Now the clutch is gone!

[jakbob]

I can't believe how problematic my vx ss is turning out to be.
I had just turned a corner and was changing from 2nd to 3rd and suddenly the clutch wouldn't disengage. It kind of felt like something popped or broke and then there was nothing, the pedal went straight to the floor, there was no feel and I couldn't shift in or out of any gears. Very similar to what this thread describes: VX SS Clutch poped and dropped

I limped it home by starting it in gear and crunching my way into 3rd. Reading the above thread I was sure it was the slave cylinder except there doesn't seem to be any fluid leaking anywhere and I'm not losing any out of the reservoir.

The last post in the above thread mentions that the centre of the clutch plate may have fractured.
So it looks it like I'm up for a new slave cylinder at the very least and even if the clutch is fine I might as well have a new one at the same time.

Holden have quoted me about $538 for the clutch kit and $280 for the slave cylinder, and about $460 to have them fitted. This seems fairly reasonable however I'm not real keen on having them do it, they seem pretty hopeless(I asked for a price on a clutch kit and he asked me if the car was an auto????).

I think I am better to spend extra money on a better clutch and fit it myself. Is it particularly difficult to change the clutch on these cars? Anything I should look out for? Does the exhaust get in the way?

[Macca86]

Depending on your driving style it can be well worth the bit extra to get an upgraded one. As for fitting, how mechanical are you? Its not what you would call a massively hard job, but if you havnt done much mechical stuff yourself then yes there is a bit involved

[jakbob]

I don't punish or flog the car much but I am planning for more power and maybe some heavy towing so I'm pretty keen on a better clutch. Ideally I'd be able to afford a triple plate txtralia clutch but I'm a poor apprentice so I have my eye on this one: Commodore vt vx vy vz Clutch Kit Gen3 V8 SS R8 LS1 - eBay Clutches, Transmission, Car, Truck Parts, Cars, Bikes, Boats. (end time 02-Oct-10 13:04:35 AEST). Comes with a slave cylinder as well so it works out not much dearer then getting a genuine holden one.

I'm a sparky apprentice but I like to think of myself as fairly mechanical. I converted my old VC from auto to manual so I have spent a little bit of time on my back under a car getting friendly with gearboxes. I'm guessing the vx will be basically the same deal only bigger and heavier with added complexity of a hydraulic clutch.

[IBLOWN]

Seems like a fair price to me.

[Macca86]

Yeah if you have done that conversion in the past yourself you should be right no worries man. And yeah that seems a fair price. Go for it

[VTLS1]

one other thing if you gunna do the clutch etc replace the rear main seal with a new one while your at it. prevention is better than cure

[jakbob]

Just thought I'd give a little update on my clutch situation. I pulled the box on the weekend and got the clutch out. Turns out it wasn't the slave cylinder at all but half of the fingers in the cover had collapsed and were all over the place.


Ordered a new clutch kit with new slave cylinder anyway - its such a bitch of a job I don't want to have to do it again anytime soon. Trying to track down a new rear main seal, autobarn didn't have any in stock but said I'd be looking at $108 for one! That seems way too expensive. I'd hope for that money it would come with a gasket for the plate on the back of the motor as well. Anywhere in brisbane that would have one in stock? I need one by the end of the week.
Also I want to get a remote bleeder made up because I'm damned if I know how you could bleed it with the factory bleeder arrangement. Would any brake shop be able to make something up?
Cheers