I'm relatively new to the Nissan club. I got my car about two weeks ago, and I am already experiencing trouble and I am unsure of the cause.
My car is a 96 300zx non turbo 5 speed manual, and its being goofy
The first thing that I noticed it does the most is it will act like it doesn't have any power/loses power during acceleration. Its not super dramatic, but you notice that it should have more power than it is producing.
Another thing that I have noticed is that sometimes it acts like the tires are spinning or it is in neutral and the rpms climb really quick.
It also sometimes gets stuck as I shift. I can sometimes shift from first to second, and when I let off the clutch, it acts like it is still in first.
The last thing that I have noticed, only happened twice, but starting from a stop, i can remove my foot off the clutch, and will still act like it is engaged and slowly release by itself.
I am not sure what could cause all of this, but I do have an engine light for a knock sensor and the o2 sensors. I am going to inspect the knock sensor today, and see what is going on there, but have no clue how to fix the others other than replacing the clutch. Any help is appreciated. Thanks
car troubles
Re: car troubles
Wondering if your clutch is starting to fail and you're experiencing clutch slippage. Ever sound like its burning/hot brakes kind of smell?
Re: car troubles
Clutch would be my first guess, but it may be a combination of multiple problems. Are you still running the stock exhaust? A plugged Cat will give really random performance gains and losses like that, but it's pretty obvious from the exhaust note when it happens.
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nissanfreak12
- Posts: 1709
- Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2011 4:07 pm
- Car: 92 300zx 2+2 TT
- Location: Denver, CO
Re: car troubles
If you want to find out if your clutch is strong, drive at 20 mph, put the car in 5th gear and throttle it, If its going to slip, it will do it now. Other issues could be the pressure plate is losing its spring action.
O2 sensor will also cause issues you are describing, non-oem ones, will do the same thing? You may have other issues as well. You may also have issues with the hydraulic system for the clutch. Mrfeeslaw could also be on to something as well. O2 sensors being bad will cause issues with the cats.
O2 sensor will also cause issues you are describing, non-oem ones, will do the same thing? You may have other issues as well. You may also have issues with the hydraulic system for the clutch. Mrfeeslaw could also be on to something as well. O2 sensors being bad will cause issues with the cats.
Re: car troubles
I would check the hydraulic system. Feel the clutch pedal. Does it feel like it is "soft", or "spongy" when you push it? or certain problems may even cause it to feel "stiff", which would be very noticeable.
Have someone pump and hold the clutch pedal, as if you were doing a clutch system bleed procedure. Then watch the master cylinder for a minute or so. Then follow the line down to the slave, checking the master, slave, and line for any signs of leaking.
If there don't seem to be any leaks externally, I would move on to testing the clutch and other hard components before checking for internal leaks. If you have a master cylinder leak your pedal will likely not have much pressure at all, and there should be a pretty obvious external leak. The slave, however, can have an internal pressure leak, which is a little harder to diagnose. Usually with the car off you should be able to shift from neutral into and out of every gear in the transmission with little effort. If some gears are stiff, or won't go at all, you may have a problem with your slave.
Another test that works for some cars is to put the car in gear with the engine off, and then, without using the clutch, turn the car over for a second or so. If the car moves forward then you have proved that your clutch is at least making some sort of physical connection with the flywheel. If you crank the engine, and it spins over, or even starts, without moving the car, then the clutch is not making any connection with the flywheel, and is obviously not going to work anymore.
^Not entirely sure how the car would act if the clutch was just slipping, and not completely gone... Maybe it would jerk on some rotations and not others?
Does anyone know of any other tests that may help narrow down the problem without disassembling anything just yet?
Have someone pump and hold the clutch pedal, as if you were doing a clutch system bleed procedure. Then watch the master cylinder for a minute or so. Then follow the line down to the slave, checking the master, slave, and line for any signs of leaking.
If there don't seem to be any leaks externally, I would move on to testing the clutch and other hard components before checking for internal leaks. If you have a master cylinder leak your pedal will likely not have much pressure at all, and there should be a pretty obvious external leak. The slave, however, can have an internal pressure leak, which is a little harder to diagnose. Usually with the car off you should be able to shift from neutral into and out of every gear in the transmission with little effort. If some gears are stiff, or won't go at all, you may have a problem with your slave.
Another test that works for some cars is to put the car in gear with the engine off, and then, without using the clutch, turn the car over for a second or so. If the car moves forward then you have proved that your clutch is at least making some sort of physical connection with the flywheel. If you crank the engine, and it spins over, or even starts, without moving the car, then the clutch is not making any connection with the flywheel, and is obviously not going to work anymore.
^Not entirely sure how the car would act if the clutch was just slipping, and not completely gone... Maybe it would jerk on some rotations and not others?
Does anyone know of any other tests that may help narrow down the problem without disassembling anything just yet?