Help with Clutch Problem?

[Kyo Kusanagi]

Alright so right after work today, i got in my car and pop in reverse then all of a sudden the car moves back pretty quick and the car dies off all of a sudden.I tried it couple times and it did the same thing then i decided to add a little gas when i pop it in reverse and it doesn't stall but kinda struggles.

So i got my car home and everything is safe except now my problem is.What clutch should i get? I was thinking of getting 4 puck from ACT.

If anybody thinks my clutch is not going out and its some other problem please tell me. Thanks again

[navysnail]

sounds like your clutch isnt releasing. that is not a clutch problem but a problem with the hydralic system developing a leak somewere or getting air into the system. give the clutch master and slave cylinders a good run-over and bleed the system out well. replace any parts that are leaking at all.

[Kyo Kusanagi]

Are you certain of this that its not a clutch problem. Other symptoms that came up is from time to time, its really hard for me to get into gear. I literally have to yank it into first or reverse. I'm really saying and thinking my clutch is going out on me.

[ricebike]

lOther symptoms that came up is from time to time, its really hard for me to get into gear. I literally have to yank it into first or reverse.

that symptoms do point out to your hydraulic master/slave cyl... u can peel the dust boot from the slave cyl to see if it's leaking; master is just a visual check for external leaks/ internal leak is hard to check...

don't forget about the rubber hose; might want to consider upgrading to stainless steel braided if that part needs replacing too

[hachibroku]

Ive got the 4 puck its a b1tch to drive in traffic. well anywhere in first gear. once you get it goin its fine but first gear is jerky. if you can find a 4 puck disk with dampening srpings that would be better.

[dfw240_EE]

I currently have a similar problem. Recently I just got int the car one morning and the engage point on the pedal is about 1/8" off the floor. Searching on here and observations made while driving lead me to believe it is the hydraulic actuator system.

I will work on this tomorrow. My plan of attack is thus:

A)Check pedal height, pedal freeplay, and range of motion against the FSM just to be thorough.

B)Inspect system for leaks. I already did a quick cursory external inspection this afternoon. No obvious leaks but there is a thick black grease coating the damper unit. I do not believe this to be related. I did not peel back the dust boot on the operating cylinder however.

C)If there are no major leaks then I am under the assumption it is air in the line or dirty fluid. I will proceed to change the fluid and bleed the system.

If this doesn't work, I am hosed. I don't think I have the cash to afford replacing the clutch. Though I think I can swing replacing the master/operating cylinders and rubber lines.

[dfw240_EE]

I just inspected the system, and it does not appear to be leaking, so somehow air got in my lines. Perhaps the cover wasn't sitting right on the master cylinder. The fluid in the clutch master cylinder does appear jet-black.

When the clutch pedal is pressed, there is movement in the withdrawal lever. What is the rang of motion of the withdrawal lever? I can't find that info in the FSM.

[dfw240_EE]

OK, whoever owned the vehicle last tightened the operating cylinder's bleeder valve did it WAY too tight. I could not get it open with anything until I used a ratchet wrench instead of a close-ended wrench. Now it is abit rounded off and I can't open it with anything but the ratchet wrench.

The clutch feel is improved, but only a little bit. Enough to make the car drivable again, but the clutch pedal does not feel right.

I did make one observation. When I cracked the operating cylinder's bleeder valve it did not come out the tip but dribbled from the side. Could the bleeder be damaged and letting air in during operation?

Also searching and reading prior posts has pointed to the clutch actuator as a "weak link" piece. Are there any upgraded versions available that might be more durable? Do any of our sponsors sell Stainless steel lines?

[yellow_jacket]

Just bypass the damper box.

As far as your still weak hydraulics, change out the clutch master cylinder. You will more than likely notice that there is black gook at the bottom of the resevoir. That is not a good thing and is a fair indicator that a master is worn out.

[Meantime]

OK, whoever owned the vehicle last tightened the operating cylinder's bleeder valve did it WAY too tight. I could not get it open with anything until I used a ratchet wrench instead of a close-ended wrench. Now it is abit rounded off and I can't open it with anything but the ratchet wrench.

I broke mine off in the slave cylinder. The heat from the transmission tends to really get the bleeder stuck in there. Use a flare nut wrench next time (learned that the hard way when I was installing my SS line).

I did make one observation. When I cracked the operating cylinder's bleeder valve it did not come out the tip but dribbled from the side. Could the bleeder be damaged and letting air in during operation?

Yes, on both counts. Replace it with a $7 speedbleeder screw from SPL and solve two problems at once.

Also searching and reading prior posts has pointed to the clutch actuator as a "weak link" piece. Are there any upgraded versions available that might be more durable? Do any of our sponsors sell Stainless steel lines?

If by clutch actuator you're referring to the slave cylinder, there's a Nismo slave out there for an exorbitant price ($170) which I think is ridiculous, a $30 OEM slave does the job just fine. There is a clutch SS line available from SPL which is a sponsor, I can vouch for the quality of it, it's well worth the money.

P.S. get rid of the clutch damper box, it's more trouble than it's worth.

[dfw240_EE]

I think I will remove the damper and see where that gets me. I really don't have the cash right now for a new master cylinder ($80 at Courtesy Nissan). I did some quick research and Phase2Motortrend sells the Nismo slave cylinder for about $130, and the Nismo SS lines for about $80. However Phase2 also sells 3rd party SS lines for $30. I would probably go with the Nismo ones if I was going to put in the Nismo 750kg diaphragm spring, but I think the 3rd party one would do fine with the stock strength parts.

Guys cross your fingers for me, I am graduating in 2 months with a 3.4 GPA in electrical engineering. Already I have received e-mails on jobs from Nortel, Alcatel, and a local data recovery lab expressing interest in my resume; I have interviewed with Raytheon, and Rockwell Collins and L3 all seemed interested in me at a recent job fair.