CLUTCH FAILURE!!! WTF

[backtotintops]

thanks for the tick info...good stuff. I guess this is a work around since everybody thinks this will come back. I picked up the car a week ago and took one drive and there was so much traffic AS USUAL HERE that I gave up and put it away and I've been out of town since so still have not had a chance to hammer it. will report back.

[jessrayo]

I have not followed up on your post for a while but I think you are fine now. I thought you had air in the line. If the fluid ever boils the air bubbles are trapped in the fluid and you need a complete bleed of every line to make sure it is all out. Much more likely to boil it in the brake caliper than the clutch. I went to separate reservoirs and the Ideal clutch slave cylinder. I run Motul 660 in both the brake and clutch system which are separate on my car, no braking or clutch problems with a lot of heat on the rotors and calipers and the clutches for that matter. When they swapped out the brake fluid they forgot about the clutch and got air in the line. You should be good now.

[brt3]

Originally Posted by 05SilverStreak

Baseless generalizations about build quality? Really? Its american made. So yes there is a build quality issue. We all took a chance.

As far as build quality goes, every time I take my Z/28 to the shop -- one of which is a race-biased shop that works on mostly Porsche and Ferrari -- the techs rave about the solidity and build quality of my car. The last comment was by a tech who was directly comparing my car to the Ferrari he'd just been working on.

I think Zfat can testify to just how robust this car is in the most extreme of track conditions, and I can attest to how it laughs off even the most brutal extremes of heat. If I have to spend $100 on the JDP kit to add a dedicated clutch reservoir, I can live with that.

My last track car was a C63 AMG Black Series coupe. German build quality? Most of the carbon fiber on the car (front splitter, rocker panel covers, rear diffuser) was defective from Day One. It took 8 months to get the car repaired, and I can tell you that MBUSA cares a LOT more about selling cars than they do about dealing with faults in their product. The costs of running that car on track were, I'm guessing, at least double that of the Z/28. I think I can live with American-made engineering and build quality...

[Skylane765]

Originally Posted by jessrayo

I have not followed up on your post for a while but I think you are fine now. I thought you had air in the line. If the fluid ever boils the air bubbles are trapped in the fluid and you need a complete bleed of every line to make sure it is all out. Much more likely to boil it in the brake caliper than the clutch. I went to separate reservoirs and the Ideal clutch slave cylinder. I run Motul 660 in both the brake and clutch system which are separate on my car, no braking or clutch problems with a lot of heat on the rotors and calipers and the clutches for that matter. When they swapped out the brake fluid they forgot about the clutch and got air in the line. You should be good now.

Remember the test cars my car and all others on here have had no clutch problems! this looks like a isolated case. even the cars used on the test track had no problem with one reservoir. It has only happened if they change fluid.

[Fruitay]

This is discouraging for me. I went through the same deal with my C5Z and replaced EVERYTHING for the clutch assembly after researching this common issue with C5 corvettes and F-body types.
I am about to sell the Corvette so I can get a bigger place with a sweet garage and the plan was to stick a Z/28 in that garage at a later time. I picked the Z/28 as an enthusiast who want's a dedicated track car that can handle the abuse. With the sweet brakes and cooling, etc. I thought I had a winner. Truth is, no car seems to be ready to roll to the track off the floor. There is always something better you can spend your money on when it comes to parts.
Yes, there is only one victim now but I am feeling certain more will be popping up over time. My C5 had this issue around 50k miles as well as many others.
So if I purchase this bad ass, sexy beast for a hefty price tag, I'm going to have to have extra money for a failing clutch. It makes me feel like I should stick with the car I already have, but I can't.....
A warranty WOULD make me feel better but I already have a strong distaste for Chevrolet service after some issues with the Vette that ended up being a waste of money because they never actually fixed the issues.
I guess maybe I should be looking at a more inexpensive, used car that I can beat on and have money on the side to blow. I don't like thinking this way 'cause damn, this Camaro is where its at! So beasty...

[Mikebrinda]

Originally Posted by Fruitay

This is discouraging for me. I went through the same deal with my C5Z and replaced EVERYTHING for the clutch assembly after researching this common issue with C5 corvettes and F-body types.
I am about to sell the Corvette so I can get a bigger place with a sweet garage and the plan was to stick a Z/28 in that garage at a later time. I picked the Z/28 as an enthusiast who want's a dedicated track car that can handle the abuse. With the sweet brakes and cooling, etc. I thought I had a winner. Truth is, no car seems to be ready to roll to the track off the floor. There is always something better you can spend your money on when it comes to parts.
Yes, there is only one victim now but I am feeling certain more will be popping up over time. My C5 had this issue around 50k miles as well as many others.
So if I purchase this bad ass, sexy beast for a hefty price tag, I'm going to have to have extra money for a failing clutch. It makes me feel like I should stick with the car I already have, but I can't.....
A warranty WOULD make me feel better but I already have a strong distaste for Chevrolet service after some issues with the Vette that ended up being a waste of money because they never actually fixed the issues.
I guess maybe I should be looking at a more inexpensive, used car that I can beat on and have money on the side to blow. I don't like thinking this way 'cause damn, this Camaro is where its at! So beasty...

Tracking car = finding the weakest links.

Others have posted here a suggested, inexpensive, preventative upgrade. Personally, I wouldn't talk myself out of owning and tracking a Z/28 over this issue. If engines start to fail early, that would be different.

[jessrayo]

Originally Posted by Skylane765

Remember the test cars my car and all others on here have had no clutch problems! this looks like a isolated case. even the cars used on the test track had no problem with one reservoir. It has only happened if they change fluid.

Actually it happens if they change fluid and bleed out the brake lines and forget to bleed out the clutch line. I ran on one reservoir for a long time and as long as you keep the fluid fresh and EVERYTHING bleed regularly it works fine.

Originally Posted by Fruitay

This is discouraging for me. I went through the same deal with my C5Z and replaced EVERYTHING for the clutch assembly after researching this common issue with C5 corvettes and F-body types.
I am about to sell the Corvette so I can get a bigger place with a sweet garage and the plan was to stick a Z/28 in that garage at a later time. I picked the Z/28 as an enthusiast who want's a dedicated track car that can handle the abuse. With the sweet brakes and cooling, etc. I thought I had a winner. Truth is, no car seems to be ready to roll to the track off the floor. There is always something better you can spend your money on when it comes to parts.
Yes, there is only one victim now but I am feeling certain more will be popping up over time. My C5 had this issue around 50k miles as well as many others.
So if I purchase this bad ass, sexy beast for a hefty price tag, I'm going to have to have extra money for a failing clutch. It makes me feel like I should stick with the car I already have, but I can't.....
A warranty WOULD make me feel better but I already have a strong distaste for Chevrolet service after some issues with the Vette that ended up being a waste of money because they never actually fixed the issues.
I guess maybe I should be looking at a more inexpensive, used car that I can beat on and have money on the side to blow. I don't like thinking this way 'cause damn, this Camaro is where its at! So beasty...

I think the Z/28 is a great choice for a track car but if you want economic efficiency for the track you should buy a tube frame non street legal race car. If it is built right it will be so much lighter and faster and more economical than something street legal.

Originally Posted by Mikebrinda

Tracking car = finding the weakest links.

So true.... If you run something on the track long enough you are going to have problems. The harder you run it the faster they show up. I think GM did a really good job trying to make the z/28 Camaro ready to run.

[brt3]

Originally Posted by jessrayo

... I think the Z/28 is a great choice for a track car but if you want economic efficiency for the track you should buy a tube frame non street legal race car. If it is built right it will be so much lighter and faster and more economical than something street legal...

I think it depends on how you define "economic efficiency". If you mean lap time per dollar -- and base it strictly on the Z/28 versus the track car -- maybe you have a point.

Hoever, if I buy a "pure" track car, I also have to purchase a tow vehicle and trailer. That adds a minimum of $35K (at that price you'd be in a good, reliable used tow vehicle/trailer) and a reasonable maximum of $70K (new truck/trailer).

Since the Z/28 doesn't require anything else, it's more economically efficient in my world. Also, I don't really have room to store a truck (even a pickup) and trailer, so I would have to add monthly storage fees into the "pure track car" scenario.

Add the real-world pleasure of having a car I can hop into and take for a Sunday drive, and the Z/28 wins for me and my scenario. As always, your mileage may vary...

[jessrayo]

The track I use regularly has pretty reasonably priced on site storage and there is a mechanic with a large shop and car storage available in his extra space. (my avatar photo is in his shop) He will store a car and prep it for every track event for a lot less than the monthly payment on a Z/28. But it is nice to drive it on the street from time to time. That is why I have my ZL1.

[brt3]

Originally Posted by jessrayo

The track I use regularly has pretty reasonably priced on site storage and there is a mechanic with a large shop and car storage available in his extra space. (my avatar photo is in his shop) He will store a car and prep it for every track event for a lot less than the monthly payment on a Z/28. But it is nice to drive it on the street from time to time. That is why I have my ZL1.

Nice setup; that sounds ideal! I seem to frequent Sears Point, Thunderhill, and Laguna Seca in NorCal and am still trying to figure out Central TX. I've driven COTA but haven't really tried the other large TX tracks or the smaller regional ones (Driveway, Harris Hill)...

And, so far, I've had no clutch issues -- although I swear my clutch and shifting action got worse after the fluid change! I need to confirm with my Service Mgr to see if they bled both brakes and clutch during the change to SRF.