2000 Maxima Clutch Nightmare

[seenthestarsfall]

Hello im new to the msg. board so please forgive me ut ive searched all over the internet and taken my car to 3 mechanics and no fixes yet so heres the story...

I Drive a 2000 Maxima SE 5sp and I love itlast week i was driving to the gas station and i was shifting from first to second and it felt like it was grabbing a little weird then i shifted from 2nd to 3rd and it grabbed close to the floor and then i arrived at the gas station turned off the car and put gas in and then tried to put the clutch down and start it and it stuck to the floor. so I just rev shifted it home about 1/8mile and checked the reservorir and it was empty. I figured it had air in it and needed to be bled. The next day i tried to bleed it and still nothing so I replaced the slave clyinder with some help and still nothing!!!! I took it to a mechanic and they said the master cylinder...so i replaced the master cylinder and it didnt work either!!!so i took it to a diff mechanic and he said that the line was clogged and it would cost me 600 to fix that!!!! so i took it to a diff mechaic from the first two for a second opinion and they said it was the wrong master cylinder (too long we compared the two ) and they said nothing was wrong with the original one anyways...its at the shop right now till monday and Im just at my end with this problem all together! any advice or opinions would help me alot seeing as I lost my job not to long ago and havent been making alot at the new job to let the mechanic do whatever. Thanks!!!

I dont think its the clutch because I constantly check where it grabs and ive driven a car with a bad clutch before and Its not slipping or anything...

P.S. im pretty good with my shifting...how long/far could I drive without the clutch and risking doing bad damage...Like a straight 350 mile drive across Kansas flat as could be and back 350 miles...

thank you for the help!

[DevonD]

Do you do alot of your own work on your car? The maxima's clutch system is really tough to bleed properly. When I did my clutch the best way I found to do it was to get a big syringe and fill it with the brake fluid then using a piece of tubing attached to the slave cylinder and then the syringe I pushed the fluid up that way. If you think about it it makes way more sense to do it this way. when your bleeding it out by opening the valve, pushing the clutch to the floor and closing it again the air bubbles that are in the line are floating back up to the top while your doing this. its to slow. And they also have two bleeder valves. one on the slave cylinder and one up beside the strut tower. did you bleed both of them?

[seenthestarsfall]

Yea I try to do as much work as I can on it...Im just really broke but ill give this a try because im out of ideas..Thanks for the tip tho ill give it a shot! I did bleed both. Ive spent about 3 hours myself doing that and even the mechanics tried to bleed it no luck to with that...i

Also....Do I keep fluid in the reservoir or do i keep that empty...do i need to press the clutch in and out when i do this...do i loosen the bleeders as if im doing a regular bleed?Thanks for the tip!

[DevonD]

I think we found your problem. haha Bleeding your car is a two man job. When you installed the new slave cylinder you saw the little bleeder valve on it correct? Its tricky to time but you push the clutch pedal and the other guy opens the valve, fluid and air come out and he shuts it. then you let of the clutch and repeat. Fluid MUST stay in the reservoir! if there isn't any in there when you hit the clutch pedal your just forcing air into the system. so when your bleeding it you need to keep an eye on it to make sure there is always fluid in it. if it sucks in any air you have to start over again.

That's why I do it from the slave cylinder with the syringe. you only need one man to do it and it is much faster and easier.

[seenthestarsfall]

I have been using 2 people for this bleed. I also have had 3 diff mechanics try to bleed it too..thats whats so frustrating is we dont know whats wrong...

[seenthestarsfall]

Oh and also ill push the clutch pedal about half way down and it snaps to the floor and sticks...

[DevonD]

have you had someone watch what the slave does when you push the clutch?

[seenthestarsfall]

no not other than when we bleed it...it bleeds..what should i keep and eye out for? Thank you again!

[DevonD]

Well just have someone push the clutch and you look and see what its doing. If its even moving and pusing the clutch fork far enough to dissengage the clutch.

And you say your sure the clutch is still good and you have replaced both the master cylinder and the slave?

[mrog71]

I have a 2000 Maxima 5-speed and I have lived your nightmare.

My original problem was the master cylinder, and then the slave shortly thereafter. Actually, it wasn't the slave, but the hose that attaches to the slave. There's 2 hoses running between the slave and master that meet up at a junction about halfway in between (it basically sits right on top of your transmission). You pretty much have to rip out your intake ducting to see it. I would have someone pump the clutch and watch for where the fluid is leaking out. That's how I finally figured out it was actually the hose. I special-ordered it from the Nissan dealer for about $60.

As for bleeding the clutch system - OMG what a friggin nightmare. I used the 2-man method that Devon D suggested. You definitely need to keep fluid visible in the master cylinder the whole time. I think after I did that for a while, I just pumped the clutch with the bleeder open several times (at least a reservoir's worth or so) and finally got all the sponginess out.

Good luck.

[seenthestarsfall]

so today I got a call from AAMCO and they said they couldnt figure it out so i took it to the dealer ship (i hate the dealership by my house sooooooooo much) and they acted like I was an idiot when im pretty sure you have to have about the education of a 5 yearold to work in the service dept(not an acutal mechanic but the guy who you explain whats going on and tells the tech...most worthless job ever)Any ways they suggested the master cylinder too....so im taking it to another mechanic tomorrow to get that replaced 180 including labor not bad and im going to ask them to check the hoses also...i hope this works....I also hate the dealership by my house and im pretty sure they are going to go out of business soon too...good becasue buying a car there was a nightmare...thanks for the help tho...anymore input would be great and thank you for the help so far ill let you know how it works out...

[s13gebala]

these maximas a kinda problem-filled.

[seenthestarsfall]

So got the car back yesterday from a local mechanic shop who replaced the master with a stock Nissan factory one...works now but still a little weird feeling when I shift...sometimes its shifts really normal other times it is kinda hard and it grabs really low..paid 220 for the whole thing...took them about 3.5 hours to install and bleed it...mechanic said it was the worst car to bleed as long as he has been working on cars for....

[DevonD]

haha I know. thats why I bleed it from the bottom up. haha much easier!

[jmb27]

I think I'm having the same problem on my 2001. It happened on my way home from work. The clutch kept grabing lower to the floor. I got it into my driveway before it completely stopped working. The clutch fluid is gone. It looks like the fluid is driping off of the transaxle, so it sounds like it's the same problem that mrog71 had. I will keep you posted.