Gm fails at clutch lines....
 

Well I drove my fresh h/c and full bolt ons 06 z51 to the gas station just to get gas for when I take it to get tuned and on my way back I pushed the clutch in and heard a slight pop and then had no clutch at all. I managed to avoid a really close wreck and make it home safe. I found that GM put a rubber hose wrapped in heat cloth in the only section that's close to the headers. Well hose burst. What the hell was Gm thinking when they did that? Well now I'm looking into purchasing the tick adjustable clutch master cylinder but the kit is a whopping 414$ Is it worth that much? Tick makes a replacement hose that I need for 110$ but the thing is... It require for the removal of the transmission back!!!

So you put headers on the car that run hotter than the stock headers and then blame GM for the hose overheating???

Bill

Yes I blame gm because if they put that stainless line used for fuel where the only rubber part of the clutch line is there wouldn't be an issue.. FYI to replace that line I am going to have to drop the entire drive train. It doesn't affect so much me since I already planned on replacing the clutch and differential while I send the transmission to rpm so they can fix it. Really sucks for me because instead of getting that nitrous kit I wanted I have to drop 414$ on ticks performance master clutch kit. Usually when I replace a gm screw up I get the best there is.. Ie transmission failed.. rpm lvl 5 ;).. If the ls7 clutch fails then I'll get the rps carbon clutch system.. I sure hope that don't fail. But clutch cable... screw it might as well replace the entire clutch line system! and do it once!

the hose is rubber, because when you change the clutch you need some slack to pull the trans back and disconnect the slave.

you can also pull the engine and change it that way.

i pulled the engine.

-Carl

I'm going to pull the transmission and differential anyway but I was hoping to get it tuned first. Well I kinda see it as a good thing. It just sucks I replace the clutch line system before I can get it tuned.. I guess that's for the better. Tick performance master clutch replacement or a nitrous kit and just replace the line with ticks stainless steel line like it should of been anyhow! Seriously I about had a head on head collision today because the clutch line burst! Guys please feel my pain in doing this! The truck coming the opposite direction was going upwards of 45 mph (speed limit) and was a fairly close call. If I had 2nd thought into gunning it he would of hit me or I would of stalled in the middle of a busy corner after an intersection known for blind spots and wrecks either way bad jew-jew on my part :(

Sure, it's a bummer, but how can you blame GM for cooking a line with your aftermarket product? :) Good shops always put insulation around parts too close to the headers so they don't melt the moment you pick up the car from the shop :P

:iagree: :cheers:

The tick master is a great replacement for the stock unit. It works MUCH better and it's worth every penny.

Yea but 414$ and won't see 1/4 gains or hp gains worth it... I guess it's a fail safe mod kinda like arp studs, transmission mounts, and the other various things I done. Anyways gm should of put that stainless steel hose where that rubber hose was at. I had plans on bracketing it to the frame as I seen it as an issue.. really didn't think it would do that so soon. The gas station I went to was 1.2miles from my house. I decided to cut out the section that burst and went to the local lows and purchased some things... Re-routed the clutch line out of the headers way like it should of been and it works just fine. After a tune I will be tearing it apart and replacing this as well as a lot of other things :)

You may get some ideas from the install guide that was used for my APS TT kit. It shows how to replace the rubber section of the clutch line. I don't believe they had to drop the entire drive line to do this mod.
Refer to steps 13 thru 15.

http://airpowersystems.com/corvette/...tall_guide.htm

The braided stainless steel line that was used is in the Bill of Materials, refer to item 100.

http://airpowersystems.com/corvette/...lation/bom.htm

BJK

It will keep your tranny happier alot longer and you will be able to powershift with no worrys.

I have yet to power shift and Kinda don't like the idea of it.. Thanks 07 montredcp for the idea it helped a lot :) I can't figure out how to order those parts.....

Yeaaah, you don't want to order those parts from APS. I will spend some quality time on the web tonight and see if I can come up with part numbers for you that will get the job done. Can you give me the length of the rubber hose that would be replaced?

BJK

Hose works fine for GMs use

Many others have put headers on without hose failure, must be the installer ..... :toetap:

This is funny. Ive heard people blame GM for ALOT of things, but blaming them for a hose bursting because you choose to install a aftermarket part on your car is rediulous. GM didnt intend or design the car for you to throw aftermarket parts on it. If they wanted headers on it, they would have put headers on it. But I agree with an above statement, MANY MANY MANY people have installed headers with NO issues. Perhaps you should have noticed this possible problem beforehand. (since you believe gm should have addressed it, it shouldnt have been hard for you to notice that rubber line). Heat Tape and Cable ties do wonders....

try this
 

i bought mine from Hinson. Works great.

http://www.tickperformance.com/categ...ch-Hydraulics/

Thanks man.. I want to say 18 inch... I'm going to head back to lows and see if I can find something

Dont feel bad...I installed headers Friday on my car....in the garage in less than 4 hours...I was stoked.....I did the "ranger" clean up method on my clutch fluid...got the car all ready and went down the block...lost the clutch and coasted into the driveway...I knew immediatly what had happened...cause I remember the line being there but just forgot to move it. Lucky for me I has barely melted a small spot and the dang car didnt catch on fire. I cut the line and installed a 3" barbed splitter deal with 2 hose clamps on each side...bled the clutch wrapped that line with header wrap as well as part of the actual header and secured it outta the way. Ive put over 100 miles on the car since then.

So this happened to me as well. I went the route of ebaying myself a complete exhaust system over the last 9 months putting piece by piece together at about a third of the price. Well turns out the 2/3 saved did'nt include directions lol. so once I warmed the thing up and pushed in the clutch Kapow! Well I went back to searching solutions and looking at prices for the fix. I am an average guy with mechanical inclination mostly towards motorcycles. I ripped everything back off, went to the local Napa auto Parts and bought a foot long section of 1/4 inch brake line. i used a tube bender and flange tool. cut the rubber section out of the pre-existing clutch line. flared the old metal clutch line ends and replaced it. total cost of the repair was $5.88 . the clutch also feels alot better now. i routed the clutch line along with the metal fuel lines along the fire wall. put a couple of zip ties in place and have been trouble free since. I read how it was hard to bleed the clutch. i wear extra large gloves and consider my paws large. I had no trouble fitting a 9mm box end on the bleeder screw and bleeding the system. my five year old pumped the clutch for popsicles. If this helps anybody out there I am happy to share.

I would be a little concerned that now there is no flexible line between the master cylinder and the clutch cylinder. The master is fixed to the car's frame and the slave cylinder moves with the engine/trans unit relative to the frame every time the engine applies power. Steel brake line is not designed to flex and yet it seems that it is being asked to flex in this situation...it may eventually fatigue and crack. There is a good reason for GM having put a flexible link between master and slave cylinders. The two move relative to eachother every time the car accelerates and decelerates. Anything that connects the two will flex, and should be designed to do so.:thumbs: