IS my clutch Shot?!?! I just bought this VUE

[Brock4u]

So here is the story, i just bought this 2002, 5 speed 4cylinder Vue last month, right away had to replace the water pump and now i was driving back to work and the clutch started feeling really "easy" to push in. I did the old put it in 5th gear and give it gas to see if its slipping and the car moved about 4-5 feet i would say then died. Is this normal or should the clutch pedal be kinda hard to push down. I think its about shot any answers>?

[pdough]

So here is the story, i just bought this 2002, 5 speed 4cylinder Vue last month, right away had to replace the water pump and now i was driving back to work and the clutch started feeling really "easy" to push in. I did the old put it in 5th gear and give it gas to see if its slipping and the car moved about 4-5 feet i would say then died. Is this normal or should the clutch pedal be kinda hard to push down. I think its about shot any answers>?

Sounds like a slave cylinder issue. Do a search for that and you will get better information on what the symptoms are.

[Brock4u]

Any idvice where to buy a clutch? Online? Autozone?

[VTchemist]

You may want to search the boards here for a DIY clutch job on your VUE. If you've got the tools and the time, it can be done.

The slave cylinder problem that pdough brought up does sound like a good place to start. Someone will need to help me here, but I think the slave cylinder is inside the tranny. This means, the whole tranny will need to be dropped. And once you have it out, by all means replace the clutch and slave cylinder.

BTW, did you check your fluid reservoir for the clutch? If not, start there first.

Lots of good info can be found on the Alldata site

http://www.alldata.com/vehicle_owner/index.html

It's not free, but it will help you if you decide to do it yourself.

If you can't shop around for a good mechanic that can do it. You don't need to go to the dealership.

[M7Mayberry]

Someone will need to help me here, but I think the slave cylinder is inside the tranny. This means, the whole tranny will need to be dropped. And once you have it out, by all means replace the clutch and slave cylinder.

BTW, did you check your fluid reservoir for the clutch? If not, start there first.


You are exactly right. If it is the slave cylinder, any fluid you add will leak out again soon. I just had the clutch and slave cylinder on my S-10 replaced.

How easy or difficult is it to shift into gear? Shifting will become harder to do. Eventually, you won't be able to shift into gear at all.

[runerx]

The slave is inside the trans. The engine must be jacked up and supported on one side the front suspension must be partially removed and the cradle and trans axle has to be dropped from what I've been told. Mine was a little over $1K for the whole job. In hind sight I'd had the clutch replaced at the same time but it only had about 44k on it. When Mine failed there was no warning. I pushed in the clutch and it went right to the floor, and the clutch was still engaged. I babied it home using the starter to take off and shifting clutchless. Not the best thing to do but it got the job done.
Good luck

Dave :hothead:

[Tom92SCm]

Have there been any hydrualic issues on 2004 and later VUEs? I don't think there has been- at least not yet anyway.

[Brock4u]

No its not the slave cylinder, full fluid, still shifts fine, i think my cltuch is just getting bad, its got 100K on it and i think it will need to be replaced witin the next 10,000 miles. Do you know how long clutches ussually last on these vehicles? The lady i bought it from said it was never replaced and used to be a rental car or something.

[VTchemist]

Hmm... rental or lease. Most rental companies just supply automatics, but hey it could happen.

If it was a rental, then it had lots of different drivers, some of which could properly drive a manual, and some that could not. An inexperienced driver can go through a clutch in very short order. So the clutch may be faulty.

You can go to the Saturn dealer and see what they say. You could also try a local AAMCO for a free estimate. You would at least have two opinions on the matter.

You might be able to get another 10K out of it. I'd get it checked out first to make sure it's the clutch.

Let us know what you find.

[Tom92SCm]

If you want a CarFax run against your VIN (to see if it was a rental), PM me your VIN and I'll get you the report.

[Brock4u]

Ill go get the VIN now can you send me the report to brock.ward@glcomp.com? THANKS A LOT MAN!

[pdough]

Time for a new clutch depends on how it was used. I have witnessed some cars going 200,000 miles all highway. Also depends a lot on how the person drives the car.

100,000 isn't too bad in my opinion but I'm sure many have gotten more.

Also, from your original post, when a clutch goes, you usually don't notice a change in the pressure or feel of the pedal. You notice that it will start to slip usually or that it won't go into gear. It doesn't sound like yours is slipping...

[Brock4u]

I sent you a message

[Brock4u]

Does anyone here know how to adjust or bleed the clutch? If so do you have any diagrams, it might just need to be adjusted and bled. Let me know please.

[verucalise]

My Vue has 125K on an original clutch... so it can happen :) No change in sight.... HOPEFULLY!!