admittedly there was some hard driving as i was trapped behind sunday drivers during rush hour traffic....i shifted down prematurely without slowing down enough and when i let go of the clutch obviously everything reved up real high. i stopped at a light and then couldn't get back into gear - any of them. the engine was running fine no weird noises or anything.

i had the clutch down and and the stick would simply not go into gear. i felt i would started to bend rails if i pushed any harder. so i turned off the engine and pushed her off the highway. i found i could get her into gear with the car off and then i started the motor and started back home. only problem was that at the next light i had to repeat the whole process again. i tried just standing on the clutch at the light but it would stall the engine.

so now i'm thinking ok - gotta adjust for clutch dis/engagement. i make it home and the clutch fluid is as clean as could be and the fork seems to have enough throw/travel. yet i can only shift with the motor off and if i start the car in gear it'll stall.

i am certain that my throwout bearing is near being toast from the previous owner but what's this current concern?

i'm thinking it's "only the clutch". i mean mechnically it shifts fine so long as it is not mated to a spinning motor. the chattering/stalling that happens when the car is in gear and i'm slowing down makes me think it's the clutch.

this is what i've gathered from searching the board/web thus far....just looking for confirmation and to draw from any other experiences

 

Sounds to me like your clutch is dragging. I've downshifted in higher RPMs and never had a problem. Of course I've redlined my baby a few times as well.

 

Sounds like some of the clutch springs have broke...

 

thanks for the response guys....now the age old dilemma begins....diy or job shop?...i know it's gonna hurt either way just in different ways

 

well if you have a spare vehicle... DIY. That's why I'm getting my truck.

 

May have also glazed the clutch. It'd go DIY if you have the confidence to tackle the repair. It's not a complex task, just time consuming. Works best if you have the right tools, too.

---JET_MMPro

 

If you glaze the clutch, doesn't that mean that it was just burnt a bit and won't grab proper until the glazing is worn off? If that's the case, then it should still shift. Also, the right tools are very basic; I'm sure 80% of .org members have them. It's pretty easy on our cars to change a clutch. If it's your first time, maybe a six hour ordeal. Good luck

 

I have a buddy who loves driving my maxima cause of the 5-speed and we went out drive to the races and was at a light and wanted to take off quick and I was fine with so he put it in gear and took off, pop in 2nd, the I realized that we were not moving but the engine was reving like crazy. So he stoped everything and put it back in to gear and drove slowly, and it was fine. Now I've been in the import tuning business for 5 years and I was confused. So I took over and started driving and what happened was that the fork the trans was loose and was not engaging. Its not that common but it happens more than you think. No harm to the engine or anything. Its a big job but I have a feeling that might be the problem. Is it limited-slip transaxle. Mine is from japan. Nismo. I will ask my tuner shop this weekend. Best of luck