My transmission in my 03 Z is being replaced next week. Luckily its covered under my warranty whoohoo! Anyway, the dealership asked if I wanted to replace the clutch while they had the transmission off to save me future labor charges. Ive had the car for about 15K or so miles and have not had any slipping or clutch issues (knock on wood). Should I wait until they have it apart to see how worn it is? I hate dealerships cause they're always gonna say "yup it needs replaced." I was hoping to finally have a dealship repair that didn't cost anything lol

 

How many miles on your Z? does it have the OEM clutch? are you planning on tracking the car or just street driving?

 

73k. No clue if it's oem or if it's ever been changed. I do not plan on tracking it. It's just my dd.

 

If it has 73k id replace the clutch while the have it apart.

 

Can you look at the pressure plate? Is it worn?

 

IMO:

Replace the clutch, pressure plate, and throw-out bearing. These are all items that wear out.

It is expensive to remove the transmission to replace these items. NOW is a good opportunity.

 

Heck ya. heck as much as a oem cost upgrade it too. seriously

 

I'm not sure how worn it is. I'm ok replacing it if needed, but what type of cost am I looking at for this job? (approximately). Holidays are coming up so I don't want to blow cash unless needed. Also I'll prob only keep the car for another year or so.

What type of upgrade can I do? Will the dealership install a non OEM clutch. Also what should I get and what would be the cost.

 

Generally members do not replace parts. They replace the entire clutch assembly.

 

By members do you mean "dealership?" I confused

 

Ha ha. No. Forum members. Those who drive the 350Z.

 

Dealers suck they charge a lot for parts... I looked at OEM parts on autocenter.net, this is what I saw:

Clutch disc $98.92 MSRP, so dealer probably charges about $170 for it.
Pressure plate is $193.27 MSRP so i'm thinking $290

Labor should be little... most of the work is trans so warranty will cover that, they should only charge just for the time it takes for them to take out the old clutch and PP, and put in the new one... 45 min maybe... labor rate of $110 so around $85 for labor.

They might say you need to replace the flywheel too... which is really expensive. Most likely you'd be okay not doing it if it isn't too bad but the surface of the new clutch disc in contact with a worn flywheel might cause a little "chatter" as the plate doesn't make perfect contact and slips around a bit during initial acceleration from a stand-still. But you may not have a problem at all, either...

I've been there, and done this on a 2006 Hyundai Tiburon I owned. They replaced the trans under warranty because of a small leak in the casing. I replaced the clutch and PP and throw-out bearing... told them to clean the flywheel a bit. They can't resurface it likely because they dont' have the hardware to resurface a dual-mass flywheel, but they can still sand it slightly and clean it off a bit. I ended up paying about $350 after all was said and done with new trans, clutch, PP, and TOB installed. Still too much money...

 

Just curious, what does a new transimission typically cost from a dealership (w/labor)?

 

from a dealer price will vary but it will be much more than you can find on your own. I'd ball park a price of 3-5k.

Its good insurance to replace the clutch assembly while they are in there. Especially if you dont do your own work on your car. Its cheap insurance and will save you money in the long run. Replace that clutch, inspect the rear main seal, hell even add a little rtv if it needs it, put it all back together and be good for a looong time. Also get your flywheel resurfaced so the car should feel factory fresh!

 

Are you serious?!?! 3-5K for a clutch? I've had a few clutches replaced in my day, but none even close to that. Why so expensive?

 

no your post above mine asks how much for a transmission from the dealer. thats the price you'd probably be looking at installed. Minus cost for clutch parts. Thats my educated assessment.

 

Whoops you're right. My apologies. I meant how much for a clutch installed?

 

most def

 

Call them and ask for a quote... i'm guessing around $300-400 parts and labor taking advantage of your trans being replaced by warranty.

If you went in just for a clutch replacement it would probably be $700-900.

 

Thanks for the info. I spoke with the shop manager and he said that they will look at everything once the tranny is out. He said that even if I dont let him know before hand if I want the clutch replaced, he could get one pretty quick if mine is found to be in need of replacing. Ill post an update once they work on it next week.