Ever heard of this happening???

[2005maximus]

Well, I'm happy to say that I'm new to the forum. However, problems with my 2005 Maxima have brought me hear after numerous dealer visits to try and troubleshoot the problem have been unsuccessful. It's going to sound strange, but I'll try and describe it as clearly as possible.

I have a 6-speed manual, the car just rolled over 40,000, so warranty will not cover the problem. Every now and then, my clutch pedal will loose all pressure and drop to the floor. This usually only happens first thing in the morning, after the car has been sitting overnight, and only happens once a month; however, recently it's been more frequent. Whereas typically the clutch will travel approx. 6 inches to the floor, and engage somewhere in the middle of travel, there is no pressure on the pedal. Therefore, the clutch will not engage, and I have alot of trouble getting it into gear. I essentially have to synchronize shift to change gears, and the clutch will eventually begin working normally after driving for around 10 minutes or so city driving.

My local Nissan dealer has no idea what the problem could be, because by the time I get it over there, the problem has cleared up. They also checked service records and could not find an incident where this has happened before. Do any of you Nissan gearheads out there have any idea what could be going on, or heard of this problem happening before? Any advice, information, or otherwise would be greatly appreciated!

[mikeatx]

On other cars I've seen the clutch pedel drop to the flow because the slave cylinder for the cluch went out.

Since yours does it cold, there may be a problem with the hydrolic fluid for your clutch and how the master and slave cylinder are dealing with it.

Typically if the slave cylinder goes out, it means your clutch is due for replacement or needs to be replaced fairly soon.

Again, this is just what I've seen on a couple of cars, not sure how the Max's clutch is setup.

The slave cylinder on my friend's Mitsubishi went out a few months ago, but it was obvious cause the slave cylinder dumped fluid on the ground and we were able to replace it for 20 bucks and about 10 minutes of time to install it and bleed the clutch hydrolic line.

[2005maximus]

Thanks for the response. I haven't let Nissan do anything to it yet, I'm afraid of what they'll charge to tell me they've been scratching their heads on this problem. I also hate the thought of it being something that warranty would have covered just 4k ago! My typical driving habits are highway driving, with light clutch use. I'm pretty easy on the car, so I would think the clutch components should last a good while.

I had someone tell me that the hydraulic line may need to be bled. If this were the case, wouldn't it have been happening for a while, or is it one of those things that can develop over time?

This is my first time owning a manual, so I'm unexperienced to say the least. I guess I need to trade in for the '07 CVT Maxima!

[mikeatx]

You should only need to bled the clutch line if you ran low on fluid, or if you have a leak somewhere. Bleeding the clutch is just like Bleeding the brakes. Takes 2 people and a wrench basically. Maybe a hose and a cup to keep that garage floor clean.

I wouldn't find out where your master and slave cylinders for the clutch are and visially inspect them yourself. If theres any signs of leakage, this could be your problem. Even an extremely small leak may suck alot of air into your lines.

[SpecVrooom]

Did you wake up and see a small (1 pint or so) pool of hydraulic/brake fluid on the ground?