You are looking at a picture taken from a mirror held in the starter opening on a 5 spd transmission. The Red Arrow is pointing at the clutch material remaining and you can just make out about 1 mm or so of the 'slot' that is on the surface. Am I correct in taking that to mean there is some life left? This is pretty much a stock 2.8 and I don't do clutch dumps or hammer the tranny in any way. What's your opinion, totally ballpark, can I get another few thousand miles out of this? When the car is on the road I put less than a thousand miles per year.

It's hard to tell from the photo. That said, slipping the clutch (aka riding the clutch) can wear it out pretty fast.

A clutch starts slipping when the rivets are exposed. I don't know if you can assume anything by looking at that gap.

If you are in high gear, at low rpm and you punch the throttle, does it slip?

If not, you're good to go.

Any time I have had a clutch fail, it started to chatter engaging from a stop. After about 100 miles of doing this total clutch failure happened.

I've never observed any of these signs of slippage. Since I only drive this maybe a 1,000 miles/year if that seems like I'm should be OK for a while. My plan is to leave the short-block alone until I can switch it out for a 3.4, at which point I'd do the clutch as well. Appreciate all the feedback.

A way to preserve clutch life is to start off from dead stop at the lowest RPM you can. This is where most clutch ware happens...And don't slip it between shifts...

[This message has been edited by FX (edited 11-08-2019).]

quote Originally posted by FX: A way to preserve clutch life is to start off from dead stop at the lowest RPM you can. This is where most clutch ware happens...And don't slip it between shifts...

Too true. Another way is to loiter over repairs and upgrades, leaving the car in the garage for 18 months

We nursed a slightly slipping clutch on a V-6 Getrag combo for a couple years of summer driving. A clutch that slips a little probably will not fail over night on you, but as you notice the slipping starts in the lower gears you time is running short.

You need to see if you can get a better look at the disc on the flywheel side. If you have the same amount of space in the material "gaps" on the flywheel side then you are OK. If the gaps are gone then you are near the rivets. Clutch disc have much less material thickness then brakes. Only about 3/32 on each side new over rivets.

If you feel brave you can do a 1st to 2nd power-shift and watch the tach. If it doesn't drop before going higher you definitely have a slipping clutch.
Also don't overlook a weak pressure plate.

Spoon

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"Kilgore Trout once wrote a short story which was a dialogue between two pieces of yeast. They were discussing the possible purposes of life as they ate sugar and suffocated in their own excrement. Because of their limited intelligence, they never came close to guessing that they were making champagne." - Kurt Vonnegut

quote Originally posted by cmechmann: You need to see if you can get a better look at the disc on the flywheel side. If you have the same amount of space in the material "gaps" on the flywheel side then you are OK. If the gaps are gone then you are near the rivets. Clutch disc have much less material thickness then brakes. Only about 3/32 on each side new over rivets.

Can you (or someone) please post a side view of a 'good' clutch? I can't visualize what you mean here.

Personally I would not even worry about it. GM OEM clutches last a long time. If it seems to work fine it is a good clutch. 8 years ago I installed my built 2.2 ecotec so I ordered in a new clutch. When I got it in I sent it back because it looked the same as the old one. It is a lot of work to take every thing apart just to look at it. Better just to wait for it to start to go and then replace it. It isnt life or death like losing your brakes. The car will just stop moving, then tow it home. I drive old cars, I am a CAA member for that reason.

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86 GT built 2.2 ecotec turbo
rear SLA suspension
QA1 coilovers on tube arms

I would file this under enjoy it until it breaks.

OK, good points. I'll stop worrying about this and just pay more attention to signs of slippage.

quote Originally posted by olejoedad: If you are in high gear, at low rpm and you punch the throttle, does it slip? If not, you're good to go.

I agree with this assessment. Only thing I would add is to perhaps do this test while going up a slight incline.