6MT Owners - READ!

[Sentientbydesign]

As some of you know, I'm on my second aftermarket clutch, the first one got burnt up (mostly by the previous owner) and I replaced it with an RPS combo.

When the clutch and flywheel were installed, Specialty Z adjusted my clutch pedal.

Since then, my pedal gets stuck low in warm weather in stop and go driving. The usual 5 or so inches of travel gets reduced to about 1 inch.

I did some research and I'm leaning towards clutch fluid contamination as the main cause.

I won't get into all of the details (right now), but basically clutch dust can make its way into our hydraulic lines and drastically reduce the efficiency of the system (potentially leading to premature failure).

When I get the time, I'll post up pictures of my old clutch (brake) fluid which was is clear to light amber when clean, but was a burnt orange color when I changed it. I'll also post up a couple of methods on how to change your fluid.

1) How to do a "quick" fluid exchange.

2) How to do a complete bleed and flush.

I was inspired to do 1 by a corvette website where the owner was having problems with his pedal sticking to the floor, transmission refusing to shift (actually clutch refusing to disengage), and a few other problems.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

I am an owner of an auto, but will stay tuned to see how this turns out, you're always finding something of interest

How is the clutch behaving now? Is it only when in stop n go traffic? Are you using synthetic fluid or are you using some kind of Nissan fluid? Keep us posted.

[tollboothwilley]

I think I saw the same website with the covette clutch fluid change where he just suctioned out the amount in the reservoir and replaced it with new fluid right?

The clutch bleeding took a lot of time when I did the full fluid swap, but it was worth it.

What kind of brake fluid did you use...and I wonder if it will change the pedal feel by using a better brake fluid in the clutch line.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

Keep us posted...

DJ

[pfarmer]

I think I saw the same website with the covette clutch fluid change where he just suctioned out the amount in the reservoir and replaced it with new fluid right?

The clutch bleeding took a lot of time when I did the full fluid swap, but it was worth it.

What kind of brake fluid did you use...and I wonder if it will change the pedal feel by using a better brake fluid in the clutch line.

It seems to me that since there is a problem that if it is contamination then it may be wise to possibly disassemble the master and slaves and clean/rebuild them. I haven't looked at the Infiniti to see what this involves, even if possible for the end user (sealed?) but have seen this as a suggestion since a flush can easily not get all the contamination. On previous cars I have owned this was relatively easy at least for the slave and not all that difficult for many masters.

Perry

Perry

[Sentientbydesign]

I am an owner of an auto, but will stay tuned to see how this turns out, you're always finding something of interest

How is the clutch behaving now? Is it only when in stop n go traffic? Are you using synthetic fluid or are you using some kind of Nissan fluid? Keep us posted.

Clutch has been great so far. I only did 2 quick refills while the wife was feeding our son. I'm not sure if the problem is completely solved just yet, but we'll see - temperature is hitting triple digits

I consulted a couple of reliable sources and they both believed that problem to be overheating of the clutch fluid. I'm thinking that the contaminates lowered the boiling point of the fluid, but I don't have any evidence to support that.

Since I will be doing a full bleed in the near future, I just bought cheap brake fluid (STS I think). I'll go with something a little better when I do the complete exchange.

I think I saw the same website with the covette clutch fluid change where he just suctioned out the amount in the reservoir and replaced it with new fluid right?

The clutch bleeding took a lot of time when I did the full fluid swap, but it was worth it.

What kind of brake fluid did you use...and I wonder if it will change the pedal feel by using a better brake fluid in the clutch line.

Yeah, he sucks out the fluid in the resevoir, replaces it, then pumps the clutch a couple dozen times, then repeats. Full bleed with pics to come.

It seems to me that since there is a problem that if it is contamination then it may be wise to possibly disassemble the master and slaves and clean/rebuild them. I haven't looked at the Infiniti to see what this involves, even if possible for the end user (sealed?) but have seen this as a suggestion since a flush can easily not get all the contamination. On previous cars I have owned this was relatively easy at least for the slave and not all that difficult for many masters.

Perry

Perry

With a full garage, I might take on the challenge, but I'm limited right now. Damn housing investors keep outbidding my wife and I on homes (which would include a lift and full garage )

[Pauls98SE]

I was experiencing the clutch pedal sticking at about 1-2 inches before the top. Went back and forth with the dealer about what it was. I kept telling them it was contaminated fluid and needed changing. They said bad clutch, I took 2 different techs for rides and they agreed nothing was wrong with clutch. They still could not get it through their thick heads that the clutch fluid needed replacing. Of course problem only occurred when temp was above 80. Finally told them to forget it and I replaced my clutch fluid using the syringe method as described on rangeracceleration.com. No more sticking clutch pedal. That was 2 months ago and everything is good.

Definitely recommend doing this.

[BrandAidDesignG35]

Stick it to the man

[joe603]

SBD, did they replace your clutch line with a stainless steel line? My OEM clutch would do that if I rev'd past 5k and dropped the clutch (a hard launch or burnout). Changing the clutch fluid would help...but only temporarily. (I did the syringe method...)

The only fix was the aftermarket clutch/flywheel install.

[telcoman]

I was experiencing the clutch pedal sticking at about 1-2 inches before the top. Went back and forth with the dealer about what it was. I kept telling them it was contaminated fluid and needed changing. They said bad clutch, I took 2 different techs for rides and they agreed nothing was wrong with clutch. They still could not get it through their thick heads that the clutch fluid needed replacing. Of course problem only occurred when temp was above 80. Finally told them to forget it and I replaced my clutch fluid using the syringe method as described on rangeracceleration.com. No more sticking clutch pedal. That was 2 months ago and everything is good.

Definitely recommend doing this.

I've experienced the sticking clutch pedal problem a few times in very hot weather. It usually occurs at the end of my 50 mile commute home on hot afternoons with the temp in the high 80's to mid 90's.

The pedal has never stuck to the floor. It only does not come all the way up so I just put my left foot under it to raise it the rest of the way up.

It clears up as the vehicle cools off. It has never occurred in the morning.

I'm going to take my fluids temperature the next time it happens.

BTW I've got 91k miles on my original clutch

Telcoman

[Sentientbydesign]

SBD, did they replace your clutch line with a stainless steel line? My OEM clutch would do that if I rev'd past 5k and dropped the clutch (a hard launch or burnout). Changing the clutch fluid would help...but only temporarily. (I did the syringe method...)

The only fix was the aftermarket clutch/flywheel install.

No. Original clutch line to my knowledge. I don't see how contaminated fluid with a low boiling point has anything to do with a SS line. What's the correlation?

Any my problem happens while driving normally. I don't do clutch dumps.

BTW I've got 91k miles on my original clutch

Telcoman

Blah blah blah blah. I just hit 70k and the car is on it's 3rd hehehe.

[joe603]

I don't think that the fluid has anything to do with why the clutch sticks to the floor. Like I said; my clutch problems went away after the aftermarket setup was used. Replace your line with the SS line....should have done it when you did the install.

Do a clutch dump and see if it happens...I can do those all day long now without any clutch problems.

[Tampa G35 Sedan 6MT]

BTW I've got 91k miles on my original clutch

Telcoman

That is cuz you drive like an old man

DJ

[Sentientbydesign]

Considering the fact that two independent sources confirm that contaminated fluid is the cause of the stuck pedal and my problem seems to be gone (still need to do some heavy driving in the heat of the day). I'm leaning toward the fluid as the cause.

I was under the impression that the 5k dump was a safety precaution. Did you find otherwise?

Money is too tight for me to burn through another clutch and tires. $1200 for the clutch 6 months ago. $200 for my broken seat. Plus new rear tires. Thank God I have a lifetime alignment policy or I'd be paying for that too.

[SVTCOBRA]

Had my clutch stick to the floor in my Mach 1.....rod going thru firewall popped out of the clutch pedal!

The cotter pin and end sheered off at the pedal. Wrapped an old fan belt around the rod and my buddy pulled it when I pushed the clutch in.. ...keeping the rod in the pedal. We made it home!!!

Sorry for the rambling Nate!

[JeromeS13]

I had a similar issue with my clutch pedal not returning to the full up position. The dealer replaced the clutch master cylinder under warranty and it hasn't happened since. This was about 8 months ago...

I've also upgraded to a stainless line and ATE Super Blue fluid since then...

[pfarmer]

I've experienced the sticking clutch pedal problem a few times in very hot weather. It usually occurs at the end of my 50 mile commute home on hot afternoons with the temp in the high 80's to mid 90's.

The pedal has never stuck to the floor. It only does not come all the way up so I just put my left foot under it to raise it the rest of the way up.

It clears up as the vehicle cools off. It has never occurred in the morning.

I'm going to take my fluids temperature the next time it happens.

BTW I've got 91k miles on my original clutch

Telcoman

Does a section of the clutch line pass close to the exhaust? If so maybe a shield is in order.

Perry.

[tollboothwilley]

Stock clutch line does pass fairly close to both the cats and isn't far from the exhaust manifolds either. However, the stock setup should be wrapped with a heat shield.

Upgrade your clutch line to SS and you won't have a problem Nate. Reuse the factory heat shield wrap on the SS clutch line too.

[Sentientbydesign]

UPDATE:

Clutch fluid was NASTY. So was the brake fluid.

I did a quick swap on both with some SPT(?) DOT 3 brake fluid and here are the results:

Clutch fluid was swapped 4 times using the "Ranger Protocol". It took a while for it to be completely clear, even now, there's a slight yellow tint to it, but it's VERY light.

Drove around over the weekend and the pedal got stuck multiple times. Ambient temperature was around 102 F.

I realized in the past, that pushing the clutch in, then letting it fly up, seemed to raise the pedal pressure higher. I'm wondering if the "thump" is causing bubbles to move in the hydraulic lines. If that's the case, then a full bleed might solve the problem.

Brake fluid was only partially exchanged. Maybe 20% of the system. It was tinted brownish-yellow with greenish particles swirling around.

Even with the small amount of exchange, the pedal has gotten much better. I'll be doing a fulll brake swap soon (Stoptech Rotors and Hawk HPS pads on all 4 corners) and a full system bleed then.

So my next two options are:Full bleedThen moving up to a DOT 4 synthetic or possibly a DOT 5.1 non-silicone based brake fluid.

And if all of that fails, I'll do a SS clutch line.