Clutch Woes

Hi folks,

I have a 1996 SL1 with 200,000km on it. (120K miles)

I replaced the clutch about 25000 km ago and over the last 5000km, the
shifting has been difficult at best.

At a light it's difficult to put it in 1st.. finding second or third is
difficult as well. Most troubling is that sometimes at a light with the
clutch pedal in and the tranny in 1st gear, it feels as though the clutch
is grabbing and the car is lurchy..

Seems to me that sometimes the clutch is released properly and
intermittently it's not.

I have replaced the hydraulics with the sealed system factory unit and it
didn't make a difference at all.

So for my questions:

1. Any ideas on what might be bad here? Bad clutch itself?

2. Should I yank the engine to replace the clutch or can I separate the
engine and tranny with less work than that. (I had a garage do the work
last time)

Thanks,
Adrien

 

This may sound like a stupid question but have you check the fluid
level?

 

Sounds like the clutch pedal needs adjustment.

 

To my knowledge from ownership of two Saturns and changing several clutches
myself, the clutch pedal is not adjustable.

I can't speak as to what the problem may be, but excellent DIY clutch
replacement procedures can be found here:

http://www.cristhomas.com/cars/Clutch/ClutchHowTo.html

Cris wrote this with input from quite a few people who have done the job and
regularly post to the Saturn Performance Club mailing list. More info can
be found at http://www.saturnperformanceclub.com/list-main.html .

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]

 

Was the throw out bearing replaced at the same time? (If not, it certainly
should have been.) Is the clutch reservoir full of proper hydraulic fluid?

 

A couple comments. You don't have to pull the shift tower off. If you loosen
the cradle bolts on the drivers side(and loosen a little on the pass) and
drop the cradle some it gives you more room to work with, and it's therefore
an easier job. You don't have to mess with the pass side axle either, it'll
just pop out and in on its own.

Jamie

 

I certainly have no experience with these cars, but that was my first guess.
I'm quite fluent in DSMs and 3000GT/VR4s and that is a common problem after
a clutch job. We have a nut and screwable shaft on the clutch pedal that can
be used to change the engagment. This is normally a problem with racing
clutches because they have stiffer pressure plates.

From the problem he is describing it sounds like the plate isn't pushing the
clutch enough out of engagement to allow smooth shifting. An aftermarket
pressure plate or flywheel can do this because they may not be within spec.
My question is, did they replace or resurface the old flywheel? Did the
replace the throw-out bearing and pressure plate? If so, did they use the
correct part number? Chevy likes to change parts a lot, even within a model
year.

--
Todd Honea

 

Hi - Amazing! I have the exact situation you described on my 94 SL2 - I've
just been living with it, but what a bitch it is when your sitting at a
light, and it changes and you have to jam the SOB into 1st. Unlike you
though, I usually don't have problems with any other gear. I found that as I
am just coming to a stop, I apply slight pressure to the stick to put in
1st, and it'll gently slip in just before you stop. I also have the
"jumping" you described while sitting at a light with the car in 1st...Feels
like the clutch isn't completely disengaged...funny thing is that if you
pull the stick out of gear, pump the clutch once and put it back in it
stops. (of course, then you have the problem of having to jam it again)

The reason I state the above experience for you is that for me, the car is
what it is...mine's a 12 year old Saturn with 160K miles on it in which the
drivers seat and my left side get wet during rain from a leak somewhere
(drips down from the around the seat belt track), and I'm only looking to
keep it going until it dies, putting only the minimum $ in it. This clutch
problem has been going on for 2 years, and hasn't changed or left me
stranded.......so if yours just started AND you don't want to dump $ in it
AND you can live with it, it won't crap out on you if that's what your
worried about. (and no, the clutch is not adjustable just as someone else
mentioned)

BTW, on the same topic of clutches, is it mine only, or is the Saturn clutch
in that car the stiffest/hardest clutch for a car you've ever experienced??
My left leg gets a good workout in rush hour!! I've driven large trucks
that feel like that clutch. The other day, I moved my friend's Nissan,
which is a stick and I damn near put my foot through the floor!!

Scott

 

Interesting. The clutch pressure on the SL2 that is now my son's is
feather-light. I have had the same thing as far as getting it to go
into gear, but I always figured that the problem felt more like it was
in the shifter.

Ken

 

As long as it's not the rear main seal leaking on to the clutch plate
causing my difficulties all should be alright.


I'd avoid fixing it but it is my road trip vehicle - From Ottawa,
Canada it's been to West Va twice, Georgia once, Fla once and Mexico
twice..

I'll start working on it on Monday and I'll let everyone know what the
verdict is..

For the previous questions

1. Yes, the hydraulics are full. (Brand new in fact - replaced because
I though t the hydraulics were the issue)
2. Yes, the flywheel was machined.
3. Yes, the release bearing was replaced.

Thanks for the assistance so far..

-a

 

Hmmm....That is interesting. The clutch in this car has always been
stiff/heavy. In fact, one of the reasons I have this car is because my 65
year old Mom's knee couldn't take the clutch anymore and she needed an
automatic (that and getting in & out was starting to get difficult for her
and my Dad...) They went and bought a Vue and gave me this car. It's not
bad for a little go-kart and it's decent on gas battling the Long Island
Expressway stop & go crap 6 days a week....

Scott

 

I pulled the clutch and it's the pressure plate that's bad. The
fingers are worn quite badly

Thanks for the assistance - I did drop the transmission through the
bottom.. undoing half the subframe bolts and suspending the back of
the engine with a 2x4 as described..