I have a '98 Maxima 5-speed that has been having trouble lately. Over the course of the past year, I've had to depress the clutch more and more before it engages to the point where these days it's nearly at the peak before i can get rolling. This can be very dangerous as it could cause me stall out, especially on a left turn at a light. However, I could ride the clutch a bit to overcompensate, but then i'll notice that afterwards there will be a "thunk" noise every time i get out of first gear. Once I've reached my destination, i'll step out of the car and notice the burning smell of my clutch. The smell is only there if the thunk started to precipitate during my driving session. All of this leads me to think I need a new clutch.

Today a slightly new problem may have risen. I was trying to back up into a parking and spot and noticed that my car was struggling to reverse. The best I could describe is that it almost felt as if my car still had it's parking brake on. It took quite the effort for the clutch to engage and finally get going. Could this be a tranny problem? Any help would be appreciated, guys. Thanks.

 

sounds like its new clutch time to me

 

Yep^ and check your flywheel.

 

You guys think getting a new flywheel is necessary or is the stock one good to go after getting it resurfaced. The car has roughly about 139k miles on it.

 

Have you checked the fluid in the clutch master cylinder?
Resurface the old flywheel unless it has bad hard spots.

 

I will check the fluids this weekend. Thanks.

 

New clutch for sure. Plus always resurface the old flywheel or change it out for a new one. Don't drive it for long cause your gonna be stuck somewhere where you don't want to be.had a lot of friends that ran into that problem. And check your fluids now if you still planning on driving it.

 

About how much is it these days to get a flywheel resurfaced?

 

I think u can go to an o Reilly n get them resurface for $10-$15. Depending on location I guess. But call them up if you have one around and see what they say.