ounkny

I am posting to seek advice on what you recommend I do. My 99 GXE 5-speed has 97,000 miles on it, and I feel that the clutch is beginning to go. The clutch does not engage very smoothly in 1st gear. I have to keep the RPMs very low, around 1000-1500 RPM to get it to catch, and it still only catches slowly. Shifting to 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th happens without any major problems but I seem to get more clutch chatter than normal, and if I give it too much throttle there seems to be excessive chattering/bucking.

So I am pretty sure I will replace the clutch. I am thinking about the Exedy Stage 1, although an OEM Nissan (not key value) would also suffice. I was quoted somewhere in the neighborhood of $350-400 for the labor. Now as I understand, there is no additional labor involved to also do the flywheel or a tranny swap, so I was thinking about having my shop take care of the whole area all at once: LSD tranny, clutch, and flywheel.

We found two LSD trannies:
(1) 41K miles, 2 month warranty, $1350 + $100 shipping
(2) 52K miles, 2 month warranty, $1100 + $100 shipping

So I have a few questions for the tranny gurus:
(1) Do these tranny prices seem reasonable?
(2) Can you recommend a good flywheel for street use? I heard that ones that are too light are too difficult to handle for stop and go traffic type situations, because the revs drop off too quickly.
(3) I understand that I also need a driver's side axle. Is that all I need to get the LSD tranny to work, or will I need any other parts? Where can I get the axle from? Anyone know the part number?

Thanks in advance. I will be spending a lot of money on this swap and I want to make sure I do it right the first time. If you have any other suggestions I would really appreciate it.

ounkny

Quick Question. If I want to stick with the OEM flywheel, should I have it resurfaced when I replace the clutch? Or should I have it replaced as well?

Wrightsfd

I grew up in Chicago so I know the land is perfectly flat which is best for a lightened flywheel. The revvs do drop suddenly when you first start out so you are at a disadvantage on hills and in traffic. However the performance gains are more than worth any driveability issues. I have a Fidanza and am 100% satisfied. I would get an aftermarket clutch as the OEM clutch I got can't handle all the power. I only have an intake and I get lots of slippage when shifting into 2nd at WOT. I have heard ACT is good for everyday drivers. The labor prices sound good for the clutch replacement. As for the LSD, I don't know.

sryth

I believe your clutch is on the way out. There are members here who experience no slipping at all on a stock clutch and they have a lot more than just an intake.

ounkny:

I'd recommend the ACT clutch only if you're not going to be sitting in traffic a lot. The pedal becomes very heavy. I've heard good things about Exedy and I will give them a shot next time around.

For your questions:

1) The problem is that the junkyards can set the price to whatever they want. There aren't many of these trannies around, and everyone wants them. I think the yards know this.

2) I've only experienced the stock flywheel; I'm no help here.

3) You will only need the driver's side axle. As for part #, don't bother getting it from Nissan. You'll end up paying $500 for it. Go to Autozone (or equivalent) and get a remanufactured axle. Or, for a bit more, you can get one from www.raxles.com

Personally, at those prices I'd just get a Quaife. A Quaife can be had for ~$1400 from www.cattman.com Figure an extra $150 to install it...and you're done.

The Quaife is a much better differential.

Ceasars Chariot

iTrader: (16)

axle - www.raxles.com see what they have

im looking into a tranny also and thinking about buying a rebuilt one versus one thats been sitting in a junkyard. any thoughts ? what do you think..ounkny ?

i search car-parts.com and saw prices close to this also.

try exedy, and fidanza

ounkny

I just gotta say that you guys rule, thanks for all the helpful advice. I just got my Max in January and you don't know how much I appreciate this information.

Actually I was wrong in my earlier post about the labor quote. My shop quoted me at $300-$330 for the clutch install, and they said there would be no additional labor charge for swapping out the tranny, since it would already be dropped. I assume the labor for the flywheel install is not much more money over that initial sum.

So far I am pretty decided on the Exedy Stage 1 organic for a good balance between upgraded clamping force and everyday drivability. From what I've read, the ACT is the same clutch but with a heavier pressure plate, which is no good for city driving (but may be fine for you suburbanites). The Exedy is cheap, I was quoted $262 + S&H from an online guy, but I will most likely but it from my local shop for slightly more money to obtain the parts and labor warranty from the same place.

I have been hearing amazing things about the Fidanza flywheels. They seem to be expensive ($420 according to one estimate), and I have heard that when you first drive the car it will seem undrivable. I am also a little worried about valets stalling the car out with both the aftermarket clutch and flywheel. These are important conisderations for a daily driver.

Ceasars Chariot, do you know how much it would cost to have a tranny rebuilt? Mine is a '99 GXE w/ 97K and it has the open diff. I am thinking about getting the LSD tranny, where you have to replace the driver's side axle, to serve two purposes: (1) lower mileage on tranny, last longer (2) better drivability and power delivery, reduced torque steer.

Sryth is completely right when he says that tranny/junkyard dealers can charge any price they want. The question for people like us is whether it is more economical, and less of a hassle, to find a lower mileage tranny, or to rebuild the tranny at a tranny shop. In my case, I would like the lower mileage tranny because I would not have to pay additional labor to have it installed.

Mishmosh

iTrader: (3)

maxxtuningusa.com has the exedy stage 1 for $230 ($250 shipped). They are awaiting shipment to arrive currently.

JeffesonM

iTrader: (5)

check the Group Deals forum... I believe the Fidanza is going for $331 shipped

ounkny

any input on tranny swapping for the purposes of longevity? the one i am looking at is an LSD tranny that has 41K and is selling for $1350 plus $100 shipping. Yes it's expensive, I know, but it will save about $300-400 labor if the tranny were to go in a year or two.

From what I gather 4th gen trannies last about 90K-150K. Does this sound about right? And does anyone know the average cost of a tranny rebuild for a 4th gen?

sryth

What's wrong with your tranny? Are you swapping it just for the hell of it? Just for the VLSD?

If it's for the VLSD (read: you're tranny's fine) I'd get a Quaife instead.

If you are having a shop replace the tranny, I'd find a reputable transmission shop to do all the work. They (usually) know quite a bit more about transmissions than the average garage mechanics.

ounkny

There are no symptoms that anything's wrong with my tranny. Of course, since my clutch isn't being so nice, it may be hard to tell if any of the synchros are going, especially 1st and 2nd gears. If you scroll up, you'll see that I'm considering the swap for two reasons:

(1) VLSD
(2) reduce mileage on my tranny from 97K to 41K (or somewhere in that ballpark), so that I wouldn't have to worry about my tranny going anytime soon

People are telling me that the Quaife is great, but that it's not worth it unless you're running boost. In other words, why would I need such a bulletproof differential if the car does not have any added power? I'm pretty sure that it's over $1000, and for that price range why not get a lower mileage tranny? Keep in mind that this is for a daily driver and not for drag, autox, or racing.

ounkny

I've decided to get the Exedy Stage 1, and stick with the original flywheel (for money reasons). They will resurface it when they swap out the clutch. I've also changed my mind about swapping out the trans. I will probably do that when something goes wrong with it, even though there will be additional labor. The reason for this decision is that I haven't been able to find a good deal on a tranny, and the ones that are affordable typically have at least 70K on them anyway. The low mileage trannys (60K and under) are typically over $1000 and that doesn't include shipping or labor.