Car broke down this morning coming off my exit to my work. Clutch pedal fell to the floor and wouldn't come up, couldn't put the car in any gear. Had the car pulled with tow rope to infiniti around the corner and mechanic said it was the throwout bearing. (I replaced the clutch and throwout bearing with a stage 1 Exedy 16 months ago..WTF??!!)

Transmission was making a slight whine sound like the input shaft bearing wearing out, so while the trans is dropped out, figure might as well do the trans work. I can either rebuild my trans w/ 181k and put new input/outshaft bearing on it, or buy a used one w/ 90k miles and save $100.

What would you do in this scenario?

 

Actually,it sounds more like a clutch master cylinder/slave cylinder problem...

Get a second opinion,from a different mechanic..

 

I agree with GreenMax. Usually input shaft bearing problems will make the tranny grind or not move into or out of gears.

If it is the tranny, maybe a used one.

I bought a used one, but it is more of a gamble. It also came from a car with 90k. MattComet helped me install it, so the labor cost was a lot less. The tranny places here included labor with their rebuild.

I still have my original, though, so I could still have the input shaft bearings replaced.

 

I actually can not put the car into any gear, and when the car is running, makes a bad grinding sound. The mechanic took the bolt off going to the linkage and the sound got less worse. I wouldn't doubt an ex Nissan now Infiniti mechanic.

Infiniti wants $880 in labor to drop and re-install the trans minus the throwout bearing part cost.

This small time shop wants $486 to do the same job, and with a trans overhaul, they quoted me at $1k for everything.

 

Anyways, I got the lowdown on the Max. Turns out that Exedy stage 1 clutch I put in a year and half ago did the damage. The pressure plate was too firm for the fork that holds the throwout bearing. So the fork was bending over time and cocked the bearing at an angle not letting it glide like it should. On top of that the slave cylinder blew both seals due to the heavy amount of pressure required to push in the clutch, which is why the clutch pedal fell to the floor. So far if I go with the clutch kit they have which is some no name brand, its running $950. Now I have to decide if I will rebuild the transmission or not.

Lesson learned, stick with an oem spec clutch for a daily driver.

 

well i picked up my max 2 days ago with about 112k on it.. and when I hit the clutch pedal it fell to the floor and did not come back up. Next morning, I figured out that it was my slave cylinder not holding pressure. I had the lines bleed and new fluid put in and it has held since. Now I just need to figure out why the power is dropping big time between 4-5000 rpm.. I know this is another thread, but i dont have the privelages yet to post.. anyone got any ideas?