Broken clutch rod- #%$&!!

Well, it finally happened to me tonight. Shifted from 1st to 2nd and the clutch rod broke. Thankfully I had read about this and pulled the car over immediately. I pumped the clutch twice and the clutch rod fell out. I put it in the trunk and got it back to my storage unit.

 

I bought the car with about 5,000 miles in November and had a new clutch rod installed because, supposedly, the newer ones (in light gray) were supposed to be a bit stronger. (Now I know that's a bunch of B.S.) I kept the old one as a spare. New rod broke with 2,450 miles on it.

 

I can't believe my luck though. I had made a stop and some guy had started up a conversation with me about the car. He asked if he could go for a ride and I agreed to do so. Normally I don't mind taking people for rides but it was later in the evening and I almost told him no- but I'm glad I didn't. We took off and just happened to pass the back entrance to my storage unit when the rod broke. And right after I pulled over, a cop pulled out. These guys helped push my car about 150 yards down the street and up a small incline through the gate to my storage unit. From there, they helped push it to the entrance. That was some really hard work considering that my car had been running for a while and was very hot.

 

If it wasn't for that guy and the cop, I would have been screwed. There was no way that I would have been able to move that car myself and it was on a small 2-lane street in the middle of the night.

 

First thing in the morning I'm ordering the custer rod. I haven't read any bad posts on it and anything's got to be better than that POS that Lambo makes.

 

06/24/06 update: Problem solved and pics have been attached in a post later in this thread. Fix was done in a little over an hour on 06/17/06 and car has been running great all week.

That totally sucks, but at least you were able to get the car back in storage.

 

BTW: very good to meet you last week and we will party again soon.

 

Vinnie :partyman:

Hmmm night time, giving GUYS rides...sounds fishy. Eddie Murphy also gave rides to transexuals, but of course he had NO idea!

Hmmm night time, giving GUYS rides...sounds fishy. Eddie Murphy also gave rides to transexuals, but of course he had NO idea!  

 

Did somebody see AJ ?

Is the clutch rod a problem on all Diablos?

Hmmm night time, giving GUYS rides...sounds fishy. Eddie Murphy also gave rides to transexuals, but of course he had NO idea!  

 

This from a guy who wears eyeliner and two earrings when he goes out :finga: :finga: :finga:

 

BTW, weren't you living in LA during the time of the Eddie incident!?!

Is the clutch rod a problem on all Diablos?

 

From reading this forum and lamboweb it appears that this is pretty commonplace among the later year Diablos. I had the rod replaced when I bought mine and still happened to me. It's hard to prepare yourself for it. I'm just thankful I had a place to safely pull over and that there were people to help. Aftermarket rod will be ordered firs thing this morning.

Let us know how your experiance goes with the "new" rod. Other Diablo owners could benifit also.

Gil, what a bummer..Just be gratefull that it didn't happen when you were on a roadtrip. I had a fuel pump on my Viper go out once and it cost me close to $500 in towing charges. :x

 

Cheers

 

J

Gil, what a bummer..Just be gratefull that it didn't happen when you were on a roadtrip. I had a fuel pump on my Viper go out once and it cost me close to $500 in towing charges. :x  

 

Cheers

 

J

 

I have AAA plus and they give me 100 miles of free towing, so I'll probably be using that to take it somewhere locally to get the job done. There's no one in the immediate area that works on Lambos but after talking to a few people that have done this it should not be that difficult to find a competent mechanic that can follow the instructions given on lamboweb. There are a few around here that work on Ferrari, Rolls, Mercedes, BMW, etc.

 

I spoke to John Custer and he's sending his aftermarket replacement rod to me today. Hopefully this will solve the problem. I'll keep everyone updated.

Hmmm night time, giving GUYS rides...sounds fishy. Eddie Murphy also gave rides to transexuals, but of course he had NO idea!  

 

Did somebody see AJ ?

 

 

not unless its a 112 degrees where he is.

First thing in the morning I'm ordering the custer rod. I haven't read any  bad posts on it and anything's got to be better than that POS that Lambo makes.

 

Glad to hear everything went OK after it broke. I had my rod replaced with John Custer's rod just after I got my car and have put a couple thousand miles on it since. No problems whatsoever. I vouch for it 100%.

 

I think it should be the #1 purchase for anyone getting a Diablo if the car doesn't have one. There don't seem to be any other problems that are really common.

 

I picked up a spare grey rod as well just to have one when I got the Custer rod installed. All the stress on the factory one is on the point where it narrows and it seems like it is just going to break there at some point.

 

I can't imagine the Custer rod breaking. The design is totally different and the stress points are rock solid (unlike the stress point being the weakest part of the rod as in the factory one)

I took some pics of my old slave cylinder and clutch rod that came with the car and one of the rod that I replaced the original rod with (and subsequently broke).

 

I heard the rod drop after I pulled over and I retrieved it (I pumped the clutch pedal when it came to a rest). However, I did not see the rubber gasket for the slave cylinder. Is it still attached? Everyone I've spoken to seems to think it's on the ground somewhere but I can't find it.

 

And for everyone's info- I AM NOT mechanically inclined. This is definitely a learning experience for me and hopefully will help those that are in the same situation I'm in. I would love to have a garage with tools and and a workshop to broaden my knowledge but my space constraints relegate the car to a very tight climate-controlled storage unit.

Its happened to quite a few of us..

This is a very common problem, here is a link for a supplier of an extra heavy duty clutch release fork made out of titanium. Now as far as the slave cylinder I would imagine you just dropped the rod out of the end of it, the piston and seals are probably still sitting inside of the assembly as they are held in with a retaining clip. I do not know this source personally so do your own research before purchasing the items. Best of luck Sincerely Vic

 

http://www.stcorsa.com/products/lamborghin...chrod_large.htm

How much were the custer rods ? Allan with all of the miles in your SV did you ever replace yours or is this just a freak deal ? I may need to get one myself.

Mine never broke.

Hmmm night time, giving GUYS rides...sounds fishy. Eddie Murphy also gave rides to transexuals, but of course he had NO idea!  

 

This from a guy who wears eyeliner and two earrings when he goes out :finga: :finga: :finga:

 

BTW, weren't you living in LA during the time of the Eddie incident!?!

 

 

I admit the 2 earings, but eyeliner?

 

 

I was in L.A during the Eddie insident, happend to see a blue Diablo cruising the same road. Anyone you know? :finga: :finga: :finga: :finga:

Just for reference, here's the spare "new model" rod I picked up when I had the Custer rod installed:

 

 

It looks the same as the one that you had installed that broke.

 

I don't think there is any model from the factory that doesn't have a problem.

 

When looking at replacing mine, I looked at the titanium rod but went with the Custer rod anyway because the Custer one seems to have a better design and has been used by a lot of people.

 

I've talked with John, he seems like a good guy and owns a Roadster himself. He made the rod after his own clutch rod broke and uses it in his own car.

Mine never broke.

Thats because you drove your SV like a pussy ! :finga: :axe:

Just for reference, here's the spare "new model" rod I picked up when I had the Custer rod installed:

 

 

It looks the same as the one that you had installed that broke.

 

I don't think there is any model from the factory that doesn't have a problem.

 

When looking at replacing mine, I looked at the titanium rod but went with the Custer rod anyway because the Custer one seems to have a better design and has been used by a lot of people.

 

I've talked with John, he seems like a good guy and owns a Roadster himself. He made the rod after his own clutch rod broke and uses it in his own car.

 

Can you supply contact information for the Custer Rod please!

Can you supply contact information for the Custer Rod please!

 

You need to email John at [email protected]

Aftermarket rod will be ordered firs thing this morning.

 

My wife just told me I needs an aftermarket Rod

Can you supply contact information for the Custer Rod please!

 

You need to email John at [email protected]

 

That is how I contacted him initially. He seems to check it once and a while. If you can't get a hold of him after a few days send me a PM but try the email first.

Can you supply contact information for the Custer Rod please!

 

You need to email John at [email protected]

 

That is how I contacted him initially. He seems to check it once and a while. If you can't get a hold of him after a few days send me a PM but try the email first.

 

He checks his email regularly. I emailed him the night mine broke and he called me first thing in the morning. I emailed him later that afternoon and he replied within hours.

 

A lot of people seem to think $400 is a lot to pay for this part but it is not mass manufactured. And for someone who has been through this ordeal-let's just say its worth every damn penny if this guy's clutch rod never breaks on me.

 

I spoke to John Custer at length yesterday and he brought up something that I wasn't aware of- keep your distance from the car in front of you when at a stop light, etc. Because if you're close and this rod breaks while you're engaged, it will cause the car to lurch forward.

 

I don't know if anyone else has done this, but my new factory clutch rod was installed less than 8 months ago at an authorized Lambo dealer. I'm going to make the call today to see what, if any, parts and labor warranty there is.