Hi everyone,
I actually posted this in general discussion, but realized that it might get a better response in this section.
So as my other thread say I had a little noise from what sounded like the transmission. It was not bad so I rode on it probably a total of 50 highway miles. Well the other day I started driving and it became really loud, so I was turning around to get my other car. As I was doing a U-turn, the car stalled abruptly and I couldn't get the car out of gear and It started smelling a little like clutch. I could turn the car on but as soon as I would let go of clutch it would do the equivalent of if I had handbrake on. I thought the clutch plates just were seized together from something in the clutch system going bad. I was 2 minutes away from my house, so I just gave more gas to get it going, to overcome the initial drag(handbrake up feel). It went fine, but about 20 seconds later there was a loud noise and once again the car stalled. From there I knew I had to call a tow.

So I had it checked out at the dealership and this is their diagnosis. They said its something inside the torque tube, and they have seen nothing as bad as this before with it. They said normally they would go in and change some parts, but since its completely seized that the insides are probably broken including the housing. They recommend I replace the torque housing all together, because the senior technician said he is almost positive even if he opens it , they will end up needing to replace the entire things because its so bad, so that will just be alot more money on my part to open it up, rather then just replace it. They quoted me 3200, but I have been going there since day one so even though Im out of warranty they talked to the GM rep and brought it down to me paying 50% which is 1600..

Does this sound correct? Should I just replace the entire torque housing? It doesnt seem like it makes sense going the route of finding part myself and getting it installed somewhere, because since gm is paying 50% it will add up to more then 1600 and wont have the year warranty. Any advice would be great!

 

if they will guarantee the work go for it a new one will be best

 

contact tj at RPM TRANSMISSIONS a forum vendor. click on their ad on the left of c6 general. they have TONS of torque tubes and parts in stock. i have delt with them and they are honest and fair.

 

RPM delivers great sales and after market service all the way to South Africa

 

Well would it be worth it going with RPM considering the deal GM is giving me?!

 

I would go with GM.

 

I also would go with GM. Since they took 50% off good faith. It's around $600-$700 labor to do a clutch swap NOT at a dealership. Pretty much the same amount of labor minus taking the clutch pack and flywheel off. Do the math it's not a bad deal at all. Call around and get some quotes and see what the best deal is. I'm pretty sure it will be GM but check and see

 

So I finally have an update for you guys. Its NOT the torque tube!

It actually stems from an incident that happened a couple days before that had nothing to do with the mechanical issues. A few days before I ran over an already dead animal and when I pulled over there was absolutely no noticeable damage. Boy was I wrong!

So it turns out it hit my radiator support, which snapped and followed thru to hit my tranny cooler lines. The lines started leaking, but only while driving because of the oil pressure(explains why I didnt have any leakage marks after). This drained the transmission from all its fluid and it simply seized up. So there was a laundry list of things that needed to be replaced , including the transmission itself. Luckily I have comprehensive insurance with a low deductible and the guys just checked it out today. They are covering to replace everything including fix the front bumper cover(underneath) and repaint it. So I think I'm gonna let the dealer do all the work, I shouldn't be worried about their paint job correct? They said they do alot of corvettes all the time. If they do it and it doesn't match up, can I not accept it till they repaint and get it right? So for all this luckily I am out just 250 dollars.

My service tech told me that my clutch is pretty bad as well and that I should replace it. They quoted me 900+ for the parts including the slave cylinder. All you guys recommended me replacing the clutch as well so Im gonna end up doing that. I told them I am gonna have the parts shipped to them, since online guys sell it for under 500 here. My question is do I need the slave cylinder? He said that its not required but is really recommended because they fail sometimes and to get that out of the way. Is this true? Would you guys recommend I spend the extra 200 to replace it? Also, I need the LS7 clutch and not the ls2 clutch now? Is that what you guys recommend(I have intake/exhuast/diablo tune).

Lastly, is there anything else that I should get/upgrade that is in that area and cheap to buy but would otherwise be expensive to install. Excuse the mod freak in me

I put the main questions I have, incase you didn't want to read the entire story. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

 

Do you want to pay another $1000 for labor again if the slave fails or $200 now? LS7 clutches are not good for the money IMO. I would go aftermarket. Check with Monster Clutches for a good deal on a good clutch. I have stage 3 and it handles up to 700 HP. $929 for the premium package which includes a new slave if I'm not mistaken.

www.monsterclutches.com

 

So thats 450 dollars more for what? Since I dont have any more than 50 horses over stock, doesn't seem like its worth it. I love how easy the clutch is on my car... Ive had friends with after market clutch's and its just a PITA in traffic having to work with something that goes from zero to fully engaged in a CM.

 

On the other hand, is the transmission that I am getting the best one I should get? Should I ask for the newer model one??? Or is that more expensive, or what? I know that the newer corvettes have a newer smoother transmission. Also I remember when I drove the z06 it was really smooth as well, compared to my notchy transmission.

 

The clutch doesn't engauge like that. Monster Clutches are not like most performance clutches plus you can go with a stage 1 or 2 which is not as expensive. It will be almost the same price as the stocker but outperform it on every level and outlast it. If you have already modded it some now you will probably end up modding later. Something my Dad always said "do it right, do it once". The LS7 clutch doesn't like track use and it is still a stock clutch. Do some research on here about the stock clutch. It will not last. Mine started going out right after I put my headers on with 48K and was weak before that. If anything do the slave, which will cost almost as much as a stage 1 or 2 premium kits. The premium C6 stage 1 and 2 is the same price $974 which does include a slave. If you want to buy the stock parts for the same price only to have it fail after 30-40K miles or suck to the floor after a couple of WOT runs then cool.

The stock tranny should be fine if they are replacing it with new. The syncro's are probably hurt since the clutch was going out which doesn't help the "notchy" feel from the tranny. New clutch and new tranny should get you back to smoothness.

 

Ill give it some consideration this weekend.

As for the tranny, I had it replaced less then a year ago for a different problem! So I know nothing was worn and it was still not as smooth as the tranny on the z06.

 

'cuz there's a lot more possibilities on the table. So w/ GM if they're wrong, you have a leg to stand on w/ "guarenteeing their work".

 

Sorry, but I couldn't help thinking of the commercial where the squirrels are high fiving!

 

There's a lot off possibilities on the table here, although a an al qaeda trained squirrel sacrificing his life to destroy an american icon (vette tranny) was not on my list. Btw, the high fiving squirrels is hysterical!