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I noticed that the edges of the headliner had dropped further and had become visible through the windscreen. I had purchased a second hand headliner in good condition a few years earlier, which made the process of removing the headliner an easy one: I cut the headliner in sections using a scissor and pulled it out! This way I did not have to remove any interior plastic at all, which is a big bonus as most plastics in this car disintegrates during removal. I didn't even have to remove the sun shades, as the headliner material could simply be pulled out from underneath the plastic tabs. The headliner is made up for several layers. One layer is actally cardboard, guess what happens when it gets humid! It had made a stinky slimy mess, no wonder that the cabin smelled strange. Stinky stuff removed. The plastic and polystyrene is additional head protection added to later C5 model cars, which contributes to less headroom in the cabin. The spare headliner I have doesn't have these part

With the car off the road for 1.5 years for repairs, it was a big disappointment to find that the new clutch was dragging / not releasing properly. A google search reveals that this is a common problem with aftermarket heavy duty clutches, and that the solution is an adjustable clutch master cylinder. I found a dealer for a Tick master on eBay, and then there was an additional 3 weeks to wait for the arrival in my post office. I had noticed this corrosion on the clutch pedal assembly earlier, but in my mind this was caused by a water leak so I sprayed the area with a corrosion inhibitor and didn't think more of it...until it was time for removal. On further tought, the corrosion is of course caused by a bad clutch master cylinder, with both the piston seal and dust boot letting fluid out. Brake fluid is hygroscopic, creating ideal conditions for corrosion. The leak can also be a factor in the clutch drag, with the same effect as air in the brake lines causing a spongy brake pedal a

In August 2022, I returned home from a track day event with a broken differential and cracked rear brake rotors. I already knew that the differential was overdue, as it there was a high buildup of metallic particles in the differential fluid. With a mileage of 170.000 km (106k miles), I decided it was time to replace all other parts accessible after removing the torque tube, transmission and differential. From August 2022 to April 2024, time was spent to disassemble the drivetrain, saving up money for parts, waiting for parts to arrive and doing the actual work: Removing the drivetrain New built 4.10 differential with C6 Z06 internals Rear engine seals, gaskets and barbell replacement Spec Stage 2 clutch kit with aluminium flywheel Pilot bearing replacement Slave cylinder shimming and Hinson remote bleeder Torque tube maintenance M12 transmission extension housing oil leak Upgrades Larger 330 mm rear brakes from C6 Z51 Shorter rear brake lines C6 tunnel plate upgrade Reinstalling the d

Refilling the transmission and differential fluid can be a mess. I made this "station" with an electric pump, a 12V battery and a fluid container mounted on a plate with weels, which can be easily moved into position under the car. I'll add a push button for running the pump later on.

One of the exhaust manifold flanges had a broken stud. I found that the Dorman 03133 kit with studs and nuts fits the C5 Corvette nicely.

Having reinstalled the drivetrain, I wanted to start the engine to check for any issues. It fired up once, then died after a few seconds and would not start again. I noticed that the fuel pump was not priming when I turned on the ignition, the fuel pressure meter I've installed on the fuel rail also confirmed zero fuel pressure. Additionaly, the starter motor did not turn over, all I got was a blackout of all lighting when I turned the key. I erased a long list of fault codes, removed the fuel pump relay and jumped the 12V supply, but the fuel pump would not run. I started thinking of possible causes; fuel pump faulty due to car being stationary for a whole year, clogged fuel filter, wiring passing over torque tube damaged on removal or reinstall of torque tube. Oh no... removing all of the drivetrain again?! A new $250 fuel pump assembly?! A web search for "c5 corvette fuel pump not priming" gave multiple hits on  corvetteforum.com , and in one of the threads the ground

"Assemble in reverse" New rear engine seals and gaskets, new flywheel, new clutch, new slave cylinder, rebuilt torque tube, transmission leaks fixed. The drivetrain is finally ready for reinstall.  I decided to reinstall the drivetrain in three steps. This makes it easier to get the clutch splines and the torque tube lined up correctly, as there is less mass to move around:  1) Torque tube  2) Transmission and differential  3) Rear subframe with suspension Again, the bellhousing bolts caused troubles, with no space for my hands or any socket tools to get the threads engaged. The solution I came up with was to loop a wire around the bolts, which I could use to guide the bolts in place. By using only hand force to install the torque tube, there is less chance of damaging the pilor bearing. I stretched out under the car and lifted the torque tube up by hand, and then slid it in place. If any more than hand force is required, you know that either the torque tube isn't aligne

A skip shift eliminator kit has made the skip shift solenoid itself obsolete. The previous owner had cut off and blanked the electrical connector, but that did not stop oil seeping through. While the solenoid was accessible, I decided to replace it with a simple plug. The skip shift solenoid thread is M20x1.5, which happens to be the same size as a Subaru EJ oil drain plug. Unfortunately a bit too short, but I solved that by some DIY machining, allowing the bolt to seat on the chamfered edge in the transmission. I also applied a thread sealant. Disable skip shift in ECM Instead of a skip shift eliminator, the skip shift can be disabled in the ECM using HP Ttuners. By setting "Disable TPS" to 0% throttle, the skip shift is effectively disabled. This also stops the "1 TO 4 SHIFT" indicator in the speedometer from lighting up. What is skip shift/CAGS? CAGS is short for computer aided gear selection. Shift blocking or “skip shift” is a feature of six-speed manual transm

  I installed a Hinson remote clutch bleeder line, which makes it easy to bleed the clutch line later. Ideally, the bleeder should have used the stock design with a tapered fitting, instead of a crushed washer. To avoid leaks, I used Loctite Form-A-Gasket on the threads and washer, and then secured the line to the fitting using threadlocker. I measured the A and B dimensions as illustrated above, with A-B = 3.7 mm (0.146") which is within the  3.18 - 5.08 mm (0.125"-0.200") clearance required for bearing travel and clutch wear, so I did not have to shim the slave cylinder. Avoiding the shim also maintains the self centering of the slave cylinder on the torque tube / input shaft, so I was happy that a shim was not required.

The stock routing of the rear brake lines looks completely illogical, but is most likely due to factory assembly procedures. The brake lines run from above the transmission, down to the rear of the differential and then back again across the rear subframe.  By rerouting the brake lines, the driveline can later be removed without considering the brake lines. My plan was to straighten and reuse the original brake lines, but my flare kit quickly failed as it couldn't handle the hard steel. I can't spend a fortune on a tool I'll use once, so with "Made in China" I switched to nickel copper brake lines, which are softer and easier to form. To make the correct bubble flares, I used this method:  Make a Bubble Flare with a Double Flare Kit New shorter brake lines in place. I used a steel wire to make a template for bending and cutting the new brake lines. This works for both sides, but the length of the top section depends on how you bend the brake lines in the car (clic

ATF transmission oil (red color) accumulating between the transmission body and the extension housing (This is where the 5th, 6th and reverse gears are located). This leak is caused by a failed RTV seal between the two housings, and the only way to repair this is by removing the extension housing and resealing the flanges. The failed factory RTV sealant. The earlier effort to seal the leak from the bottom/outside was only a partial success, but who wants to remove the transmission only to stop this leak? The magnets trap metallic particles produced as the transmission wears, which would otherwise be circulating in the oil and cause further wear. I wanted to remove the magnets to clean out all the particles, but I had to use more than sensible force, so I cleaned them in place. I found no large particles or shavings, only fine metallic dust that disappeared into the cleaning cloth.  A good sign. Another source of oil leaks are the inner and outer rear seals of the extension housing, so

To pull the driveshaft out of the torque tube a large  ~ Ø110 mm circlip has to be removed. I tried using a regular circlip plier, but the circlip only laughed at my effort. I did not want to remove the circlip with screwdrivers etc., which could ruin the machined slot in the torque tube. I purchased a heavy duty Knipex circlip plier (4811-J4, 320 mm), which made the removal easy (Wear eye protection, the circlip stores significant energy when compressed). Inside, it was hard to tell that this torque tube had been in service for 20 years and 178.000 km (110k miles). The rubber couplers looked and felt like new. There was no play in the bearings, but they had less preload and made more noise than their new counterparts* A curiosity is the "16/1/2004" date stamp on the driveshaft for a car produced and sold in 2003 (The black marks are from my oily fingers). To remove the rubber couplers the bolts have to be heated to break the factory thread lock. I first tried without heating

Lightweight aluminium flywheel with steel insert Worn slave cylinder At 110k miles (178 000 km), my C5Z had the infamous "clutch pedal stuck to floor" issue when shifting gear at high RPMs. Based on the pictures above, the blame is on the slave cylinder. It is a wonder it works at all, the clearly worn seals allows dust to enter the circuit and cause the slave cylinder to get stuck by the high inertial forces and the increased friction. Without disassembly, a sure sign of this issue is that the clutch fluid gets discolored again quickly after a change. State of stock clutch The car still had the stock clutch, which was in a surprisingly good state for the milage. Minimal surface wear and only a few small hotspots, one could even mistake the clutch disk for a new item.  So the OEM clutch from LUK is more than capable of handling the LS6 stock power. However, with everything else disassembled, it would be dumb not to replace the clutch now, as it will probably not last another