I am thinking of purchasing a maxima and I thought I would ask the experts what you thought. It is a 91 maxima with about 100K miles it is very clean, it is loaded with all options, sunroof,etc. It appears to be in excellent condition, but the current owner thinks that the clutch is out, he said that he had the clutch replaced about a year ago, and it is out again, does anyone know what could be causing this, someone told me that the throwout bearing probably needs to be replaced. The car will start and the engine seems fine. The best part of all is he said he would take 1,000 bucks for it. This seems like a great deal, but the clutch thing kind of scares me, worst case scenario what would this cost to get fixed, how hard is it to replace a clutch, I guess you have to pull the tranny. Any help would be appreciated.

 

heres the directions on how to change the clutch http://www.4dsc.com/articles/drivetr...h/clutch.shtml
but it may be somthing else besides the cluthc it could also be the master, slave cylinder, lines, air in lines, clutch pedal ajustment, we would need more detail of what the car is doing to make a good judgment of what the problem is more info needed but the clutch needs to be replaced its pretty easy but if youve never changed your oil you may not be ready for it

 

for 1000 I would jump on it, but try and talk him down to 800-900.

it doesn't move at all? probly needs a new clutch, throwout bearing, the works...maybe even a new flywheel if the clutch was changed a year ago. when you change the clutch, make sure the surface of the flywheel is in good shape.

 

i had the same kind of deal when i bought my 92 se.......the guy said it needed some clutch stuff. i got it for 600 (talked down from 1200), but i had to get plates, discs, a throwout bearing, clutch fork, and slave cylinder, pretty costly including the labor from the shop........but if you can save the money in labor i'd say its worth it (i dont have a lift and we just did my brothers timing belt for a 300zx in the driveway, wasnt looking for another big job)

 

I got the car yesterday($800), I have called around and got prices ranging from $140-$190 for a clutch kit(disc, pp, release bearing, pilot bearing, alignment tool). I have had bad luck with cheap replacement parts in the past. Does any one know of good and bad brands? I only want to have to change it once. I think the cheapest kit was a Perfection Hytest, anyone had any experience with this.

 

So what's the clutch doing? You've never told us....so it's hard to advise you what is wrong. If the clutch REALLY was replaced a year ago, then you probably don't need to go in there.

 

if you want affodable it dont get cheaper than this http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...category=33730
and exidy is pretty well known company and ive heard good things about them im sure some poeple on this boar dhave them in the maxs

 

When you replace the clutch, go with either OEM or a MAJOR brand replacement.
The only ones I can honestly recommend are LuK, ACT, Exedy, or OEM.

DO NOT buy the Nissan "Key Value Kit" because they're crap. you'll be doing it again in a year.

reasons the clutch is failing... could be a bad install to begin with, bad clutch master or slave cylinder causing the friction surfaces to rub all the time- thus wearing out faster.. could be a leaking input shaft on the tranny- causing fluid to leak onto the clutch and it'll slip then too. usually it'll smell like burning oil if that happens though.


in any case, as long as the body is in good shape, you got one heckuva deal.

 

He only replaced the plate and disc, he did not replace the throwout bearing, which is what I think has failed, the car will start right up and the engine seems fine, but but there is a growling noise coming from the clutch area, with the car in neutral.

 

Ok it could be an adjustment issue. Sounds like the TO bearing is riding on the teeth of the pressure plate. Shorten the throw of the rod that leads to the master cylnder. You should have around a 1/2" of free play.

 

OK, I pulled the tranny today. The throwout bearing was in pieces, and it appears that part of it is sheared off in the tranny housing? There was only about half of a quart of fluid in the tranny(did not appear to be metal shavings), it seems to have leaked out of the front seal of the tranny, could this have happened when the TO bearing broke, maybe damaging the seal? The guy I bought it from said it was running fine and it broke all at once and has not been driven since(2mos.). The tranny spins freely, but when I spin it fast I can hear what sounds like ball bearings clacking together. Do I need a new tranny?
Does any one know what it costs to get rebuilt vs. salvage(used tranny)?

PS: Also, I could not get the driver side CV shaft out of the tranny, I tried pulling and prying, and it wouldn't budge, so I just dropped the tranny with it in. The right side shaft slid right out with no force, both outer CV boots were badly torn, with little grease, so I plan on replacing them.

Thanks for all the help.