Last week while attempting to shift back into gear at a stop light, the shift mechanism suddenly went stiff, and after attempting to move it with a little extra effort, it suddenly went into free motion, with no ability to engage any gear whatsoever. My immediate thought was that it was the shift linkage had snapped, and I had it towed to my dealer. After inspection, they tell me the cables are fine, and the clip on the shifter is in place, and they suspect the throwout bearing is seized and that I need a new clutch at a cost of $6,800 installed.

So, my questions are this...first, I've never seized a throwout bearing before, so, I'm not sure if there is anything I would have noticed prior to this happening. It seems slightly strange to me given that I had the clutch depressed while attempting to shift, and that the shifter went loose with the clutch pedal still down. For anyone that has experienced this before, is there anything you can tell me about what signs I might have seen before this happened?

Second, if I am going to spend this much to replace the clutch, are there other options I should be looking at? I'm located in Chicago, IL if any guys have a recommendation on a good local shop.

 

Thanks for the response - I saw your thread before I posted, and the shifter is completely free, regardless of the clutch being engaged/disengaged, or the engine being off/on. I completely agree with you that it seems like a stretch, but this is coming from the dealership (Lake Forest Sports Cars) and a certified AM technician. Not that that means they couldn't be wrong, but, I would hope a company like these guys would be certain before turning a couple hundred dollar repair into $7k. They have serviced my car since it was new (I'm the second owner, but, the previous owner bought and serviced it there as well), and have never given me any reason not to trust them.

That said, barring other suggestions, I will definitely go out and have the tech show me in person before proceeding with a clutch replacement. It doesn't make a lot of sense to me either.

 

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