Something is slipping....badly. Clutch? HELP, PLEASE!!

[thapr3dat0r]

Car drives OK just putting around but when I go WOT in any gear the RPMs just rev all the way up. This used to just happen in 1st and 2nd gear from wheel spin. Well, it's not wheel spin cause it happens in every gear at any RPM, even in 6th gear cruising down the highway. Press the gas, the car doesn't move, just the tach needle. WTF? I dreaded the probably cause....the clutch. I don't smell clutch, though. I have not had the TSB performed and I'm worried that since it doesn't have any clutch creep or other issues stated in the TSB they will not fix it. It's still under warranty, though? I know they can say the clutch is a wear item but it should be determined defective and covered under the power train warranty, right? DAMNIT!!!!!!!!!!!

I've noticed lately this problem has been getting worse and worse over the past few months. I have done some stop and go traffic in this car (unfortunately) because I have been needing to drive into DC for work lately. Yes, it's my DD. But at 12k miles, I should not have a fried clutch. I love this car and I baby it. I never race it or abuse it. WOT every once in awhile, but that's it.

Has anybody had clutch issues like this? I'm going to bring it in to the dealership tomorrow and see what they say. I have my combat gear on. I know it's gonna be a battle.

 

[ShakeNBake]

Clutch 100%

 

[Black01Vert]

Exact thing happens to me! Except mine is a 2003 v6. Sometimes on cold days the Rpms will go up in any gear without much increase in speed. I never smelled clutch either. This happened about 5-6 times already, only in below 25F weather. If I just baby the car and don't accel fast, it usually goes away after about an hr of driving and then it's as good as new...

Really weird

 

[Shaker1]

Sounds like the clutch to me. How many miles? Lots of stop and go? If the flywheel is warped it should be related to the TSB. No way to know until it is apart.

 

[GOTSVT?]

Start shopping for a new clutch

 

[Proto]

As said 100% clutch

 

[stkjock]

yeah, it's the clutch......

 

[Finaltheorem47]

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say something wild.... I think it's the clutch.

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Car has almost exactly 12,000 miles. Cold or warm doesn't matter, it does it all the time now. Uphill is worse, I don't even have to be at WOT for it to slip. Yeah, it is definitely the perfect example of fried clutch. A friend of mine said the same thing happened to his Evo with no smell. FML

Im going to my buddies house today to clean up the car before I take it in to the dealership. I only have suspension mods, do you think they'll get suspicious and try to poke around to see if the engine's been modded? I bought the car used, who knows what the previous owner has done. Can they see if the ECU's been tuned and returned to stock?

Holy hell, if they even hint that the suspension mods are the problem and use it as an excuse to void warranty, I will cause a shit storm.

 

[stkjock]

clutch typically is not a warranty covered item

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Yeah, I know. That's what I'm worried about. But I have 12k on the odometer and there's numerous TSB and well known clutch issues with this car. I'm hoping that is enough for them to consider fixing it for me. After I bought the GT500 from them I referred three friends there who all bought new trucks. I'm gonna try my hardest to get them to do it.

 

[mullens]

Your best bet is the TSB. With only 12k I'm sure the faulty flywheel caused your clutch to wear prematurely. They have to get authorization to do the TSB so it may take awhile, but it looks like a slam dunk to me. Print out the TSB and bring it with you.

 

[Leeiswho2b]

Car has almost exactly 12,000 miles. Cold or warm doesn't matter, it does it all the time now. Uphill is worse, I don't even have to be at WOT for it to slip. Yeah, it is definitely the perfect example of fried clutch. A friend of mine said the same thing happened to his Evo with no smell. FML

Im going to my buddies house today to clean up the car before I take it in to the dealership. I only have suspension mods, do you think they'll get suspicious and try to poke around to see if the engine's been modded? I bought the car used, who knows what the previous owner has done. Can they see if the ECU's been tuned and returned to stock?

Holy hell, if they even hint that the suspension mods are the problem and use it as an excuse to void warranty, I will cause a shit storm.

Mine went out at 1800 miles on the clock.

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Ok, I just got back from the dealer. As soon as I mentioned the problem, she immediately said the clutch is a wear item and therefore is NOT covered under warranty under any circumstances. I don't know if she saw that I am young and immediately assumed I flog the shit out of the car and fried the clutch. But she was not being very receptive at all. She didn't seem to care or barely acknowledge the TSB. I had three versions with me. When she finally looked at them, she said it was only the flywheel that the problem was for. She also said TSBs are nothing more than something to help the technician diagnose and fix a problem. She said she has never dealt with clutch problems on this car. I find that very hard to believe considering it's a huge dealership in Northern Virginia (DC suburbs).

They want to charge me the diagnostic fee of $100+ (which I assume simply consists of the tech taking it for a test drive). I said NO and she handed me back my TSBs and said she can't help me. I was getting pretty upset and she agreed to let me go on a ride along with the tech tomorrow morning and see what he/she thinks then before I commit any cash. We all already know what he's gonna say, "Yup, that there is the clutch". And that means they gotta tear it apart to see exactly whats broken.

The good news is, I am still under my 3 year warranty for another couple months. I don't know if that was to bait me to have them open it up and stick me with a bill regardless of what is or isn't wrong. I think that because she said, if it's anything OTHER than the clutch, I'm covered under warranty and don't have to pay for anything. BUT, if it's the clutch, I gotta pay for the labor and parts. So, I'm making an "all-or-nothing" gamble? That doesn't seem right. I think I need to elevate this issue.

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Mine went out at 1800 miles on the clock.

Wow, that's incredible but somehow does not surprise me. I'm sure that was easy to get fixed under warranty.

 

[zporta]

Take it somewhere reputable an way cheaper then a dealership. And upgrade the clutch while your at it

 

[thapr3dat0r]

Take it somewhere reputable an way cheaper then a dealership. And upgrade the clutch while your at it

Yeah, that's the weird thing about this damn high income area. The dealerships are usually cheaper! They have a standard amount for parts, labor, etc. But the private businesses will charge you out the freakin' roof unless you talk them down or call them out on their price gouging. But people around here with more money than brains will pay it, no questions asked, no haggling. Same thing with my last car to mount and balance wheels/tires. I ended up going to the dealer for way cheaper. It's like the twilight zone here in Northern VA.

I called a local Mustang performance shop and they quoted me $2000, out the door, parts and labor for an upgraded clutch. And the dealer quoted me roughly $600 for the clutch and $600 for the labor. They even said I can bring in my OWN CLUTCH for them to install. I just pay labor, $600. It gets better....I asked about warranty on any other tranny related parts, in case I something else broke and they tried to blame it on the aftermarket clutch, and they said they wouldn't do that, they would cover the other warrantied parts. WTF is going on here?

 

[mullens]

I'd go with the dealer's $600/$600 offer and get a OEM 2010 clutch. It is a great clutch.

 

[93_chargedcobra]

I'd go with the dealer's $600/$600 offer and get a OEM 2010 clutch. It is a great clutch.

Yes I agree...I have a spec in my gt500 its bitch to drive cause it like a switch, once it gets some wear a 2010 clutch is going in!

 

[thapr3dat0r]

I'd go with the dealer's $600/$600 offer and get a OEM 2010 clutch. It is a great clutch.

I definitely considered that. But here's my question/concern: What will they put in? Will they put in the upgraded clutch? Or will they put in another shitty clutch that will shit the bed after another 10k miles? Do they even make the old shitty clutch anymore? I apologize, I haven't been keeping up with the clutch issues. The fourth revision of the TSB shows the clutch part number: AR3Z-7B546

I guess I better make sure that's the one they put in, eh?