Problem: for the past few days it was difficult to put the car into gear sometimes mainly 1-2-3 , then yesterday the car wouldnt start because the switch on the clucth was being pressed so after about 3 times of reaching down there while trying to start the car and cutting my hand up I bypassed the switch, last night I called my mechanic and he told me that t sounded like the clutch pedal bracket was broken and to take it to him monday, anyway this morning I looked under there and saw that when you pressed the clutch the bracket moved to the side a few inches because the top bolt wasnt secure so I went to tighten the bolt and it was tight, so the problem was what ever the bolt was bolted to, so I took the dash bord out because I couldnt see anything (not to bad only about 25 minutes)

anyway what I found was this:

the bolt screws into a nut welded to the car, the nut had broken loose and the top of the clutch pedal bracket was moving around making it hard to disengauge the clutch all the way(why it was hard to shift).

now heres my problem, I cant really think of any way to fix but to get someone to weld the nut back on there, but I cant drive the car because now without the nut it moves around alot more and I cant really shift the car, so aside from having someone come to my house and weld the nut back on is there anyother way you could think of?

here are some pics


pic #1


(the arrow #1 points to the place on the car the nut was welded to)
(the arrow #2 points to the top of the clutch bracket)



pic #2 (the nut that made my hour drive in traffic yesterday, hell)



pic #3
(the area where the first picture details)



has anyone else had this problem?
the area is pretty tight could someone weld the nut back in? would it hold good?

 

I think the best bet is to weld the nut back, it'll be the most secure thing you can do and not have to worry about it again. Can't you put something there to secure it temporarily so at least you can drive it to the mechanic or the welding place. Good luck fixing it.

 

the place that its welded to is enclosed so I cant put the nut throught the top to secure it, and its takes alot of pressure so nothing I can think of will hold it except getting that nut back on, guess ill have to wait till monday to try and find someone to come and weld it

 

yeah I guess that will be the best thing to do. Hope everything goes well on monday.

 

I just hope if I do find someone thell be able to do it, its kinda tight where it needs to be.

 

I'm sure if you use $$$$$$, somebody will do it. Money does get things done in matters such as these, but don't spend too much. They might charge you a lot for going over your house and doing it there but the work itself shouldn't be that much.

 

Your only option is to swap in an automatic tranny at this point

Very odd problem! Perhaps take it to the Nissan dealer and play them up like they owe you something. When the welds break in your car, it must be from manufacturer defect. For now, I would JB weld it on, but make sure it dries for a day before you even try to touch it. Sand the paint off too before you pu that stuff on as it doesn't stick to paint well.

 

lol, I can image the dealers excuses now.

 

Don't even bother going through the dealer, lol the excuses. Your first idea I think will be best.

 

strange....

one thing you could do, if you could get a drill in there....

drill the hole larger than what it is now..

find a bolt that you can drill a hole through the center and thread it to the same size/thread as the original bolt... then drill the hole on the firewall large enough to fit it through. put nuts & lockwashers on both sides of it to hold it in place. use some (red?) Loctite on it too.. certain colors mean certain things... I believe red is the stuff that won't break loose at all. black or blue will pop loose after xxx amount of torque....



another option is something similat to a t-nut. you can get some that press into holes drilled in metal. they have small barbs on them that will prevent it from turning. you can put it in from the other direction (i.e. from inside the firewall, so if you're pushing the pedal down, the force will be trying to push it out- the direction it can't move). you can find these at hardware stores and specialty fastener stores.


there's a couple options that should work.

the next option would be to have someone with a portable MIG welder come and weld it back on, but I would be a little scared of cooking something inside the car with a job in that tight of a space.

 

the thing is I cant get to the other side of the hole and the piece that broke off left a hole bigger than the nut, other wise I could probably get a self tapping screw in there off to the side and drive it, I may have my body shop guy tow it to his shop and weld it, the area is tight bu the only non metal thing in the way is the big *** wire harness that runs at the top of the dash, if I drop the steering column he can probably have enought room.

 

damn you have a lot of work ahead of you.

 

you sure you can't to the other side of the hole through the windshield wiper linkage access panel at the bottom of the windshield? I did an auto to 5psd swap in my old Celica and I had to drill a hole in that area to mount the clutch pedal. Pop it out and have a look in there.

 

yeah I took it off yesterday, the piece that the nut was welded to was just like a little "tent" welded to the body of the car. My dad gave someone down the block from me a welder a while back he's trying to call him to see if he'd be able to do something like that

 

im so glad i found this thread.. this is exactly my problem

my pedal moves to the right also and the whole bracket flexes, probably because the clutch i have (exedy stage 1) is too hard for what this oem bracket is "designed for"

one of the shops i went to suggested i have the bracket welded to reinforce it so at least the bracket itself doesnt bend; this isnt a problem though since i have a friend with a welder

the other thing is that the bracket itself not only bends, but it also bends with respect to the firewall.....this is where most of the flex is. Meaning that the top bolt/nut is part of the problem: i had the top bolt tightened and it worked fine, but it got loose again after about a half hour of driving and the problem is back, the pedal moves around like rubber. I dont see how that bolt would gradually loosen like that. But it is still able to tighten so that doesnt lead me to believe that the welded nut piece is a problem like jasons was. I think the bracket is under too much pressure from this clutch and just needs more support.

ugh

thoughts welcome..

 

I'm thinking loctite for the nut.

 

Yup.. blue loctite works great on stuff like that. the bolt shouldn't come out after that.

but if you can, pull the bracket off and have someone else weld it up to reinforce it. a few ounces of extra weight here will save your butt later.

 

This exact same thing happened to my car and the dealership wanted $1200 to fix it.

Use the original nut and get a thick washer (instead of the weld). Just screw the nut over the washer.

I found a metal fabricator that put a big sturdy washer on top (where the bolt welds broke), then added an extra brace to my clutch pedal bracket. He also put in a brace on the firewall to minimize the flexing. He might have used lock-tite, too, I never asked him. I just showed him the problem, asked him if he could fix it and he said yes and it would cost 2 hours of labor.

All of this happened in May and it has been fine since then.

I will be getting my camera back after Christmas (loaned it out). I can take pics if you want.

I did have a broken bracket (broken at the firewall) and I had to get a replacement at a boneyard.

If you are still having problems, I could go and ask him after Christmas precisely what he did and how he did it. He told me he didn't even take the dash off and didn't have to weld anything.

 

my problem was the nut sheered off of the car, the bolt never got loose, and if you bracket is still moving its probably snapped like what happened to mine the second time (not the nut the actual bracket) just buy a new one.

 

Now here is a problem I know too much about- I have had my bracket break twice- and I never pop the clutch! The nut broke off on me and snapped the safety switches and half of the bracket while I was in Winchester- I had someone that welds for a living fix the bracket, but said screw taking apart the dash to fix the nut. Second time, about 8 months later, I was in Richmond merging onto I-75- had to get towed to Nissan dealer. I liked their idea- the new bracket they showed me was painted black, and had metal twice as thick on it! It is either a revised model for our cars, or maybe a 4th gen bracket, I wasn't told that- however if pressed I can get the receipt for the part #, it's somewhere- that was about 2 1/2 years ago, and my bracket is still pretty secure, and the pedal doesn't move much- no problems with changing gears- might want to try this.

However, you do have the dash apart already.... fix the nut right, and buy the revised $70 dollar bracket from Nissan, and you should never have to worry again!

Damn the alumnium foil bracket ('cept mine was rusted- even cheaper than alumninum) if you see it you will know what I mean ppl
Good luck

 

yeah my new oem bracket was painted black and built much better than the stock one.

 

*** update

i pulled the pedal out today and sure enough i found the inevitable, the welded nut ripped off the mount under the dash


then as i expected also, the pedal bracket was cracked/bent.. and notice how the 2 bolts arent exactly parallel due to the bent bracket


so i punched/drilled out the mount on my red parts car just in case; ill probably use that and have it welded/strengthened


Im also gonna get a new stronger oem pedal bracket, then once all this pedal bs is fixed its time to drop the tranny and rip out this ****ing clutch. If there is in fact something wrong with the pressure plate then good, ill just get an exedy replacement and get reimbursed for the defective part. If not then screw exedy im getting another brand

 

dont use the piece out of the red max, its got the same week nut nd youll run into the same problem again,

here is a diagram I made up for you

 

its very important you cut the right amount off the piece of the firewall that the nut was welded to! before you do anyof this get the new bracket and put it back in the car.

 

try reattaching the image again, it didnt show up

oh well at least i can throw burgers on the grill while its still hot... meaning while the whole dash is out i can do the LEDs and misc crap behind there i wanted to do



** edit nevermind it just popped up