RUMBL B

Saturday evening: Drove my C6 to a local car meet. Car ran fine, shifted fine. No issues.


Sunday: Parked, didn't drive.


Monday (today): Do what I usually do and pop the shifter out of reverse into neutral before starting. Started her up, and she wouldn't shift into any gear, not 1st-6th, not reverse. Cycled the clutch a few times, made sure it was in neutral and attempted to shift into any gear... not happening. I managed to man-handle it into 3rd. Once in gear, the clutch didn't feel right.... it usually freely goes to the floor and springs back. It felt like the clutch was only going 3/4 of the way and then it was tough. Since I managed to get it into "a" gear, 3rd, I began down the road. It would shift from 3rd-6th at that point. Came to a red light and took it out of gear. Again it wouldn't go into gear. Had to force it into 4th, this time (no grinding). This is where it started to get weird... the light was still red, but as I let off the brake (clutch pushed to the floor) the car started rolling, like it was an automatic. I did this several times to make sure this fluke wasn't a fluke. Clutch fully pressed to the floor, release the brake, car in 4th... and it rolled forward under power (was not on a hill).


Fast forward, driving on the highway for a while. While in 6th gear, I step on the gas to accelerate (nothing wild) and the engine rev's. The clutch is slipping. This happened my whole trip, any moderate acceleration and the clutch would slip. This clutch is brand new, 1 month/3000 miles since installed.


Fast forward again. I am exiting the highway and on the deceleration ramp. Down shift to 5th, 4th, 3rd, everything is fine, downshift to 2nd, it goes fine, but the clutch pedal is still really tough on the last 1/4 of range. I did not attempt to use 1st. I used 2nd - 4th for the remained of my trip to work.


I park. Pop the shifter in neutral and try to put into reverse... it won't go (into any gear). I shutoff the car, and the clutch pedal returns to normal, the car shifts into every gear while the motor is stopped.


Again, this gets weird. The car is in reverse, the clutch pedal is fully pressed and I attempt to start the car. It rolls backwards (while the clutch is fully pressed in) as the starter rotates and engine won't start. I try to start again and the car rolls backwards, engine doesn't start.


I take the shifter to neutral, car starts fine, can't shift to any gear.


I shutoff the car, place intro reverse just fine. Press in the clutch, and start. The car rolls backwards as the starter turns over. WFT?!?!?!

This is how the car is sitting right now.


The clutch is brand new. The slave cylinder is brand new. The transmission has fresh fluid. (1 month ago, 3000 miles)


At first I thought the clutch was bad... but that didn't make sense. No it seems more like the clutch pedal/slave cylinder is wacky.


Any help on explaining this issue would be appreciated greatly!

icntdrv55

Sounds pretty straightforward. Your clutch plates aren't releasing when you depress the clutch pedal. Since you state the clutch and slave cylinder are new, it's most likely your clutch master cylinder, which is a known weak point in the Vette's system. There is a recall on this exact problem and you'll likely get a replacement for free. Have it towed to your local dealer.

carl3989

Gosh that is weird. If it were me I would be high tailing it to the who ever did the clutch replacement. When you said it had a new clutch it begs the question: "what was done wrong or part was bad?" Good luck and please let us know how you made out.

extrapilot

but not sure it will get replaced for free, car is more than 10 years old, 2005 model assuming his signature is accurate.

z06clif

the criteria for a free master was 10 years or 100,000 miles. I had mine done at 9 years and change. I just made it. They give you a black one so you cant tell the color of the clutch fluid and its from a ZR1

Clif

Richard F

I had the clutch master cylinder changed out on mine last month. Was working fine one minute, gone bad the next with pedal sticking to the floor. Got it replaced under the Special Circurmstances #14717 Clutch Master Cylinder replacement. They even paid for the wrecker bill after I contacted Chevy Customer Service. Sounds like you have the samething. Not a big deal if that's the problem. If its the slave cylinder, that is a major undertaking.

z06clif

the criteria for a free master was 10 years or 100,000 miles. I had mine done at 9 years and change. I just made it. They give you a black one so you cant tell the color of the clutch fluid and its from a ZR1

Clif

z06clif

oops....
Clifs

RUMBL B

Well that makes sense! I forgot about it, but had something similar happen about 15 years ago with another vehicle. They are fixing it tonight, should have it back by noon tomorrow.

As others mentioned, it's 2 years past the warranty period, they checked at the service desk. Thats $900 something I didn't expect... Ugh.

Thanks again for the helpful info!

kg4fku

I didn't see in your post that you had checked the level of the master cylinder reservoir. Don't just look at level line on the bowl. You need to open the cap and look in it to see the fluid level.

RUMBL B

So the clutch master cylinder was replaced. Didn't fix the issue. Having the car towed to the original shop that did the clutch and slave replacement. They are honoring their work an will fix it at no charge.... sort of. This is my DD, so i'll have to yet again, rent a car. Very Frustrating.

Richard F

If they replaced both the clutch master cylinder and the slave cylinder, then apparently one of them must have been bad. Make sure they use the upgraded clutch master cylinder. I was told it was the one made for the Z06 and has DOT 4 on the cap. Sure sounds odd if they replaced both. Let us know the outcome.

RUMBL B

So. Apparently this is all just my luck... or bad luck... if luck exists at all.

My car was towed from the dealership, which replaced the clutch master cylinder, back to the shop that did my clutch slave cylinder and clutch assy (as well as my stroker motor... because loosing the oil pump and having my motor burn up is just my luck, again).

Long story short.... 3 of the pressure plate fingers broke off and were wedged between the clutch and pressure plate. How the F*** this happened is anyones guess. The clutch assy and slave cylinder were both replaced 5 weeks ago. I drove the car to a local car meet on a Saturday, was parked on Sunday and went to drive to work on Monday and it was broke. I'm guessing some metal eating termites crawled into the transmission and did the damage. There is no other explanation.

Anyway, the shop owner replaced the entire clutch assembly. He also took off the 5 week old slave cylinder and chucked it, replacing it with a new one. While assembling, he noticed the bushings were shot for the shifter, so he replaced those too. He charged me nothing. Great guy.

To top it all off.... Lets recap my last 2 months with this Vette. 1. Motor blew, $14.2k (402 stroker, headers, x-pipe, clutch, slave, tranny fluid change) 2. Brand new clutch goes, Master cylinder replacement $863.71. Now, to top it all off.... I picked up my car after hours. We're having horrible storms in south Florida tonight, tornado warnings, complete downpour with thunderstorm... I get in my car, and the battery is dead. This is the first Chevrolet i have owned, it's not looking good... or, it's just my luck. Oh... and since this is my DD, I required a rental car for a total of $1107.71 over 38 days while it was in the shop.

If anyone in the South Florida area needs a credible Corvette shop, I highly recommend Horsepower Sales, Inc in West Palm Beach. Jeremy is the owner. Great Guy!

icntdrv55

Ouch! You certainly have had some "teething" problems with your new-to-you vehicle. Hopefully, you've identified and fixed all of the critical and expensive issues with your Vette and it'll give many miles and years of reliable service and fun. Driveline on these isn't something exotic or fussy--same OHV small block V-8 GM has been producing since the 50s. Dead battery is annoying but could be simply from sitting for over a month at the shop. If you continue to experience odd electrical glitches, consider replacing the battery. C6s tend to be sensitive to low voltage (<11.2 V) conditions.

RUMBL B

I hope this is problem free for the next 5 years other than general maintenance.


The clutch was fixed yesterday, and the car was driven by the shop owner to ensure there were no issues. It was parked in reverse, and there are no accessories plugged in. I picked up the car no more than 5 hours later, and it was dead. Hopefully a new battery is the only thing I need for the rest of the year. I'm selling my Harley to help pay for all of this.