02 LS-5spd Clutch feels like its slipping

[jmlckls]

Car has 83K miles. Original clutch. I can feel the slipping when I goose it in 1st or 2nd gear.

Rockauto has a Sachs friction disk for $87 or two clutch kits(Exedy $263, Sachs $444). The Exedy kit has a note that says a new flywheel needs to be installed.

Any opinions on which way to go? How many hours of labor should I expect a shop to charge for this job?

Thanks.

 

[pragmatic]

Are you sure its slipping. The one time I had a clutch start slipping (no LS) it first showed up in the higher gears. I've seen this in other peoples cars as well.

My LS has 170K on the original clutch and all is fine.

 

[jmlckls]

Ok, I just went out and drove the car again to pay closer attention to what's going on.
Accelerating thru the gears, it feels normal as long as I don't push it too hard.
Accelerating in 1st or 2nd with a lot of throttle, I get uneven acceleration and shaking, but I don't see the engine revving higher with out concurrent speed increase.
Cruising at 60MPH, the revs are normal and steady at 2350. But when I give it any more than minimal extra throttle, the whole car starts to shake. Once it gets up the 70MPH and I let off the throttle, the shaking stops.

No "Check Engine" lights or others indicators.

I'm beginning to wonder if I have a motor mount gone bad.

 

[pragmatic]

My limited experience with a slipping clutch is

1. drive in a higher gear with the engine operating near its torque peak, lets say 60 mph in third (around 4000 rpm).
2. floor the accelerator

if rpm climbs rapidly and vehicle speed does not increase the clutch is slipping. If the car accelerates so that engine and car speed both increase all is fine with the clutch.

WIth the shaking I'd check for an engine misfire (not yet triggering a code), drive shaft problem, or something else loose in the drivetrain (including your motor mount).