[Rich427]

Hey Ken,

Are you sure it is the slave cylinder? The reason I ask is that I just went through this with my '01 convertible. We are the original owners and it only has 28k miles on it. My clutch pedal started getting a funny feel to it and it would grab just off the floor. It grabbed so soon that the clutch pedal return spring would not work leaving the pedal close to the floor. I was having to put my toes under the pedal and lifting up to get the pedal to it's normal location. What a PITA in traffic!

I immediately assumed that it was the clutch slave cylinder that was the problem and started the holy crap thought process about what it would cost to have it replaced. I too am past the days of laying under a car and bench pressing anything up into place, so I knew it was going back to our local dealer.

I made an appointment and dropped it off figuring the worst. I got a call from the service manager and he told me that it was my clutch master cylinder and not the slave cylinder. Much cheaper repair. Since the clutch system is hydraulic, a bad master cylinder will give you the same symptoms as a bad slave cylinder. If either one will not hold pressure it will affect the clutch operation the same way. Estero Bay Chevrolet is our club sponsor, so they discount both parts and labor for club members. The clutch master cylinder list price was $205.45, I paid $152.95, and the labor was $297.00 list and I paid $267.30. They cut their labor for us by 10%, but we get a big break on parts. BTW, I just had this repair done in January.

So, if you are as lucky as I was, the damage might not be as bad as you may think. Cross your fingers and hope it is the master cylinder and not the slave cylinder.

Good luck!

Rich