The clutch failed on my '08 SS a little while ago and I had it replaced with a LuK clutch kit same as this one on Rock Auto. Right after the clutch was replaced, the car was horrible to shift. Finding any gear and getting it to go into gear was much tougher than it used to be and finding Reverse or 5th was extremely tough. One thing I used to love about that car was how tight and short throw the gearbox was and how easy the shifting was. Way better than the gearboxes on the RWD Volvos I always used to drive which were easy shifting but much sloppier and longer throw than what the shifting used to be like on my SS..

The shifting has improved and gotten somewhat easier after having put some miles on the clutch so I suspect part of it's that the clutch needed and may still need a little breaking in. I can now go through 1 through 4 not too bad but it's not as easy as it was before. Sometimes it's hard to find first and get it in so I will throw it into second which seems a little easier to find sometimes and then throw it straight up into first. Reverse is getting a little easier to find as well but fifth is still quite tough to find and the gearbox just seems a lot looser and sloppier than it was when I first got the car with only 34,000 Km (~20,000 miles) on it. The car now has 105,000 Km on it or only about 60,000 miles.

The mechanic who put the new clutch in noted that the new clutch disk itself was slightly different dimensionally than the disc that was in there before. That said, I don't know if the clutch that was previously in there was an OEM clutch or a third party. I do know that it wasn't the original clutch. The original/OEM clutch had to be replaced at only 40,000 Km because of a hydraulic leak in/at the slave cylinder and I don't know what kind of clutch the garage that installed that clutch put in. It may have been a different kind of third party clutch or it might have been an OEM GM clutch. I'm not sure. The mechanic also said the new pressure plate was identical to the old one and he didn't say anything about the pilot bearing or slave cylinder being any different from what was in there before.

Has anybody had a similar experience with a new clutch? Do I just need to be patient and let the thing break in or have I possibly got other problems that are causing the gearbox to be not as tight and harder to shift? I sure wish I could get the tranny back to what it used to be. It was such a nice shifting transmission before.

 

My guess is the slave cylinder is either bad or needs bleeding. Just a guess.
I don't know how the dimensions of the clutch could affect shifting. Only incomplete disengaging. In other words: installer error.

 

Maybe they messed with the cables at the shifter, or they otherwise are misadjusted.

 

To confirm, you did have the throw out bearing and slave cylinder replaced this time?
as mentioned, could be the slave cylinder needs bleeding.
could be the shifter cables are dry and or worn out.

 

Yes, the slave cylinder, release bearing, clutch disc and pressure plate were all replaced. I notice that I have to press the clutch all the way in to be able to shift and it's still a little tight getting it into the gears. It didn't used to be like that. Could that be a sign that the slave cylinder is not fully bled?

After reading a bunch of old threads it seems that the shifter cables 15939191 are available again? It might be worth getting a set while one still can. I'm sure they'll become NLA again.

 

[QUOTE I have to press the clutch all the way in to be able to shift and it's still a little tight getting it into the gears][/QUOTE]
Obviously, the clutch is not disengaging properly.
You have the problem narrowed down: installer error. Why deny it?

 

Yes. These systems can be a bear to bleed. You may find it will work itself out in time but don't count on it. An air bubble in a corner can be very hard to get to move. We find that pressure bleeding while tapping on the plumbing works best. The vibrations from the tapping with help break up the bubble(s).

 

After I installed mine, I had it towed to a shop for refill and bleeding, because the design, the point where it's bled, I just didn't want to take a chance doing it myself.

You should take it back to the shop, but you're probably far away from them now.

 

I would bleed the clutch system, first , then change the cables.
but order a set anyway to ensure you have them.

 

You seem to still have the same problem as the one you described in the thread you opened on July 4, where it was suggested that you had a clutch throw-out mechanism problem, not a worn-out clutch.