Well, I have just had the enormous pleasure(?) of changing my clutch in my 1993 Camaro. I first suspected that the procedure was in dire need of being performed when I would pull out in the car and the dash would shake uncontrollably. “Hmm, that could be bad”. Then came the incredibly hard to put the shifter in ANY gear unless you just crammed it phase. “Yep, that is definitely not supposed to do that”. Then there was the occasional grinding sound when you did put it into some gears. “Gotta do something about that soon”.
Now the adventure began. I started out by checking out prices for my new clutch kit. OUCH! I knew it would be up there but DANG! What are these things made of gold or something? When my shock wore off, I began to research the next steps of how to begin this project. Don’t get me wrong, I have changed clutches, built motors, replaced transmissions, and totally built a car from ground up. But, no amount of experience in the muscle cars that I had could prepare me for the nightmare that GM concocted here. First there is NO extra room. Next, how many wires does it take to run a transmission anyway, and finally what the $&!) were they thinking by putting a carrier bearing in a sports car with a drive shaft less than five foot long?
I began using all of the usual resources and tools required to do such a job only to find out that I would need much more time than expected and even a friend to help (never had to do that before). After three (count ‘em) three evenings of work the clutch is in and transmission reinstalled. I hurt and am quite tired. But, hey, no more annoying rattle when I pull out and the gears go in where they are supposed to. SWEET! It was quite the chore that in an older car I would have gotten done in three hours instead of three days. It’s the price we pay for technology, I guess. Anyone out there with an old 70’s model Camaro want to trade up to a ‘93? I believe the technology is just not worth it. My aching arms are a testimony to that.
Below are some pix of before and after the change out. I should have gotten some of me too, you know, clean and who is that guy in solid black grease? But you can see just how bad this needed to be done.
