Mudd92

Ive done a handful of reading and I wanted some opinions before I do it. Ive got an 03 z06, bolt ons, 67k. As far as I know the clutch is stock.

When driving around normal, clutch is fine, no problems (relases at top) but once I start to get into it a little the clutch will start to relase at the bottom.

Anyways, my problem becomes when I start banging the gears or runnin it hard the clutch pedal will stay on the floor. But only when it starts to get hot I suppose from the high revs and shifts?

Anyways, I use the Ranger method and my clutch fluid is clean, and I change it about once a week.

From reading, I was planning to drill out the line restriction Ive read about and remove the clutch pedal spring?

Sorry for the long thread, but any opinions would be appreciated it.

Joey

baxsom

i had the same thing happen and the only thing that fixed it was a new master cylinder

mikes1hog

You may have read my posts as my clutch pedal sticks after 2 or 3 shifts from cold (backing out of the garage and turning around to drive down the driveway). I then have to let it sit and warm up, pump 5-10 times and everything is fine afterwards. No leaks in the master or slave and my '04 only has 8000 miles on her. I've done the clutch fluid replacement (it wasn't all that dirty); I've had folks say replace the works - master cylinder, slave cylinder, and clutch [that's like $2400 - too big a job for me]. And others say the master cylinder. I hate replacing parts when I don't know that that's the real problem. You hear that "it's only 80-125 buck or 300 buck item" so you might as well try it. Bottom line is that I haven't heard from any other gurus of Corvette land who have had this seemingly common problem in C5's and 6's as to the source of the problem and so I am going to do the Clutch Master Cylinder replacement[I'll tackle that as I claim to be a "shade bush" mechanic]. I'm just waiting for a warm day here in cold and damp central Pennsylvania

sfc rick

I had the same issue with all the additional horsepower I added. But I also had 90K on the clock and didn't baby the clutch. I replaced the clutch and all the components to make it right. Now a year later my pedal sticks to the floor again but only at first start up and then never again all day even if I get on it hard.

mikes1hog

Surely you are not the only one with that issue; I count myself in the same light. The question still remains: Why does that happen? I've driven many cars, motorcycles, US Navy vehicles and if a clutch pedal stuck on the floor, there was a fix and it was fixed forever. What did Chevrolet do to cause this?????

dougbfresh

Read the ranger method on Youtube and you'll know why it happens.

mikes1hog

I've searched and read and watched it all. Yes, I read about clutch dust problem. "How do you fix it" is never addressed except for changing the "clutch" fluid every week. I've done that and my fluid was almost clear to start with and it remains clear.

dougbfresh

Don't think there is a permanent fix other than a different slave design. I wanted to try to remove the inspection cover and see if there is a way to spray some type of cleaner to get the clutch dust off the input shaft.

mikes1hog

That's not very promising. Are you ready? Today it is 40 degrees in central PA and sunny. Gotta take out the Vette, at least to get some Sunoco. So I try the old school method. What's that you ask? Back in the late 50's and early 60's, we would take out the old bomb and warm her up before we took off. So that's what I did. I let the Vette warm up for 8-10 minutes. Miracle! No sticking of clutch pedal; smooth shifts; got on it and smooth shifts no sticking. I wish I knew why it's good today,maybe I shouldn't look a gift horse in the mouth or maybe my Vette is just a bitchy, little stuck up girl who's complaining that she lives in an unheated garage..

dougbfresh

Different beasts. My last Vette, the 69' with 90W gear oil was olmost unshiftable for the 1st qt mile is I took it out in the cold. Modern transmissions use ATF.

mikes1hog

I know what you are saying but it remains that the warmup resulted or was coincidental with the clutch pedal working properly. When I backed her out of the garage the last time (2 weeks ago) in the cold and no warmup, the pedal stuck when I tried to shift into first and only after repeated "toe it up and push it down" along with 8-10 minutes of engine idling did the clutch pedal work right. It's just a mystery to me

fatbillybob

Well you guys are going to think I'm nuts but I bet there is air in your lines. Pedal pushes T/O bearing/slave into the pressure plate fingers. Fingers up the PP so you can shift. Foot off pedal lets T/o/slave relax but rpm and static PP pressure move the fingers back and push on T/0/slave. If air is in there the pedal does not come back because the air is compressible. Heat changes the volume of the air in the lines and its ability to be compressed which is why you get wonky unpredicatable action.

dougbfresh

Nope, I'm fairly sure it's the slave hanging up with all the clutch junk on the input shaft. When you watch the video it make sense. Many see this ONLY at high RPM's and quick shifts. Normal driving you'll never see it.

BUT, this has been debated almost as much as oil/tirescolumn lock/.... Look it up, and choose the symptoms/remedies you choose. The old style clutches mechanisms never had this issue (mechanical fork), it's defenitely a hydraulic issue/slave design problem.

dougbfresh

You might find this interesting:

http://www.torcavettes.com/tech/ClutchHydraulics.htm

tak06

Mine has a similar problem (happened once) backing out of the garage, outside temp. 40 degrees, engine not fully warmed up, clutch stuck to the floor. It's a '02Z with 9500 miles clutch fluid clear (Rangered to death) no dot 4 leaks. Manually pulled the pedal up and drove it back into storage. Could cold temp.'s cause this also?

mikes1hog

I don't know for sure, but my clutch pedal sticking started when the weather got colder (under 40 degrees). Coincidence? I bought my '04 in July 2011 and did not have a pedal problem until the weather got cold. Oh yes, my clutch fluid is clear. Some say (see the chevy mag article) that the fix is drilling out the tube and others say why do that. I'm still baffled.

tak06

Going to just leave as it for now, maybe it's just a one off thing caused by cold temps. or lack of use, you'd think GM would have perfected such a basic function as a clutch or column lock by now, building these cars since 1953? no wonder lot of people lost confidence in their products in the recent past, although making a come back now.

mikes1hog

Truly a PITA; but I've noticed around where I live that I don't see any Vettes driving around in temps under 50 degrees. More coincidence?

95rtturbo

^ Cold weather could definitely exascerbate the problem. I recently purchased my 04 ZO6 (currently has 4700 miles on it), stock everything, and I daily drive mine in the cold weather. I have not seen this issue yet with mine.

mikes1hog

Maybe daily driving the Vette is the answer. During the winter where I live, you have to pick the days to drive unless you like to drive on "anti-skid" material (pea gravel), salt, ice or snow. Also, the Goodyear summer tires need 45 degrees to be effective. At the end of the day, I keep hearing that voice in the back of my head that my Vette is just that bitchy, little cute girl who is angry because her garage is not heated.