Hi everyone. I have a 2004 Enthusiast with 24k miles. SOMETIMES when on hard acceleration my slip light goes on and the car looses power (no traction loss) I took it to the dealer and they said the clutch and flywheel are going and it will cost me 1,200 to install a new one.


Bought this car used... and I cant bellieve that a clutch can go bad this quick. I dont do anything stupid so im basically clueless.


Anyways my question is... is this a normal price? I heard ppl go for the JWT clutch/flywheel is that setup cheaper when installed somewhere else?

 

are you sure there is no traction lost? the car is equipped with VDC and it basically does what you discribed.

 

2004 enthusiast does not have vdc =\


I happens only under VERY high RMP/ accel


And I am positive there isnt any traction loss.... They did say my rear tires need replacement.. but I am sure I would feel traction loss

 

my car does the same thing at 31k miles. it is the clutch. buy parts elsewhere and have a good independent shop do the work, or if you just want a stock clutch have the shop buy it for you, you wont get a better price buying it yourself i promise you.

im gonna upgrade tho cus i plan on nitrous.

 

I'm real confused - the SLIP indicator lights up when the rear wheels slip relative to the fronts. I don't care how much the clutch slips, how is that going to cause the rear wheels to break loose triggering the SLIP indicator?

Quoting the Service Manual:

TCS Function AFS000YP

The wheel spin occurrence of the drive wheels is detected by the ABS actuator and electric unit (control unit) using the wheel speed signals from all four wheels, so when wheel spin occurs, the amount of wheel spin is reduced by controlling the hydraulic brakes on the right and left rear wheels, cutting the fuel to the engine, and partially closing the throttle valve to reduce the engine torque. The throttle opening is also controlled to obtain the optimum engine torque.

Depending on road circumstances, the driver may have a sluggish feel. This is normal, because the optimum traction has the highest priority under TCS operation.

TCS may be activated any time the vehicle suddenly accelerates, suddenly downshifts, or is driven on a road with a varying surface friction coefficient.

During TCS operation, it informs a driver of system operation by flashing SLIP indicator lamp.

It doesn't mention anything about the clutch or transmission. Your clutch and flywheel may be going out, but that's something the dealer would have determined independent of the SLIP indicator. What you describe as a problem with the slip is normal, that's the way it's supposed to work. It sounds like they're just trying to sell you a new clutch/flywheel.

 

first off thats TCS and im not equipped with that, only vdc.
second, im a mechanic and for the life of me dont get why the slip light comes on since clutch slippage means anything behind the clutch stops accelerating because the driving force (engien) is temporarly out of contact.
but i can also tell when my tires are slipping and not. and i highly doubt just a jwt popcharger is enough for me to spin through second.

 

the slip light wont go on if your clutch is going. your tach would just fly up on load and your car would shutter, but not slip. Mine slips when i hit a bump and its cold outside cuz i loose traction for a second.

 

A car with VDC does also include TCS.

 

What tires/wheels do you have on the car? If the stagger is out of spec, it will cause this problem. If the front outer tire diameter is equal or smaller than the rear you should be fine.