Beave0101

I bought my 2002 S2k with 9,000 miles on it, from a guy who obviously took very good care of the car.

Car has 11500 miles on it now. Yesterday i was up on a hill, and i'm 99.9% sure it was in 1st gear, but it wouldnt go. The revs would go up, and i was hardly inching forward, as if i were in 3rd gear. I take it out of gear and make VERY SURE it's in 1st, and it goes nowhere, all the while the revvs are going up and i have insane traffic behind me.

I throw it into 2nd gear, and it takes a while, and I just know my clutch isnt liking this, but it finally gets up the hill. Parked soon after to go get what i needed, and the car/clutch reaked for 2-3hours afterwards.

Now i've tried the exact same hill test, and i've driven it alot since then, with no problems EXCEPT that in first gear, the clutch feels very noticibly softer. Like, it doesnt bite. At first i thought this was me just being over-suspect to my clutch after this, but now i'm positive that it is def. not biting nearly as hard as it usually has.

So the verdict should be, clutch is gone? :(

VTR_Gary

[QUOTE=Beave0101,Sep 21 2004, 12:23 PM] So the verdict should be, clutch is gone?

Gernby

Your clutch isn't "gone". You definitely put some heavy wear on it, and glazed it. It will get back nearly to normal after a few hundred miles of normal driving. I did the same thing to my clutch at about 5K miles, and it hasn't ever really been the same since. However, I have driven another 40K miles without replacing it. BTW, the same thing happens to brake pads when you overheat them.

geek

I am not so sure I would want to bet on that clutch any more. Gernby may well be right that your clutch is just glazed, it is also possible that the friction material integrity was compromised in this event. In a car where the motor only turns 4500RPM like my Mercedes diesel the risk is low. In a car where shift points can be at or near 9k the result of a disk flying apart is likely to be catastrophic. I know this first hand from my racing days.
Also, I am not clear how this started to begin with. If you were not riding the clutch prior to its slipping up the hill then something else occurred first. Could be some oil got on your flywheel or possibly something wrong with the pressure plate. Pressure plates really make a mess of things if they come apart. Personal experience applied here too.

BTW: I didn't read anything 'stupid" you posted here. I would rather replace a smoked clutch that was probably toast any way rather than abandon my toy on a steep hill. Good job.

mxt_77

Were the tires spinning? Possibly the clutch was OK but the tires weren't getting traction. However, if you smelled burnt clutch afterwards, then that destroys my theory.

cdelena

I would not worry too much about a stock disk flying apart, but if it is past just a bad glazing it will wear rapidly and probably scar the flywheel and PP to the point they will have to be replaced when you do replace the clutch. Take it easy and see if it regains friction in the next hundred miles, if not it is time to replace it.

Beave0101

thanks guys :thumbup: I'll def. drive it around for a while and see if anything comes back to normal.

Typically i replace the flywheel when I do the clutch as well, but i was planning on doing that for at least another 20k.

I just put in GM Synchromesh FM 1k miles ago, would another tranny fluid change be beneficial or ?

edit: I think what may have initially happened, is that i was starting off in 3rd gear, and when i tried to put it in first, well maybe it didnt go in or, well, i just don't know, it was wierd. I've accidently done the 3rd gear start in this car, still not used to the gearbox

SilverKnight

uhhh your not supposed to put it in 1st unless its less than 3mph or so. It is bad if you force her in...

kitwetzler

uh what shadetree mechanic told you that? we have these cool things called synchros... while you should never FORCE it in, it's totally fine to drop it into first, especially if you rev match.

RACER

The dude couldn't have taken that good a care of the car if the clutch is already spent. Either that or you spent the clutch in 2,500 miles.

I find it odd that the car climbed the hill in 2nd gear but not 1st gear Due to the fact that the higher gears take more power to turn than the lower gears, a clutch will slip in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th before it slips in 1st.

Drive your car up the steepest hill you can find (rolling start) Do about 55 mph in 5th gear and put the throttle to the floor. If it slips in this scenario, the clutch is no good. If the clutch slips in a lower gear, say 3rd at about 45 mph, it's wasted. A worn out clutch will be easily exposed on a hill. I am not talking about engaging or accelerating from a standstill either.