veeray

Hi everyone,

My 5 speed 1998 Maxima is really low on clutch fluid in its reservoir and I was wondering how to correctly change it? I know that I have to bleed the old fluid out, but I am having trouble locating the bleed valves. Can anyone help?

Thanks in advance,

veeray

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

low on clutch fluid means theres a leak somewhere, its a sealed system. either the slave, master, or a line is leaking fluid out. fix the leak, bleed it at the slave cylinder, good to go

if you dont have a leak or fixed the leak and are just wanting to change the fluid, to be honest i would just drain the master cylinder with a syringe and put fresh fluid in it. unless you for sure know your bleed screws wont break off, then you can clear the lines. but my own stuff with changing brake or clutch reservoir fluid i just drain n fill because im not dealing with broken bleed screws

veeray

Ok I will try to do that. Im still new with working with my car so I dont know how to find/repair the leak. I think I will use a syringe and replace the fluid. Would that make my car driveable, at least for the short term? My gears are locked and I dont want to pay for a tow truck to get to my mechanic

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

yes as long as its a slow leak you should be able to maintain pressure enough to just be topping off the fluid. if youre locked out of gears it sounds like it may be the slave cylinder

veeray

thanks chrome,

I topped it off but the car still wouldnt get into gear. I ended up bleeding the valves and now it is shifting fine. I guess I will just keep an eye on the clutch fluid level. if it drops then there is probably a leak?

chrome91

iTrader: (1)

yes if it slowly drops theres a leak at the master cylinder, a line, or the slave cylinder. if it was completely empty to begin with, you got air in the lines and thats why it wouldnt go into gear. now that you bled it all out its good again

veeray

thanks for the help. I will look out for any leaks.