Today in Carrara we have a 2009 VE Holden Commodore maloo ute with a LS3 v8 with the M10 manual transmission. The complaint was a stuck clutch pedal. After a quick diagnosis this was identified as a failed clutch concentric slave cylinder. This is the hydraulic link between the pedal and the actual clutch. This slave cylinder had completely failed into a pile on parts (see pic below). The only option is to replace it. This requires removal of the gearbox to access these parts. Once the gearbox was removed the failed components were easily identified, this vehicle required a complete clutch kit.
This vehicle had a after market ‘Mantic’ performance twin plate clutch kit to handle the extra HP as this ute had been impressively modified. The original VE Commodore clutch kits are not up to the high hp and torque of a modified engine. Also the original set up has a dual mass flywheel which can also fail. The new kit has a solid (single mass) flywheel. Even so with the uprated clutch this unit had still failed under the strain of the hp. One of the dampener springs had failed in the friction plate as you can see in the picture below. A new performance Mantic twin plate clutch kit was installed. The benefit of these kits is that you retain a light clutch pedal yet have an extremely strong clutch.
If your LS powered Commodore needs a clutch contact us at Certified Automotive.
