Nipntuck
06-02-2011, 14:53
Hi everyone,
I have a 2001 2500 Duramax with a 6 speed manual transmission. About 3 weeks ago the clutch went out (while towing a 3 horse trailer) at 95K miles ~apparently the slave cylinder developed a leak. So it now has a new clutch, pressure plate, slave/master cylinder, pilot bearing, and flywheel. Now the truck has a significant shudder/stagger when I shift from 4th to 5th gear when I am hauling, especially when going up hill. I am also running the engine RPM's higher than I used to to try to smooth the shift (was able to do the shift at 35-38 mph, now needs to be at least 40 mph and it feels too high). I've put 10-15k towing miles on this truck with the same trailer without these problems prior to the clutch issue.
I took truck and trailer (loaded with horses) to the dealer today and the mechanic rode with me and experienced the shudder and he doesn't think it has anything to do with the clutch, but wants to rotate the universal joint. He also thinks tires might be causing it.
Can anyone give me any thoughts on this? The timing is just to close for me not to think of clutch/transmission issue and it's a real PTA while driving. I'm not hard on clutches. When I sold my Datsun 280Z it had 230k miles on the original clutch and while this is the first "heavy duty" transmission/clutch, I've driven a stick my whole life.
Thanks for any ideas!
I have a 2001 2500 Duramax with a 6 speed manual transmission. About 3 weeks ago the clutch went out (while towing a 3 horse trailer) at 95K miles ~apparently the slave cylinder developed a leak. So it now has a new clutch, pressure plate, slave/master cylinder, pilot bearing, and flywheel. Now the truck has a significant shudder/stagger when I shift from 4th to 5th gear when I am hauling, especially when going up hill. I am also running the engine RPM's higher than I used to to try to smooth the shift (was able to do the shift at 35-38 mph, now needs to be at least 40 mph and it feels too high). I've put 10-15k towing miles on this truck with the same trailer without these problems prior to the clutch issue.
I took truck and trailer (loaded with horses) to the dealer today and the mechanic rode with me and experienced the shudder and he doesn't think it has anything to do with the clutch, but wants to rotate the universal joint. He also thinks tires might be causing it.
Can anyone give me any thoughts on this? The timing is just to close for me not to think of clutch/transmission issue and it's a real PTA while driving. I'm not hard on clutches. When I sold my Datsun 280Z it had 230k miles on the original clutch and while this is the first "heavy duty" transmission/clutch, I've driven a stick my whole life.
Thanks for any ideas!