On my way to work this morning clutch pedal was suddenly very easy to push in. The clutch still engages & disengages but only in the last 1/2 inch to inch of travel. (fully depressed - at the bottom end of pedal) When I got to work I looked - fluid reservoir is empty. Any recommendations or suggestions? likely problem?

 

Best guess is you either blew a clutch line or have a leaky coupling. Happened to me when I drove my 240 over a piece of cement in a field. I felt my clutch pedal just hit the floor, I had punched a hole clean in the line. Start with your slave cylinder next to the transmission, see if its wet, if not follow the line up to the resavoir. If nothing then I would just replace both lines, u can get the line from auto parts stores and just use a socket to bend it around to make your shapes so you don't crush the line. It's a cheap easy fix and rules that out as a possible problem. Hope this helps!

*edit* After you replace your line you'll need to bleed your system, here is a link to a thread explaining how.
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...-question.html

 

It sounds like you've got a leak, as mentioned above. Is it just easy to push in, or does it kinda chill at the bottom of its travel when you're not pressing it?

My line leaked in a very peculiar way: one night, with no signs, I noticed that I kept grinding gears, and the next morning the fluid had all leaked out. I was able to drive it for a few weeks by bleeding it every four or five days, but obviously that's not a feasible long-term plan.

The stainless-braided replacement line in the group deals forum is a decent part at $40 - that's $20 cheaper than the retarded rubber line they sell at the dealership - but I waited nearly a month after ordering to receive it. You will be able to remove the rat's nest of hardlines and distribution boxes after the master cylinder, which is the hardest part of the job (I had to use a hacksaw). Some claim the pedal is more responsive with the SS line than with the stock lines; I suspect that's mostly a function of a fresh bleed. Definitely a worthy upgrade even if you're not leaking.

 

As stated above, getting a braided line is so much better, makes me wonder how it's cheaper in the long run for Nissan, having all these complicated bent lines and distribution blocks rather than a simple braided line from point A to B. *shrugs*

 

Thanks for the info! I just looked at it a bit more. The hose is leaking up by the slave cylinder. I filled up the tank and bled it; I will have to keep checking it until my long line from the GD comes.

I guess that I can't complain too much if I made it to 175,000 miles before it went...

 

The clutch lines on Maximas all go sooner or later. 175k is definitely later; I had to do mine at ~140, and then only because I bought the car at 135 and hadn't realized that the clutch wasn't properly bled.

 

clutch line, clutch master cylinder, or slave cylinder. check for leaks on all of those. best thing to do for the slave is to pull the rubber boot back a little to see if its leaking.

 

I would check for that leak ASAP. Brake fluid will remove the paint on the body, like in the interior of the engine bay, etc.

 

Any pics on the location of the slave cylinder. Any threads on removing it would help me as I need to replace mine.

 

The slave cyl is on the driver's side of the transmission, towards the front. Picture can be found at:
http://web.archive.org/web/200711221...ca/mvp.php/803

The lower bleeder valve is part of the slave. The whole assembly is much easier to access if you remove the intake assembly up to the TB and the battery. I would imagine it's not possible for anyone besides a cast member of Cirque du Soleil to get the cylinder off with all of that in place.

Replacing the slave is a simple job, but removing the fasteners holding it in can be difficult. I believe it's two 14mm hex screws, but they're kind of hidden behind a coolant line and cylinder head. Once you get them out, you may have trouble removing the banjo fitting on the line to actually get the cylinder out of the bay. I clamped mine to the steel part of the battery tray to get some leverage. Getting the new one in isn't hard. Don't forget the copper gaskets on the banjo fitting. If you're replacing the entire cylinder and the holes won't line up, check that the range of travel between the new and old plungers is similar - I couldn't fit mine back on after trying to use a slave cylinder rebuild kit, because the piston wasn't bored out deeply enough.