Clutch Out - Saturn Vue

This clutch problem just come out of the blue or had you had problems with it slipping?

Have never been under a Saturn Vue to see what needs to be remove to drop the tranny. It does have to come out though to replace the parts. Flywheel should come off to be resurfaced. If you want to save the money buy on line. He just warning that you don't know what your getting in the quality of parts. If you really want to save money DIY.

I'm not familiar with your exact car but I'm curious if the slave cylinder is in good shape. most clutches slowly wear out over time, its rare for them to be functioning normally then just quit. unless you were racing it I doubt it just blew.I'd get a second opinion from a non-friend. and yes its a major repair so it isn't a quick job if the trans is coming out. the aftermarket products are just fine to use if they're MADE IN AMERICA

Yes he has to remove the transaxle, which is much more involved than removing a rear wheel drive transmission.

The price does not sound too high, if he does quality work, and gives you a good warranty.

Sounds like it may be a broken clutch disk, instead of just a worn out one. That's part of the kit anyway.

I'd sell it and get another one....

http://www.autotrader.com/cars-for-sale/

I don't know what's wrong with your car, but I wish I had a nickle for every time that I've heard Tranny + Saturn + Problem, in the same sentence.

If you're gonna spend $1200 on this car, you might as well spend another $300, (first), and have your mechanic do a compression check on all cylinders, and check out all of the other systems that might decide to crap out after you replace the clutch.

Online parts can be anything from junk to jewels.

Some online vendors have the part makers information that includes country of origin and new or rebuilt info for each part.

Searching through this info can be a very time consuming project.And unless you know something about where the 'good stuff' comes from and from whom,won't be much help (eg: is the seller the mfg. or just a re-seller?).

Difficult jobs demand known,high quality parts & materials.

If your friend is indeed a friend why not trust his/her judgement?

HTH

J

very careful avoidance of the word "China" there, good job

In addition to all of the good responses I would add that you need to be very careful when resurfacing the flywheel and make sure whoever does the work knows and stays within the factory tolerance for flywheel thickness.

Some vehicles have such close tolerance design that the clutch will not operate if too much material is removed from the flywheel surface.

Reason: There is not any adjustment on the stroke of the hydraulic cylinder and the pressure plate springs cannot/do not get collapsed enough to fully release the clutch plate from the flywheel.

Seems very odd for a clutch to fail like that. Before changing the clutch try this simple fix.

I assume the clutch release is hydraulic. It can get an air bubble in the line, especially if you are aggressive with the clutch and like to speed-shift. Bleed the line first to see if it helps.

This seems highly unlikely, since hydraulic force is required to hold the clutch in the released position.

Your air bubble would result in a "non-release" condition, would it not?

After further looking into the issue with my vehicle it was found that the clutch in fact is fine. It is the end gears? In the tranny itself. Some background info to this matter. In March my daughters friend ripped the clutch cables out. The guy who does the repairs for me believes this issue may be related to that incident. That he coukdve possibly thrown in from 5th to 3rd going down the highway. So I'm pretty sure at this point I'm not going to invest that kind of money into it. Thanks for all the advice.

Good thinking. All the problems that I've seen and heard about, was with the tranny itself.

You could have had this one.

http://wot.motortrend.com/gm-settles-classaction-suit-over-transmission-failures-in-saturn-vue-and-ion-2288.html

Lyn - logic would suggest that, but I had this exact issue with my 2005 Focus. Went to "challenge" another car at a stoplight and the clutch would barely engage. Any throttle and the clutch would slip. I limped the car to the dealership and they only had to bleed the line.

VF36 - looks like you just identified the problem with the clutch cables. Somewhere they are binding and not letting the clutch engage.

If it goes into gear without pushing the clutch pedal, something is keeping the clutch from engaging or the center of the disk has broken free. Something is keeping it disengaged...maybe the release (throw out) bearing is hung up, if it's cable operated maybe the cable is hanging...have a competent person troubleshoot it.

The geniuses at GM had a brain fart when they designed the Saturn Vue and they designed a throw out bearing that operates much like a brake caliper,it is hydraulic ,and is also internal meaning they put the slave cylinder inside the transmission as well as the throw out bearing so there is no simple servicing unless it just needs a simple bleed and the throw out bearing a because of being designed much like a brake caliper are pretty much guaranteed to fail you and the tranny must be removed for repairs and replacement