Accelerating but car doesn’t move..

[Jeff_SS]

Looking for input..
So I have a 2013 with a manual trans, mods in my signature below, I was driving on the freeway in traffic yesterday at around 20-30mph (like a grandma). Shifted from 2nd to 3rd gear (like an elderly nun) and when I let the clutch out and proceeded to accelerate, the car went no where. It just began to coast.
I limped along to shoulder to an exit and called AAA.

When I am at a stop and try to accelerate, the car goes no where, doesn’t inch forward at all.
At first I thought my clutch finally gave up but I don’t think that’s it because the speedo goes up, which means the speed sensor on the transmission is receiving power I believe.
I put the car up on 4 jack stands and with the car in gear (car not running) I can turn the rear wheel by hand and both wheels turn, driveshaft turns etc.
There’s no grinding sounds coming from the diff or DSS axles etc
Everything under the car looks and seems to function as it should without issue.

I’m kind of at a loss as to what could be broken?
Any input is appreciated..

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by Jeff_SS

Looking for input..
So I have a 2013 with a manual trans, mods in my signature below, I was driving on the freeway in traffic yesterday at around 20-30mph (like a grandma). Shifted from 2nd to 3rd gear (like an elderly nun) and when I let the clutch out and proceeded to accelerate, the car went no where. It just began to coast.
I limped along to shoulder to an exit and called AAA.

When I am at a stop and try to accelerate, the car goes no where, doesn’t inch forward at all.
At first I thought my clutch finally gave up but I don’t think that’s it because the speedo goes up, which means the speed sensor on the transmission is receiving power I believe.
I put the car up on 4 jack stands and with the car in gear (car not running) I can turn the rear wheel by hand and both wheels turn, driveshaft turns etc.
There’s no grinding sounds coming from the diff or DSS axles etc
Everything under the car looks and seems to function as it should without issue.

I’m kind of at a loss as to what could be broken?
Any input is appreciated..

Can you still shift gears? Or is it stuck in one gear?

[Jeff_SS]

Originally Posted by Overflow

Can you still shift gears? Or is it stuck in one gear?

I can put it in every gear just fine. Wheels even turn like normal when I put it in gear while up on jack stands and let the clutch out. So it’s as if nothing is wrong, but when it’s down on the ground and I want to accelerate and move forward, it doesn’t move..

[Overflow]

Originally Posted by Jeff_SS

I can put it in every gear just fine. Wheels even turn like normal when I put it in gear while up on jack stands and let the clutch out. So it’s as if nothing is wrong, but when it’s down on the ground and I want to accelerate and move forward, it doesn’t move..

When the car is started, and in gear, does it stall when you release the clutch?

[Jeff_SS]

Originally Posted by Overflow

When the car is started, and in gear, does it stall when you release the clutch?

It does not.
It remains idling (as if I were an auto).
It does have a somewhat bad vibration/tumbling feeling as I let the clutch out and while it’s completely released idling there while the speedo says I’m doing 6mph but I’m stationary.

[BLK141SS]

I wonder if the plastic release bearing holder has melted. That usually results in the clutch pedal being on the floor though.

See here:
https://www.camaro5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=422428

[Eric Baker]

Maybe a broken driveshaft in the center or front, or the bolts on the front coupler backed out? That would cause the speedo sensor on the tranny to register but not move anywhere, and could also explain the grinding noise when releasing the clutch, and the fact that the driveshaft moves when you spin the rear wheels, which says to me the diff is ok.

[Jeff_SS]

Originally Posted by Eric Baker

Maybe a broken driveshaft in the center or front, or the bolts on the front coupler backed out? That would cause the speedo sensor on the tranny to register but not move anywhere, and could also explain the grinding noise when releasing the clutch, and the fact that the driveshaft moves when you spin the rear wheels, which says to me the diff is ok.

Yeah that's what I initially thought as well. But I took off the heat-shielding and looked at the front, middle, and rear of the driveshaft and it looks perfectly fine...
At this point I'm kinda leaning back towards it being an issue with the clutch or maybe the master cylinder/slave.
It just seems weird it went from working fine to not working at all instantly, when normally you can feel the clutch go out over a bit of time, and you'd still be able to limp it home etc etc..

Thanks for the input so far everyone, keep it coming I appreciate it!

[Overflow]

I'll throw my $0.02 in here. The fact that it doesn't stall when the clutch is released, points me to the clutch or master cylinder being bad.

[Norm Peterson]

Originally Posted by Overflow

I'll throw my $0.02 in here. The fact that it doesn't stall when the clutch is released, points me to the clutch or master cylinder being bad.

That wouldn't explain how his speedometer can register anything but zero mph. That tells me that everything ahead of the speed sensor is OK, which would include the clutch, and the problem is somewhere further back.

Turning the wheels and driveshaft with the car in gear and the engine off puts the problem somewhere in front of the driveshaft. But every gear can be selected. That kind of narrows it down to something about the transmission's output shaft further back than the speed sensor.

Might be able to verify this without having to disassemble the transmission by using a stethoscope to pinpoint the area of the noise more closely with a helper to turn things. Might also try disconnecting the driveshaft at the transmission end and pulling on the output shaft to check for breakage or turning the output shaft by hand trying to feel for something not rotating quite as smoothly as it should.


Norm

[CamaroFred]

My guess, differential.


It's probably the ring and pinion scraping together enough to spin the wheels with no load.

[1LEJNG]

My guess is clutch. It has enough engagement to move the drive line when there is no further load on it.

[Jeff_SS]

So after scratching my head all day yesterday, I found the problem this morning.
Looks like a broken axle. It would allow the wheel to turn just enough while on jack stands, (which is why it looked like everything was in proper working order....) but not when the car was on the ground under load.
The axle would wobble in a circle as the wheel turned, but it would not rotate.

So there's my problem..
Seems very strange that it broke while driving like a grandma at 20mph, but it should be covered under warranty through the manufacturer.

[motorhead]

Glad you found it. Axle would have been my guess with the history of these cars. The transmission tailshaft issues were very early issues that got fixed quickly.