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2003 Z06. What torque tube rebuild kits are the "go-to" currently?
My car had the torque tube inspected and rebuilt in September 2020 with 50,790 miles. No major issues were found at the time but it was apart so it was rebuilt along with re-sealing the diff. Last week, the car suddenly began to have nasty vibration. Torque tube is almost certainly the problem this time, mechanic has checked it over and agrees but has not pulled it apart yet. So this car only made it 3 1/2 years and another 4,085 miles on that rebuild. No tracks, no drag racing, just regular old fun cruising.
If anyone has a preferred known good overhaul kit I can suggest for the mechanic I would really appreciate it.
2003 Z06. What torque tube rebuild kits are the "go-to" currently?
My car had the torque tube inspected and rebuilt in September 2020 with 50,790 miles. No major issues were found at the time but it was apart so it was rebuilt along with re-sealing the diff. Last week, the car suddenly began to have nasty vibration. Torque tube is almost certainly the problem this time, mechanic has checked it over and agrees but has not pulled it apart yet. So this car only made it 3 1/2 years and another 4,085 miles on that rebuild. No tracks, no drag racing, just regular old fun cruising.
If anyone has a preferred known good overhaul kit I can suggest for the mechanic I would really appreciate it.
What prompted the rebuild 4 years ago. What parts were replaced in the rebuild?
I don't know if RPM has an Exchange available? If there are issues with your TT RPM would figure it out and an Exchange would keep your down time to a minimum. Just a thought.
Last fall, thank goodness, RPM had an entire later/better assembly on the shelf when my early/wimpy 98" TT was cracked at a clutch replacement being done here locally at Speed Inc. RPM had an entire assembly (outright) back to Speed Inc in a day. I was really happy to have the car back on the road so fast.
Early/Older TT 1998 prone to breaking at bolt holes. RPM New to me TT Shiny! New and improved on later 2000-2004 cars. No bolts, no crack via Giant snap-ring
Doesn't really make sense. There are a lot of twenty year old cars still on the original hardware, mine included. They tend to hold up much better than I ever expected. If you drag race, that's obviously a different story.
As to what prompted the service in 2020, not to get too far off topic, I believed there was a bit of noise I didn't like and decided to go ahead with an inspection to ease my worries. It turned out to be "recreational maintenance" but none the less I was satisfied that it was rebuilt along with sealing the rear end and also having the clutch and the associated hardware inspected. I had only had this car under two years at the time so those were unknowns to me before that.
This is the reason I was looking for suggestions on getting good replacements this time. If the tube comes apart and a coupler is damaged, then I would assume they were probably not of great quality.
I have ordered bearings and rubber couplers from RPM Transmission. They seem to be well-reviewed here.
Looks like GM couplers are still available, just not too inexpensive. Rock has them for $148 each. You can spend less, just be sure the ones being used are German and not not not Dorman. Far too many horror stories of the Dorman couplers. If you do a search here (or better, through google for here) you'll find a number of references to equivalent BMW couplers, with appropriate part numbers. Last time I checked the prices were still better than the then available GM couplers.
Last edited by redzg; Apr 5, 2024 at 05:55 PM.
Reason: Correction of availability error
I just rebuilt my TT in the ‘03Z. I originally thought my diff was going out, as. There was a whine under load. We then determined it whined while not moving with clutch out, so we put the car on the lift and removed the drivetrain. The whine was coming from one of the rear TT bearings. I ordered all 3 new SKF bearings from TDP along with 12mm couplers and new bolts last Friday. The parts showed up yesterday at lunch, and at 9:30 last night I had it all back together, test drove, and back in the basement. It’s not a bad job at all. Lots of snap rings to contend with. I have a shop press, and lots of tools. Cost me $372 with shipping for the tt parts. I also threw a new slave at it and bled the clutch while in there, so there’s another $170 or so.
A large snap ring plier on the 01+ is helpful. The other hurdle is getting an impact and socket to get the couplers off the input/output/driveshaft. We have taken it to a driveline shop.
Here is the coupler(s) I got from RPM. German anyway. It’s just a stock Z so I’m guessing these should be sufficient. Also considering a LUK clutch assembly. Any thoughts?
Good luck on the repair. I too can give a thumbs up to RPM. I have a stage 2 diff with 3.73 gears out back from them, installed by speed INC, I’m still on the original TT though and I do HPDE, drag, and auto cross. I just put nitto drags on the rear a few days ago. Car is still on the Quickjack at the moment. Putting coolant in as I type this. Hope to get it out before the eclipse and let’s see if the drivetrain holds up to sticky tires. It should be okay, I’m only running 340wheel horse through an A4 trans with 3200 converter.
Couplers look exactly right.
The Luk 04-905 is Luk’s over the counter version of the LS7 clutch, purportedly the same one Luk supplies to GM. Supposed to be good for 500 pd/ft with slightly more pedal effort than stock. Many good reviews here, with people noting:
1: pedal may seem low at first but coming up to nominal as the clutch breaks in
2: clearance between the throwout bearing and clutch fingers needs to be verified and/or corrected
It’s a complete kit, with pressure plate, disc, appropriate flywheel, and both flywheel and pressure plate bolts.
All I can contribute here is that when ECS did the TT on my '00 they used the Tick couplers "as the GM are pricey." I also think my model year plays into this decision....
So a friend asked how I could have possibly hurt a coupler on a stock Z06. Well, I didn't as it turns out. One of the bolts in the coupler to the drive shaft worked itself loose and went for a ride in the torque tube. Drive shaft doesn't look good, tube is a bit rugged as well. The tech doing the tear down pointed out there was no sign of Loctite on the bolt which should have been used. Took a few pictures for you guys. Vibration and rattle now finally explained. I went ahead and sent a heads up to the shop that assembled it 4 years ago though I'm not expecting anything.
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Z06 Torque tube
