So...Went out and picked up the SS yesterday (Northeast Georgia to Little Rock, Arkansas and back in a day). Test drove it, drove fine aside from a slight grind into 3rd (synchro on the way out...knew about that before I went to pick up the car, no biggie). Drove it around in the town we picked it up from, just for about 15 minutes with only really "gettin' on it" once. Cool. Car is incredible and it's everything I anticipated. We hop on the interstate and drive for about 150 miles and stop to get a bite to eat and top off the tank...for about an hour or so. We hop back in the car and it's shifting just as it was 150 miles ago with no concerns...I set the cruise for 70 (which is right at 2000 RPM with the gear) and don't touch it for the next 300 miles or so until we get to Birmingham for a last tank of gas for the rest of the ride home. I push the clutch in to take it out of gear and put it into neutral to coast to the red light and it all seems fine (clutch pedal feel, taking out of gear...whatever all feels normal). Get to the red light to get to a gas station and the transmission is essentially stuck in the neutral position. I eat some spinach real quick and bust a Popeye on this bitch and I get it over to the left "1st/2nd" side of the shift pattern and force it into 1st (no grinding, just hard to get it into gear).

From there to the gas station, I am having to rev match to get it to the gear and even still, it is extremely difficult to get it into any gear. I make my way to the nearest gas station and fill it up with gas as I try and diagnose the problem (after I make it clear to the "natives" of downtown Birmingham that I don't give change).

Clutch fluid reservoir level looks fine, open it up just to check and steam comes out...What is causing this?

With the clutch depressed, I am getting a rattling noise...Press the clutch in and the noise goes away for the most part...Throw out bearing?

With the car OFF, it is still extremely difficult to get it out of the neutral position aside from 4th, and it practically just falls into it...What the hell?



Why in the hell would the transmission be working perfectly aside from a on-its-way-out 3rd gear synchro go to **** with me not even making it above 2k RPM?



Quick run-down of what's done...All of which have roughly 4k miles after this trip:

• Monster Level 3 clutch with Billet Steel flywheel package which comes with (per Monster Clutch's website)...H.D. pressure plate, 12" cerametallic 6 puck disc, 28lbs SFI certified billet steel flywheel or a 18lbs SFI certified light weight flywheel (your choice), pilot bearing, release bearing, and alignment tool.
• Master Cylinder
• Slave Cylinder
• B&M Shifter
• Transmission is stock

What do I need to be looking at? Line from the clutch fluid reservoir to in the transmission tunnel is what looks to be stainless steel braided and has a heat shield covering it once it gets to the tunnel, so why is the fluid getting so hot to cause it to steam? (assuming it was boiling at one point for there to be steam)

Need help quick as its my ride for the time being.

Thanks,
-Tyler

2002 35th Anniversary Edition Camaro SS with heads/cam/intake/exhaust/9" etc... Conservatively making 440 to the wheels.

EDIT: This is what I see after pulling the shifter off. Car is off with it being completely cooled down (hours after last start up). Shouldn't there at least be some fluid in there? Also take note of the broken "shim" where the shifter goes into. Could this be causing some issues as well?

 

You most likely have air in the system which cause the fluid to run hotter,Which fluid is in it do you no?Should be at least dot 3 Summit sells willwood brake fluid excellent stuff dot 5 very high boiling point.Your next mod should be a remote bleeder for the clutch fluid.

 

Regular DOT3. The clutch pedal and all still feels normal and engages just fine...But the rattle is there so it makes me want to say throw out bearing for that, but the air in the line does make sense for it getting too hot.
I've heard of DOT5 "grabbing" moisture and causing things to foam and have lack of pedal feel...If I were to up the rating, it seems as if DOT4 would be the way to go, no?

 

I think your right about the dot 5 but I beleive thats for certain ones the willwood stuff was recommened to me by others using it.That rattle could be the throwout bearing my pilot bearing made a grinding rattle feel in the shifter could also be that.

 

Now that you've mentioned it, I forgot to add that as well... The shifter had that "grinding, rattle feel" in the shifter. Not just when trying to put it into gear but just sitting there (with the car ON of course)

Also...Editing initial post with picture.

 

The rattle is more likely the pilot bearing but could be throwout.
I would change the clutch fluid and bleed it with a Mity Vac.
Replace the shifter bushing - that will cause noise and poor shifting.
There is some fluid in the shifter housing but I would change that too - especially if you have the shifter off - makes it an easy pour to put the fluid in.

Congrats on the SS!

 

All right...Well the time change is messing me up bad for getting things changed out. So I hop back in the car after work when I get home to move it to a better place in the driveway to work on it tomorrow hopefully...Slap the shifter back in real quick, and...


Everything feels normal. No throw-out bearing noise, no rattling, no shifter-stuckness (I swear it's in a dictionary somewhere)...Just feels 100% awesomely perfect. Cool! take the car to the end of the street and back (~2 miles) and jump on it a little to try and warm things up...Car still feels normal.

However, once the car approaches opperating temperature, it starts to go back to how it was and I park the car.

What is causing this?!

 

Sounds like your clutch fluid is bad. How old is the clutch? My clutch is going out too. Mine to when is get hot slips.

 

Clutch, flywheel, master, slave...Everything has 3kish miles on it.

Going to replace clutch fluid with DOT4 and drain/refill the transmission and see what happens. I was almost certain the transmission was toast, but it was perfect until it got to operating temperature...Gotta be something with the fluids, correct? Not enough, wrong fluid...Whatever.

 

I think foe sure your going to at the least change the pilot buhing and while your in there change the throw out bearing.Get a remote bleeder and I recommened you pick up when you can a tick adjutsable master.