# Clutch looks to be going at 125k miles



## obermd (Mar 3, 2012)

Low volume car means you won't find a large aftermarket for it.


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## phil1734 (Aug 30, 2019)

I'm not convinced a worn out clutch is the issue from your description.

A worn clutch will not care where the pedal is at, it will "slip" allowing the engine to free-rev while driving around, particularly on the highway in top gear. 

125k in 3-4 years is a lot of driving. I'm assuming that's mostly highway, which would not wear out a clutch. Most clutches go more than that even in city driving.

If the pedal is changing, you may be experiencing a failing slave cylinder, a known issue on these cars. I believe there was even a recall for it overseas, but not in North America.


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## rcruze (Mar 22, 2018)

I could see the slave failing being the issue. But the warning the car gave, leads me to think that the disk is also on the way out. Plus you have to remove everything to get to the slave, might as well replace the clutch.. I am having a little luck finding some parts for the B16TDH overseas, but I am not 100% convinced this will save me some money yet. 

Yes 99% of all my driving is highway. bought my car with 1 mile on it back in Feb of 2018..


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

rcruze said:


> Yes 99% of all my driving is highway. bought my car with 1 mile on it back in Feb of 2018..


125k in 17 months.... holy crap. ~7300 miles/month, ~1800 mi/week 😳


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## phil1734 (Aug 30, 2019)

~29 months, but yes.

There are a few members here in the 40 to 50k a year club. At least there is no debating about them buying the right car for the job. 😂


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## WillL84 (Aug 5, 2019)

phil1734 said:


> ~29 months, but yes.
> 
> There are a few members here in the 40 to 50k a year club. At least there is no debating about them buying the right car for the job. 😂


D'oh! Can't math this morning 🤦‍♂️


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## rcruze (Mar 22, 2018)

So I have the slave cylinder on order (been processing for a few days now). I figure I would start taking the car apart while I wait for the delivery. Has anyone separated the trans from the engine yet? any tips?


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## rcruze (Mar 22, 2018)

so swapped out the slave cylinder finally! Lol not a fun driveway job but definitely can be done. 

I did have 1 issue with the part I got from gmpartsdirect the hard line connector that sticks out of the trans was just a bit short. So I had to drop the trans again and swap on the original hardline. 

After that was corrected it all got buttoned up. 
















You can see the fluid dripping from the original slave cylinder.


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## chadtn (Feb 27, 2018)

Any more pictures of the tear down? My last nine vehicles have all been rear wheel drive. MyCruze is the first front wheel drive car I've ever worked on. Hopefully it doesn't act up any time soon. heh..

Did you end up only replacing the slave cylinder?

Thanks!

Chad


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## rcruze (Mar 22, 2018)

Sorry, I really don't have any other pictures. I was more worried about getting it all done in 1 weekend lol.

Yes, I only replaced the slave cylinder. The trans has a cutout the is ment for a prybar that allowed the brake fluid to drain and not build up, so imo that saved the clutch.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

rcruze said:


> Sorry, I really don't have any other pictures. I was more worried about getting it all done in 1 weekend lol.
> 
> Yes, I only replaced the slave cylinder. The trans has a cutout the is ment for a prybar that allowed the brake fluid to drain and not build up, so imo that saved the clutch.


Where did it drip from? Last time I did an oil change and had the belly pan off I noticed this small drip of brake fluid on the bottom of the transaxle. Nothing on the pan below or anywhere else, I couldn't figure out where it came from. Makes me kind of worried, though I haven't seen anything build up there since, nor have I felt any clutch issues (and it's been 4k miles). I just want to emotionally prepare myself if I'm going to have to battle GM on this too at any time in the near future.


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## MRO1791 (Sep 2, 2016)

BodhiBenz1987 said:


> Where did it drip from? Last time I did an oil change and had the belly pan off I noticed this small drip of brake fluid on the bottom of the transaxle. Nothing on the pan below or anywhere else, I couldn't figure out where it came from. Makes me kind of worried, though I haven't seen anything build up there since, nor have I felt any clutch issues (and it's been 4k miles). I just want to emotionally prepare myself if I'm going to have to battle GM on this too at any time in the near future.


That doesn't appear to be in an area that I'd think could be the clutch fluid leak from your picture. Maybe some transmission fluid leaking?


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

MRO1791 said:


> That doesn't appear to be in an area that I'd think could be the clutch fluid leak from your picture. Maybe some transmission fluid leaking?


That's possible though it seemed thin for what I would think the gearbox oil would be. It was odd, I couldn't feel any oily residue around joints near it. Looking from above I haven't noticed any accumulation since, but I'll inspect thoroughly again when I do the next oil change. It's possible it was fresh oil that dripped down during the last change ... was definitely not dark enough to be oil that had been in the engine!


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## phil1734 (Aug 30, 2019)

I had the exact same "drip" on my car when I did the sway bar ~2,000 miles ago. Same place, same amount. No trace of where it came from, no evidence of it accumulating on the belly pan, no fluid loss anywhere (unless it is coming from the trans.)

I will be checking again when I do my next oil change in about a month. My bumper-to-bumper warranty expires around then and I will want to have it documented, even if they won't fix it then.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

phil1734 said:


> I had the exact same "drip" on my car when I did the sway bar ~2,000 miles ago. Same place, same amount. No trace of where it came from, no evidence of it accumulating on the belly pan, no fluid loss anywhere (unless it is coming from the trans.)
> 
> I will be checking again when I do my next oil change in about a month. My bumper-to-bumper warranty expires around then and I will want to have it documented, even if they won't fix it then.


Interesting ... and you haven't had clutch/slave cylinder issues yet? My factory bumper-to-bumper ends in about 6k, or in April, though I bought an extended warranty that is supposed to double it when I bought the car, from the dealer. Since GM uses an outside company for the extended warranty, I'm not sure what to expect of that. I'm trying not to stress over the drip, considering how much I already stress over my regen problems, but I also want to be smart ... like your approach, I want everything documented even if it's not what GM considers a problem yet.


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## phil1734 (Aug 30, 2019)

No issues yet, but I'm still at only 27,000 miles. 
I would think that a clutch slave would fall under the powertrain warranty, but don't know that for sure.


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## BodhiBenz1987 (Jan 13, 2018)

phil1734 said:


> No issues yet, but I'm still at only 27,000 miles.
> I would think that a clutch slave would fall under the powertrain warranty, but don't know that for sure.


I think you are right on the powertrain warranty. Maybe I was thinking of injectors but I remember seeing a semi-common-fail item not listed on the powertrain items and getting nervous recently. I'm at about 29,500 now. Another thing I thought of on the fluid drip, it was in March that I found it, so whereever it came from, it might only be coming from in freezing weather.


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## rcruze (Mar 22, 2018)

The drip showed itself right by the oil drain. But the big clue was the oil soaked belly pan...

It happened FAST for me. I was 1/2 way home (99% hwy) and got the clutch perf warning light. After I got home, I checked the clutch about 2 hours after the car sat and the clutch went right to the floor.

If you end up doing the work, check the fitment of the slave cylinder connection before you bolt it all back up.

Also the trans will want to roll back on you after it is disconnected. It will want to move to the back where the axles go in. My trans jack held it, but to get it back in i had to use my tractor, boom lift and 2 ratchet straps to lift it correctly in place.


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