Clutch again?

I have a 92 Saturn SL2, 5 speed manual. I put in a new clutch
(purchased at Advanced Auto Parts) in March of this year. It's been
fine until suddenly Thursday night...

- At the last stop sign before home, it was difficult to get back into
first gear
- As the clutch came out, there was a bad vibration and the RPM count
seemed atypically high
- It did go and made the last two blocks. The smell was a burning
smell, but not so much oil. It reminds me more of burning aluminum
(like in an electrical fire)
- The transmission case fluid was at the add pint line, so we added a
pint.
- I coaxed it into first and even 2nd and reverse.
- I looked at it on blocks - no sign of any extra fluid loss
- There is vibration in the clutch pedal even in neutral
- After a little RPM runups, the vibration is largely gone, but the
clutch is slipping badly; I can let the clutch out with the break on
and it doesn't kill the engine

- One other piece of background: I slopily let the engine oil get
down to 1 QT below the add point (i.e., I put 2 quarts in). The
engine seems to be running fine now, however.

Question: What might have caused the short term bad vibration? Is it
plausible that I just got a bad clutch? What might I have done wrong
when I put the clutch in to cause it to go south in 8 months?

Thanks for any thoughts!

Thomas.

IFlyJava wrote:
> I have a 92 Saturn SL2, 5 speed manual. I put in a new clutch
> (purchased at Advanced Auto Parts) in March of this year. It's been
> fine until suddenly Thursday night...
>
> - At the last stop sign before home, it was difficult to get back into
> first gear
> - As the clutch came out, there was a bad vibration and the RPM count
> seemed atypically high
> - It did go and made the last two blocks. The smell was a burning
> smell, but not so much oil. It reminds me more of burning aluminum
> (like in an electrical fire)
> - The transmission case fluid was at the add pint line, so we added a
> pint.
> - I coaxed it into first and even 2nd and reverse.
> - I looked at it on blocks - no sign of any extra fluid loss
> - There is vibration in the clutch pedal even in neutral
> - After a little RPM runups, the vibration is largely gone, but the
> clutch is slipping badly; I can let the clutch out with the break on
> and it doesn't kill the engine
>
> - One other piece of background: I slopily let the engine oil get
> down to 1 QT below the add point (i.e., I put 2 quarts in). The
> engine seems to be running fine now, however.
>
> Question: What might have caused the short term bad vibration? Is it
> plausible that I just got a bad clutch? What might I have done wrong
> when I put the clutch in to cause it to go south in 8 months?
>
> Thanks for any thoughts!
>
> Thomas.

Sounds like the clutch disc came apart. What might you have done wrong
to cause it to fail so soon? You bought a cheap clutch made in China.
Doesn't matter if it has a lifetime warranty. Are you going to risk
replacing it with the same piece of crap? I hope not. Replace everything
you bought at Advanced Auto Parts with dealer or KNOWN GOOD aftermarket
parts like ACT.

--
Gyz

Everyone thinks they know how to drive.
Everyone thinks they are good drivers.

On Dec 3, 9:13 am, Gyzmologist > wrote:
> IFlyJava wrote:
> > I have a 92 Saturn SL2, 5 speed manual. I put in a new clutch
> > (purchased at Advanced Auto Parts) in March of this year. It's been
> > fine until suddenly Thursday night...
>
> > - At the last stop sign before home, it was difficult to get back into
> > first gear
> > - As the clutch came out, there was a bad vibration and the RPM count
> > seemed atypically high
> > - It did go and made the last two blocks. The smell was a burning
> > smell, but not so much oil. It reminds me more of burning aluminum
> > (like in an electrical fire)
> > - The transmission case fluid was at the add pint line, so we added a
> > pint.
> > - I coaxed it into first and even 2nd and reverse.
> > - I looked at it on blocks - no sign of any extra fluid loss
> > - There is vibration in the clutch pedal even in neutral
> > - After a little RPM runups, the vibration is largely gone, but the
> > clutch is slipping badly; I can let the clutch out with the break on
> > and it doesn't kill the engine
>
> > - One other piece of background: I slopily let the engine oil get
> > down to 1 QT below the add point (i.e., I put 2 quarts in). The
> > engine seems to be running fine now, however.
>
> > Question: What might have caused the short term bad vibration? Is it
> > plausible that I just got a bad clutch? What might I have done wrong
> > when I put the clutch in to cause it to go south in 8 months?
>
> > Thanks for any thoughts!
>
> > Thomas.
>
> Sounds like the clutch disc came apart. What might you have done wrong
> to cause it to fail so soon? You bought a cheap clutch made in China.
> Doesn't matter if it has a lifetime warranty. Are you going to risk
> replacing it with the same piece of crap? I hope not. Replace everything
> you bought at Advanced Auto Parts with dealer or KNOWN GOOD aftermarket
> parts like ACT.
>
> --
> Gyz
>
> Everyone thinks they know how to drive.
> Everyone thinks they are good drivers.- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

I'm not likely to replace it with the same unit. Is ACT a brand or a
chain? Where would I go for ACT?

IFlyJava wrote:
>
> I'm not likely to replace it with the same unit. Is ACT a brand or a
> chain? Where would I go for ACT?

ACT is a brand that has been around for quite a while. Here is a link to
their web site:

http://www.advancedclutch.com/

They are not the only ones that make good clutches, but this is the
brand I have been using for over 10 years. I checked their site and they
don't have much of a selection for your car. What they do have is very
expensive (>$500).

Here is another site you can check out:

http://www.nopionline.com/nopistore/index.cfm

I checked some of the other sites I have used in the past and none of
them carry parts for Saturn cars. Most focus on Honda & Mitsubishi (two
cars I have sooped up).

Your best source for a good clutch might be Saturn. If you live in the
Phoenix area I might be able to help as I know someone that works at a
Saturn dealership.

--
Gyz

Everyone thinks they know how to drive.
Everyone thinks they are good drivers.

I have an ACT clutch in my race car and it's way too expensive and overkill
for a regular street-driven car. I chose to put an OEM equivalent
replacement in my street car when it needed it. I'm not positive, but I
believe that OEM Saturn clutch may be a Luk unit, and I've seen these
available on eBay for around $150.

Lane [ lane (at) evilplastic.com ]
---
Visit my Saturn Car Audio and Performance Page at http://www.evilplastic.com


"Gyzmologist" > wrote in message
...
> IFlyJava wrote:
>> I have a 92 Saturn SL2, 5 speed manual. I put in a new clutch
>> (purchased at Advanced Auto Parts) in March of this year. It's been
>> fine until suddenly Thursday night...
>>
>> - At the last stop sign before home, it was difficult to get back into
>> first gear
>> - As the clutch came out, there was a bad vibration and the RPM count
>> seemed atypically high
>> - It did go and made the last two blocks. The smell was a burning
>> smell, but not so much oil. It reminds me more of burning aluminum
>> (like in an electrical fire)
>> - The transmission case fluid was at the add pint line, so we added a
>> pint.
>> - I coaxed it into first and even 2nd and reverse.
>> - I looked at it on blocks - no sign of any extra fluid loss
>> - There is vibration in the clutch pedal even in neutral
>> - After a little RPM runups, the vibration is largely gone, but the
>> clutch is slipping badly; I can let the clutch out with the break on
>> and it doesn't kill the engine
>>
>> - One other piece of background: I slopily let the engine oil get
>> down to 1 QT below the add point (i.e., I put 2 quarts in). The
>> engine seems to be running fine now, however.
>>
>> Question: What might have caused the short term bad vibration? Is it
>> plausible that I just got a bad clutch? What might I have done wrong
>> when I put the clutch in to cause it to go south in 8 months?
>>
>> Thanks for any thoughts!
>>
>> Thomas.
>
> Sounds like the clutch disc came apart. What might you have done wrong to
> cause it to fail so soon? You bought a cheap clutch made in China. Doesn't
> matter if it has a lifetime warranty. Are you going to risk replacing it
> with the same piece of crap? I hope not. Replace everything you bought at
> Advanced Auto Parts with dealer or KNOWN GOOD aftermarket parts like ACT.
>
> --
> Gyz
>
> Everyone thinks they know how to drive.
> Everyone thinks they are good drivers.