I just rounded out a 1k mile trip......about an hour from home, I get stuck in a little stop and go and I start hearing this noise. When I coast in gear while slowing, there is a pretty loud grinding/rattling sound at about 1000 rpm. Is this typical of a flywheel gone bad? Press in the clutch and it goes away....

I can also hear a similar noise (albeit not nearly as loud) by letting the clutch out at idle.

Im guessing that the party is over for the infamous flywheel......?

So now Ive got some big trouble......I need the truck for harvest on a daily basis, but I need to get it fixed ASAP.

How do I even go about getting this fixed? I know dealerships are not very prone to go chasing noises and such.....seems like most of the time they just say 'wait til something breaks and we can take care of it then.' Is the case different with this?

I also dont know where to take it......no one around here seems to even know that GM put a manual trans behind a duramax, much less how to fix it right.

How long will it take?

Can someone give me an ided of what is making this noise so I can at least appear informed when I try to get GM to fix it?

Ill also be removing the VA box........

Sounds like your DMF, it's covered under the 5yr/100,000 mile engine warrenty ($100.00 deductable).They will replace just the flywheel, and it'll be down for a day.
If you have a lot of miles, maybe think about a new clutch, etc. since it'll be opened up anyway. Just the cost of the parts.
Do a search on "DMF", "flywheel", "clutch" and you'll find a lot of info.

There are plenty of folks who have gone many miles before fixing the flywheel. It should get you through for a while.

Ah, thats a relief......I am in the middle of harvest.....I need a truck. I made an appointment at the dship......no trucks avaliable from them. I wonder if they have that 24 hour test drive promo going on........

Are they supposed to replace the flywheel only? No other parts are supposed to be changed? I hope it doesnt take long........

Thanks

Manny,

Make sure they replace the flywheel bolts too (also covered under 100K warranty). As Precision37 mentioned, you might consider replacing the clutch while they have it apart. My flywheel was replaced last week and I had them replace the clutch disk and pressure plate, which they did for the cost of parts.

By the way, will that VA box slip the clutch in 6th gear? Which setting do you run on and how's the drivability / throttle sensitivity?

Manny, just drive it through harvest. I waited 22,000 miles from the time it started to rattle to replacement. That included a 2K trip pulling a 5K trailer at 75 mph.

Thanks for the help guys

I took it to a dealer farther away on some advice from Clyde at west coast diesel......The service manager was awesome. His mechanic drove it and said to start riping it apart.....after they check for parts availability. Since I am at 41k, he said that he would still cover it under goodwill if it turned out to be something other than the flywheel (parts not included).....and this is the first time Ive been to this dealership. I swear, if GM got more people like this to run their service departments, they would be a lot better off.

Im going on a few summer trips with it this summer.....some towing. Ide rather not chance it. I am going to expedite harvest with a picking crew this weekend, so I shouldnt need the truck too bad after monday. It sounds like it wont take them long to fix once they get the parts. I was under the impression that this was a 2+ week fix....I guess I was wrong. I can use my dads suburban and a trailer if I need to. But its good to know it wont expode on my in the meantime.

As for the VA.....I have gotten on it good maybe 3 times on the 150 setting and I didnt notice any clutch slippage......noise, but no slip. I run the 70 hp setting 99% of the time. It is a great tune.....I had the predator, hated it, found a used VA. Throttle sensitivity is just like stock, just with more power. On my way up to northern CA two days ago I ran a full tank at 65 mph with the VA set on 150. Got 21.5 mpg, a 500 mile+ tank. Used the AC a good bit too, and it was on B80 biodiesel.

So Ill wait and see what they say once the tranny is seperated from the truck!!! He priced out a new clutch just in case I wanted it and I think it was 150 bucks or something like that.......It was 350 for new clutch and flywheel.....I think.

Just got a call.....parts will be in tomorrow.....truck in by noon monday, should be done by tues or wed......

At least it will be quick!

Just got a call.....parts will be in tomorrow.....truck in by noon monday, should be done by tues or wed......

At least it will be quick!

Good luck with that, mine took over a week, and i ended up with a grand total of 1300 bucks after they were done with me, and the flywheel was under warranty.-:t

Ouch!!! how did that happen? they called me today and said that the clutch looked fine but if I wanted to replace it it would cost 675 bucks for everything. As it is now, the flywheel is covered under warranty...

Supposed to be back thurs.

Im just hoping they dont find the predator......or the van aaken switch that is connected to nothing.

I'm replacing my clutch right now and I ordered the parts from gm the clutch and pressure plate ( which came together) only cost me $278.00.. How much is labor? Because their shouldn't be any.