My clutch is slipping and I'll be getting it replaced soon. The places I'm getting quotes from say the price depends on if the power steering and/or air conditioning are in the way of the tranny making it more difficult to drop. I have a 92 SE 5 speed (with limited slip of course). Does anyone know if this is the case with my car? I'd like to know ahead of time instead of them just doing it and BS ing that the power steering and air conditioning were in the way so they have to charge me more.

Thanks!

 

Neither p/s or a/c are anywhere near the transmission..

Here's a rough removal list..

Gear oil
shifter linkage
axles
transmission mounts
wiring to trans
slave cylinder hose
engine to trans mounting bolts

etc...

 

Weird, b/c two of them mentioned it, are they maybe looking up the gxe or something? I don't want them to buy the wrong parts and then realize it and have to keep the car for 2 or 3 days. I made it really clear that it was the SE, VE, DOHC, limited slip, 5 speed...

 

the sohc gxe/se are no different..the ac/ps systems are not in the way of removing the transmission.

 

Doesn't matter the model. The ac and ps are pretty much the same and are located on the other side of the engine bay.

 

BTW leave me some iTrader feedback for the maf adaptor.

 

yeah, sorry, i didn't figure out how to do it right away, so i haven't gotten around to it, i'll do it now, thanks!

 

If u got time doing it yourself is very easy all you really need is a friend to help ya out..like the other guys on here told you p/s and a/c is not even close to being in the way of removing the tranny..besides it'll save u lots of money..

 

My guess as to why those shops mention it is because they aren't quoting your maxima, but a general [FWD] car, that may have stuff in the way.
I can't recall seeing any cars with that stuff in the way of the transmission, butt...

 

those guys are trying to play you for a fool. A/C and power steering parts and lines are all on the FRONT of the engine. the transmission is on the back. every engine- honda, toyota, chevy, nissan, no matter.

labor should be no more than 4 hours to replace a clutch. (I've done it in 2.5hrs before-- rebuilt the tranny and installed new clutch in 6 hours.) If a shop quotes you more than 4 hrs labor to replace a clutch, hang up and call someone else.

what part of LA are you in? I have a few 3gen friends that live in LA.. maybe they can help out.

 

sorry to burst all you conspirarists bubble BUT the mitchell labor guide which is what shops base their labor times off of lists it like this:
7 R&R Clutch Pressure Plate C 5.7 399.00 89-99
DOES NOT include resurface flywheel
8 + A/C interferes add C 0.9 63.00 93
9 + Ps interferes add C 0.4 28.00 93
10 * R&R Clutch Pilot Bearing Or Bushing C 0.3 21.00 93
11 * R&R Clutch Release Bearing C 0.2 14.00 93
12 * R&R Flywheel C 0.2 14.00 93

so they are just following the book like they are supposed to.
they aren't trying to rob you, they are playing with the same book as most shops which provides a level playing field for the shops to work in.

 

I'm at the north end of Culver City and east end of Santa Monica (Supulveda and National). I would love to do it myself for the experience, but I have no space and no one to do it with. I don't know if I'd want to take on the project, it seems pretty intense. Some day I'll have a house with a garage...The cheapest quote I've gotten from a reputable place is $625 for parts and labor, so it doesn't seem too bad. Oh yeah, and one of the places mentioned they were using Mitchell's to get the price.

 

whether they're using mitchell or not, it's still a farce. we all know book rate is crap. any honest mechanic that's done this before will throw that away once they've actually done one of these cars. nonetheless, you'll be hard-pressed to find a mechanic that has done a Maxima recently and willing to do the job by true labor hours.

hoyshinn, I have a friend that lives in/near Glendale and has a good mechanic he likes (but does 90% of his work himself). I'll get the contact info and send it over.

 

all the shops around here stick to the book rate regardless of whether they have done the job before or not. that means that if the first time they do it and it takes 12 hours but the book says 6, they only get to charge 6 and they lose the 6 hours. it's all about averages.

 

thanks!

 

I'd be lying if i said i could understand the gibberish there, but i have seen those kind of books, and I understand the standards set forth by those books.
I'm not asking for a translation
but sometimes those books are misleading.


As for the tranny swap, I understand the space constraints. You may want to see if there are any rent-a-garage type things around. they would rent the space for far less than a shop would charge per hour and you'd get the experience.
if you are willing to invest almost $700 in this, you could do this(providing you can find one),and the parts, and the tools(the home user type), and maybe have some money left to play with.

 

BTW, a Chilton, or Haynes would answer this nicely. has pictures too, I have found it to be a worthwhile investment for anything more complex than an oil change.

and it has pictures, and diagrams, and torque specs, and the holy grail, and the winning lotto numbers...

It'll also give you an idea of what a mechanic would do to your car if you need one to work on it, so you don't get jerked around.

 

That would be awesome, but I can't seem to find one when I google it, you'd think there would be one in LA. Anyone know what they're called? If I could just rent one for a day, hire someone to help me out... that would be sweet.

 

i googled
"rent-a-garage" los angeles
found one in hollywood.
(818) 764-3922
call 'em and ask about pricing
I do not know their reputation, or if they're only a storage rental place.

 

http://www.davesquicklube.com/

 

Could you tell me your friend's name so I could tell them so and so sent me?

 

sorry I don't how to transfer over the formatting of the page.

 

hmm.... to remove the tranny you need to remove everything that's in the way. and everything that's connected. yay!

taking a quick peek up under your car, and under the hood is a good place to start

thus, finding your own answers to your own questions!

 

go to a different shop or do it yourself its not hard at all trust me. I have done it on a vg maxima and a honda crx. Although I will say rwd cars are easer.

 

well my passenger side axle nut broke my breaker bar. Its giving me a VERY hard time actually... and now its dark and the mosquitoes are trying to eat me alive.

 

you need pb blaster and/or a torch

~Alex

 

you need a bigger breaker bar.

I use a 3/4" drive craftsman breaker bar. stick that on a piece of 1.5" pipe about 6 ft long and you can break anything loose.

 

Randy Glenn

 

I broke my axle nut off today. Jammed a crow bar in the lugs. Took a 1/2 inch breaker bar and socket set horizontal and bounced on it 3 times.

 

Get a big (bigger) breaker bar (not a ratchet), use an extension like a piece of metal pipe, have a friend stand on the brakes, and voila!

Haven't tried it (don't own one), but an impact wrench might work, too.

 

Wow...Goon mad! Goon smash!

 

YES, THIS WORKS!
(based on experience)

 

 

Oh yeah, THAT'S helpful.

And don't get pissy and think I'm trying to rag on you. It's just that I'm not certain if a wise-crack response was what he was looking for.

 

If he does it himself, does he need a tranny jack to lower the tranny? Reason I ask is because I am thinking to remove my tranny as well in order to replace the rear main seal and possibly do a 5spd swap.

 

for a first-timer doing it by yourself, I highly recommend a tranny jack or a helper.

I can do it with a floor jack, but I've pulled probably 20 Maxima trannies. not exactly a beginner. I know the balance points pretty well and can hit it the first time with the jack.

 

lol of course not....but if he is going to drop attempt to drop a tranny, he should already have enough knowledge to be able to LOOK at it and know what needs to be removed. IMHO. was just cracking on him anyways.

and why is there a need to stand on the brakes, or use a crow bar on the lugs? just break the axle nut loose before you even remove your wheel....of course, goon may have a bit of a problem with his wheels ;x

 

my wheels have a small enough opening in the center that I can't do that.
I CAN however pull the wheel off, put the socket on, then slide the wheel back on over it. then the head of the socket sticks out about 1/2" and I can get the breaker bar on it.

I do find it easier though to just have someone start the car and stand on the brakes to keep it from turning.

 

yeah, was thinking stock wheels ;x just didnt want stockers to think they had to remove the wheel to do it

 

true.
I dont have stock wheels, so this never entered my mind.
it may be the easiest way to do it if you can get to your axle nut w/out taking your wheel off.