Kinda scary......I have heard of 3rd gear syncro problems

 

Not if you are not having problems with it they won't. It is a service bulletin advisory not a recall. Many (maybe most) bever have a problem, some do.At the first sign of syncro grinding, especially on the 3-4 shift, get it repaired.

Les

 

GM will fix these problems under warranty. Mine was rebuilt about a year ago and it is doing fine. I had the mechanic install a steel shift fork that I bought from D & D Performance. but I agree with Les. It sounds like the rear more than the trans. The rears in a Z06 are better than in the Coupe or Convertible, but it still is not quite strong enough sometimes. Mine was just replaced under warranty.

I still think that the clutch is the real culprit in all these transmission problems. At high rpm the clutch stops working properly. Each shift it gets worse. I now powershift 1-2, and quick shift 2-3 & 3-4. I have no grinding, no popping out of gear, no funny noises, etc.

I put this together when my trans was fixed -
http://temp.corvetteforum.net/c5/steve_row/index5.shtml

Here is a link to Rockland Standard Gear -
http://www.rocklandstandard.com/

http://www.highperformancepontiac.co...six/index.html

The guys at Rockland know what they are doing. Search the site and you'll see what I mean. They race a C5 and know the problems. I spoke with a guy there and before I could tell him the whole problem, he was telling me all my symptoms. He says and I, for one agree, that the real problem is the weight of the clutch disc. The syncro's have to slow the spinning disc in order to engage the next gear. The heavier it is the harder is to slow. Syncro's are just like brakes. The Corvette engineers have to make the clutch easy to push in (which means less clamping force) and nice and easy to use when pulling away from a stop sign, etc., which means no chattering, grabbing, etc. All this for us old guys who don't want to be inconvenienced with a sore leg.
Remember that the Z06 is a "Performance" car, not a race car (could've fooled me!). The guys at Rockland solved ther clutch problems with a clutch from Daikin (Exedy owns Daikin). However, the clutch costs between $1,200.00 and $1,800.00 depending on how much horsepower you need to control.

"You gotta pay to play"

 

Yikes! :cry