[CarJunkie]

Clutch just broke.

I described some sensations in the clutch pedal above, which seemed like minor chatter and had nearly resolved in the 500 miles (at most) that I have driven since install. I have still been easy on the clutch to make sure it had plenty of time to properly break in and it seemed to be doing well.

This evening I was in stop and go traffic, and was inching ahead a car length at a time in first gear. The problem began suddenly. I was going about 10mph in first gear and needed to stop. When I pressed the clutch pedal in, it seemed to get stiffer then usual about half way through its travel, but still went all the way to the floor. At that moment, a metallic scraping sound began. It did not sound like a gear grind, more like an electric motor spinning fast, like an RC car. As the car came to a stop, it seemed like the clutch had not fully disengaged and the engine was slowing, but never stalled. I pulled the car out of first gear which took moderate effort, then the metallic scraping sound stopped. This all happened in about 1-2 seconds. The clutch pedal stayed on the floor. I did not try to manually pull it back up to its usual resting position. With the transmission in neutral, the car idled fine.

There is no better way to end the work week (looking forward to driving on the weekend with new coilovers, new tires, and a fresh alignment) than to put the hazards on and watch the traffic build up.

I am thinking throw-out bearing failure. The mechanic thought it could also be a slave cylinder failure. Any thoughts?

The car was towed to the shop and they will look at the hydraulics tomorrow. If that isn't it, they will be able to get into the clutch assembly Monday.