Long story, but a lesson in why you should find ONE GOOD MECHANIC and get everything done through him:

Took my '96 I-30t to a new local shop to replace a wheel bearing. Clutch felt funny when I got it back because the clutch would engage right off the floor. A few days later the clutch pedal stuck to the floor and I couldn't get the car in gear. Tried to bleed the clutch lines myself, but it did no good. Towed it to a chain shop, where they replaced the master cylinder. The car was driveable, but the clutch was engaging right off the floor. They said I needed a new clutch (even though there was no slipping while driving). Clutch was OEM and the car has 157k miles, so I figured that was a good explanation.

Took the car that day to a transmission specialty shop that did good work on my other '96 I-30t (before some redneck broad totaled that one). New clutch, new rear seal, new slave cylinder, and new clutch hose. Now, the entire system has been changed out. A week later, the pedal stuck to the floor again, but I was able to drive it back to the transmission shop. He said the line was loose by the master cylinder, and he fixed it. Within a week, the clutch failed again, and I towed it back to the transmission shop. They said the master cylinder from the chain shop was a cheap import and was pumping air into the system, so they had it towed back to the chain shop. Chain shop calls me and says the transmission shop just didn't bleed the lines right. They bleed it and give me back the car. Within a week, the pedal sticks to the floor and I'm stuck on the side of the road again. Towed back to the chain shop, where they replaced the master cylinder and gave me back the car yesterday. Last night, there is fluid on the floor of the garage and the clutch is engaging right off the floor. Aaargh! I drove it to straight to the transmission shop and left it overnight. Now waiting to hear back.

It's very scary to drive a stick in traffic when you think that any minute the clutch will fail, leaving you stuck in gear. I'm starting to look at new cars, even though this Infiniti has been otherwise very reliable. I have developed a good relationship with my local towing company.

Anybody have any thoughts? Ever have a problem like this that was so hard to fix? Should I just pay some MORE money to get genuine Nissan cylinders installed?

 

Make sure they replace both the master and slave if they think one is bad. It's not uncommon for the sturdiness of the new cylinder to blow out the other if they are very different in age. I don't think they need to be Nissan OEM parts, just replaced as a system.

What method did you use the bleed the clutch? I've found if it's a little futzed up it's very hard to bleed it without a vacuum pump or pressure bleeder.

Dave

 

sorry for posting something off topic but everytime i try to post a new thread or personal message anyone it says i do not have permission to do that action someone please tell a mod so i can get this problem resovled

 

you wont be able with only 2 posts....once you participate a little bit more you should be able to.

 

I've had a leaking clutch line that grounded me like you about 2 times. Hope they fix it good this time.

 

clutch lines may not be the problem, but if the GD is still going for the SS lines, id say go for it, cant beat the price, and they are nice. my clutch was giving me crap, not as much as yours is, but i got the new line, bled it myself, and it works really well now. just food for thought...

 

I can't believe these guys do all this expensive crap to your car and didn't replace the slave cylinder 1st. I'm thinking the slave is leaking pressure.

Not to state the obvious, but didn't you LOOK to see where the leak was coming from?

 

looky what the third thing replaced was...

 

Good point.

 

That's the strange thing... before all these repairs started, there was no leak that I could detect. On my last I-30t, there had been a leak in the clutch hose, and replacing that took care of the problem. On this I-30t, there was never any fluid on the garage floor until after all these parts had been replaced.

When I tried to bleed the system, I used the method described at www.motorvate.ca, but this was in my office parking lot with my secretary working the clutch. After 15 minutes I decided it would be easier to just pay somebody to do it at the chain shop one block down from the office.

Thanks for everybody's input.

 

I agree, i did the same thing and clutch works good now.

 

I just replaced my master cylinder last week when I had a very similar problem. I found out the hard way (and after and hour) that you can't bleed the lined by pumping the clutch pedal if there is too much air in the lines. My brother had a syringe (sp) like device that we used to draw the fluid through the lines from the bleeder valve.
Check the fitting on the side of the master cylinder and make sure it is not leaking. On mine it dripped down onto the fender well and you couldn't really tell that there was a leak. It drips down and leaves a puddle under the center of the car. Check the rest of the fittings on the lines and make sure you're not leaking or sucking air from there. Maybe they forgot to tighten a fitting.

 

I just laughed out loud when I read that last line.

Don't give up on the I30 yet, just find the right guy to fix it the right way.

 

Latest report from the transmission shop is that, while they found no leaks, they did observe a hose that would improperly swell when the clutch was applied. They're going to change that.

I told them there was fluid on the floor of my garage, but they have no explanation for that.

Thanks, again, for all of your input.