I recently had the clutch go out on my truck while traveling through Charlottesville. I had it towed to a shop in Waynesboro to have the clutch replaced since the truck has 209K miles on it.

I contacted them on Monday and they said they were busy and couldn't get to it until Thursday. So I figure it should be fixed by Friday or Monday since they were closed on Saturday. Nope...wasn't ready Monday, Tuesday and finally Wednesday afternoon.

During this time he said a nut was missing and on another day he needed some bolts but was unsure of the size.

So what I have learned now is that the bolts broke when taking the flywheel cover off. So they failed to drill out the old bolts and fix with a larger size or helicoil the hole.

While rotating the tires last week, I noticed the flywheel cover was missing. Turns out they failed to replace it and have throw it away. Research shows the MG5 manual transmission was produced from 1988 until 1995 and was used on the C1500 through the C3500. A search for a cover from GM shows that it is no longer available.

I found all this out yesterday when talking to the owner which failed to return my phone call or emails for the past week. He says the cover is only used to keep peoples fingers out. Can you believe this??

I am sure water and dirt has gotten in there since it left the shop. I am afraid something could get in there and cause an imbalance of the flywheel and something come loose.

I filed a complaint with Visa and I noticed they have reversed the charges. I am sure he will be pissed when he finds out. How do idiots like this stay in business?

Also there is a loose wire under the dash they pulled loose, the slave cylinder needs to be bleeded, screws are missed in the shifter boot and could allow exhaust fumes in, and there is a loose wire bundle under the transmission they failed to reattach.

He also replaced the flywheel and said it was burnt while the clutch looked good and still was usable.

It is already making a noise and probably won't last long if driven in the present condition.

Let him take you to small claims court.

Document everything wrong and get a mechanic's opinion of the shoddy work.

The problem is that the flywheel cover needs to be replaced before it is driven. If something got in there and caused an imbalance, you could have the flywheel come loose.

I will have to start looking at junkyards for a cover. I have lots of work to do and need the truck.

Have you done business with that shop previously?

Or someone refer you to them?

quote:

Originally posted by Sunset_Va:
Have you done business with that shop previously?

Or someone refer you to them?

I had one of my cars inspected there with no problem and the mechanic was friendly.

My cousin has used them with no problem and they checked her car out before going on a trip and didn't charge her.

The owner seems to be lazy and has poor communication skills. To leave the flywheel cover off is irresponsible and a failure could get him sued. He didn't tell me about the broken bolts. This can happen when you have someone that doesn't know what they are doing. A stuck bolt needs to be soaked and an impact wrench used to try and get it loose. Use a regular wrench and a lot of force will break it off.

He should have tried to get the bolt out and used helicoils. He just covered up the whole deal. He wants me to bring it back. He didn't get it right the first time and the flywheel cover has been thrown away. When I was in the bay area, he told me to go to the waiting room. That may have been a clue.

It may have not needed a flywheel and the clutch was still usable. How do I know if they torqued the flywheel bolts correctly. Unbelievable.

Actually the quickest way to snap off a "frozen" bolt is to use an impact wrench. Used to do it all the time when replacing exhaust systems.

On any aluminum case such as that for your transmission seized screws are common due to galvanic corrosion. If it's essential to preserve the tapped hole the ONLY reliable way to extract a frozen screw is to "walk" it out with LOTS of back and forth motion and lots of lube. Once spent 2 hours getting one single 6mm screw out of the crankcase on my motorcycle and when I put it back together every single tapped hole had been re-threaded using a bottoming tap set and I installed stainless steel studs, lock washers and nuts to put it back together.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:...If it's essential to preserve the tapped hole the ONLY reliable way to extract a frozen screw is to "walk" it out with LOTS of back and forth motion and lots of lube....

This. Patience is virtue and Kroil is yer friend.

Heat works great on bolts in forged and cast iron and steal nuts and bolts. It breaks the chemical bond as well as assisting in breaking the mechanical bond. But not so good an idea on aluminum as it almost always will result in warping.

Of COURSE the dust cover is superfluous. GM puts many extra parts on their vehicles, out of the goodness of their hearts... It's a wonder he didn't take the hood off and toss that, too.

quote:

Originally posted by Scooter123:
Actually the quickest way to snap off a "frozen" bolt is to use an impact wrench. Used to do it all the time when replacing exhaust systems.

On any aluminum case such as that for your transmission seized screws are common due to galvanic corrosion. If it's essential to preserve the tapped hole the ONLY reliable way to extract a frozen screw is to "walk" it out with LOTS of back and forth motion and lots of lube. Once spent 2 hours getting one single 6mm screw out of the crankcase on my motorcycle and when I put it back together every single tapped hole had been re-threaded using a bottoming tap set and I installed stainless steel studs, lock washers and nuts to put it back together.

That is the way I have always done it. I am not sure how I did without the impact wrench in the past.

Aluminum is always bad for seizing. I have used Teflon tape on screws in some cases. Also re-taped the hole from standard to metric without drilling and making the hole larger. Just enough metal there to make new threads.

I didn't think I was ever going to get the lug nuts off the 1992 Buick due to liquid salt. That car is ruined forever. I have to get it inspected this month and it looks like the brake drums may be seized to the axle again.

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
Of COURSE the dust cover is superfluous. GM puts many extra parts on their vehicles, out of the goodness of their hearts... It's a wonder he didn't take the hood off and toss that, too.

Are you serious?? What about the water and dirt kicked up by the tires and getting into the clutch and pressure plate. It is already making a noise.

Then get something sucked in there and cause the flywheel/clutch assembly to get unbalanced.

Another thing, I have never heard of a flywheel that was burnt. Does it mean it got hot and warped?

The clutch looked fine and measures .045+ to the rivet heads. I still don't know what failed but I assume something came loose like the ball that holds the clutch throwout fork.

 
I drove my '56 Chevy for a couple of years before I could locate a clutch cover. Nothing bad happened, but I always felt better after the cover was in place.
 

quote:

Originally posted by 41:

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
Of COURSE the dust cover is superfluous. GM puts many extra parts on their vehicles, out of the goodness of their hearts... It's a wonder he didn't take the hood off and toss that, too.

Are you serious?? What about the water and dirt...

No, not serious. I thought the sarcasm there was pretty obvious, but maybe not.

I *am* serious when I say that the mechanic's judgement is not just flawed, but criminal. He doesn't get to decide what parts are optional.

At some point the question becomes, "What else did he take off the vehicle, and how much did he sell it for?" If you can't find a replacement dust cover for *your* truck, maybe the shop was already looking for one for *another* truck.

quote:

Originally posted by whanson_wi:
Of COURSE the dust cover is superfluous. GM puts many extra parts on their vehicles, out of the goodness of their hearts... It's a wonder he didn't take the hood off and toss that, too.

. Laughing, laughing,,,,,

quote:

Originally posted by 41:
Another thing, I have never heard of a flywheel that was burnt. Does it mean it got hot and warped?

The clutch looked fine and measures .045+ to the rivet heads. I still don't know what failed but I assume something came loose like the ball that holds the clutch throwout fork.

The spring band broke in the clutch. The disk can be fine, but where there is no pressure to hold it to the flywheel it will slip.

He probably saw a little bit of blue metal and decided to sell you a flywheel when it could have been turned up just fine.

I'm confused on some things. First, what happened to the clutch? Was it slipping badly so the truck wouldn't move, or was it failing to disengage and keeping the transmission from shifting? And you said:

quote:

He also replaced the flywheel and said it was burnt while the clutch looked good and still was usable.

But then you said:

quote:

The clutch looked fine and measures .045+ to the rivet heads.

How is it you have a clutch disc to measure? If they didn't replace it, but just the flywheel, you wouldn't have one to measure . Or did they replace it and give the old one back to you? If the flywheel was so bad that it had to be replaced, why not give that back to you as well, or at least let you see it?

Some other things confusing me are the loose wire under the dash and the slave cylinder needing to be bled. There is normally no reason to ever go under the dash when replacing a clutch, unless replacing the master cylinder. And the clutch won't dis engage if there is any air in the system, so the transmission would be difficult or impossible to shift.

quote:

Another thing, I have never heard of a flywheel that was burnt. Does it mean it got hot and warped?

On the assumption this is actually what happened, yes, a flywheel can get burnt. I have seen them turned blue and gold and have surface cracks from severe overheating, which can only happen when there is a severe slippage condition. This can happen if the disc is completely worn out, there is abuse like trying to "rock" the truck out of a mudhole, or there is a hydraulic problem not letting the clutch return to full engagement. If the overheating condition is bad enough the flywheel would have to be resurfaced, or if too far gone, replaced.

This is your picture. I did a little editing.



Are the circled objects the broken inspection cover bolts? They can be drilled/tapped/Heli-Coiled/whatever without pulling the transmission again. The exhaust pipe may obstruct the drill chuck. Sure would have been a lot easier while the transmission was out.

I think the throw out arm came loose or the throw out bearing broke loose which caused the lose of clutching. You could not shift the transmission. The clutch peddle was so hard to push in that you could not get it down enough to engage the starter.

From what the owner said, the throw out bearing went bad. I asked them to put in a new clutch for which he quoted me $640. The truck has 209K miles and this has been the only major problem. It has never been driven in the winter time so the frame has little rust. The original mufflers lasted 17 years.

I have only burnt the clutch several times when backing up a hill. You can smell it. I wanted the clutch to hang on the wall since this has been an extremely stressful happening. Here are pictures of the clutch.




There was never any slipping of the clutch. It was having problems disengaging at times and then it just went totally out.

I plan to take it to the local Chevy dealer Tuesday and ask them what they can do and their opinion. I have checked every where for a dust cover and GM has probably not made them for the last ten years since it is a 1990 C2500. The cover was only used from 1988 to 1995 on the MG5 5-speed transmission. The transmission will have to be pulled to drill out the broken bolts on the upper part but the bottom two can be done OK. I think the cover hooks on the top and the bolts hold the lower part.

quote:

There was never any slipping of the clutch. It was having problems disengaging at times and then it just went totally out.

I see. And it is still doing the same thing? How was the thing even released to you?

If the clutch won't disengage and you can't push the pedal, there are several things that can do this: a disintegrated throwout bearing, a broken release fork or pivot, and hydraulic cylinders (usually the slave) sticking. Sometimes the front bearing retainer, on which the throwout bearing slides, can be worn down, which makes the bearing tilt and push the fingers unevenly causing poor disengagement, or it can have a groove or shoulder worn in it, which will make the bearing stick. These things should have been obvious while the transmission was out.