Ah, seems like all the problems are coming at once. Hoping you folks may be able to provide some advice for me. I have a 2001 C5 coupe (6 speed). It's only got 40,000 km on it, and I think I've treated the clutch pretty well (never done a burnout on it, although I have accelerated quickly and had some wheelspin on occassion, but certainly nothing I would think over the top).

I had some occassional grinding in 4th gear last year, and I took the car in to the dealer and had them install a Z06 transmission (covered under warranty, but I paid a premium for the Z06 tranny). So far, it has been great, although I've recently found a problem I'm guessing with the clutch.

It seems when I shift (in most gears), when I used to release the clutch, it would slowly ease in and grab. Now, when I release, I seem to have to release just a tiny bit more (no grab yet), and then all of a sudden it grabs sharply. It's annoying, as it seems to be jolting to shift now. If I really concentrate, I can carefully get it to shift more gently, but it's very difficult, and can't always repeat.

Given this is my first standard tranny, I don't really know the symptoms of a worn clutch. Does this sound like what it is, or could this be more like air in the clutch lines?

Any advice would be really appreciated.
Cheers
Jason

 

Maybe you're just not used to the new set up???
Ron

 

I would bleed the hydraulics first and see if that helps. Also, The clutch assembly as a whole could just be showing its age as well.

 

That could very well be the case here. I just hope your not getting any oil on the flywheel/clutch assembly. Either way, I would recommend the Z06 clutch assembly if you change it. It includes the flywheel, clutch disc and pressure plate. BTW, change out the slave cylinder/throwout bearing assembly while you're in there too. HTH

 

Thanks for your feedback folks - I took it in to the dealer, and the tech was unable to diagnose without having to take the entire tranny out. He indicated if it's a pressure plate failure, they'll still cover it under warranty (I'm still under extended warranty for another 6 months), but if it's just about anything else, I'm on my own (likely $1500 CDN or so) and GM warranty doesn't cover - does this sound reasonable? (I have a bad feeling I'm getting taken here). Assuming I do have to replace something not under warranty, it makes sense to get the Z06 upgrades you spoke of..would you guys have any idea of how much incremental cost these would result in?
Cheers
Jason

 

Just one more question as well - does it also seem realistic (or common) that there may be clutch failure after only 40,000 km? I've driven the car aggressively at times, but certainly not to the point of being hard on it (no burn outs, etc, just occassional aggressive acceleration).
Cheers
Jason

 

I think your clutch should be fine if they installed it properly . . . maybe try bleeding the system like was mentioned first.