SS Clutch Line install...what a PITA!
06-29-2006, 05:40 PM
#1
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Location: Burke, VA
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SS Clutch Line install...what a PITA!
This morning I was *lucky* enough to spring a leak in my (stock) clutch lines. That made for a fun drive home in bumper-to-bumper traffic with so much air in the lines...clutch to the floor for every shift 
anyhow, luckily I still had a stainless steel clutch line sitting around that I bought a while back and never installed....so, since I have to get to work (22 miles away) tomorrow, had to do the change out front of the townhouse tonight
WHAT A F-CKING PAIN IN THE A-S!!!
Nissan apparently designed the clutch lines so only people with infant-sized hands can get in there. Pretty much no tools will fit to any of the "hidden" bolts - DO NOT attempt this without a full set of flare-nut wrenches!! Thank God I have such a set
Anyhow, after 3 hours of laboring and wife pumping the clutch pedal while I bleed the system, it's finally done. Now I remember why I didn't install the line when I first got it!!!
Positive: Well, there's no leak any more!
Negative: The install, AND the fact that the SS lines make absolutely no difference in clutch feel. Not AT ALL. Clutch feels just like it did yesterday (did a 20-minute test drive). It may even be a bit softer at the top of the pedal travel, since the SS lines do not re-use the distribution block from the original lines, which I think might provide a kind of "back pressure," so to say.
In any case....my review of SS lines: Not worth the hassle of install. Not worth the money. Only useful if your stock lines get a leak. Performance difference is *nothing*
And no, I'm not taking freakin' pics. You guys all know what a braided clutch line looks like
anyhow, luckily I still had a stainless steel clutch line sitting around that I bought a while back and never installed....so, since I have to get to work (22 miles away) tomorrow, had to do the change out front of the townhouse tonight
WHAT A F-CKING PAIN IN THE A-S!!!
Nissan apparently designed the clutch lines so only people with infant-sized hands can get in there. Pretty much no tools will fit to any of the "hidden" bolts - DO NOT attempt this without a full set of flare-nut wrenches!! Thank God I have such a set
Anyhow, after 3 hours of laboring and wife pumping the clutch pedal while I bleed the system, it's finally done. Now I remember why I didn't install the line when I first got it!!!
Positive: Well, there's no leak any more!
Negative: The install, AND the fact that the SS lines make absolutely no difference in clutch feel. Not AT ALL. Clutch feels just like it did yesterday (did a 20-minute test drive). It may even be a bit softer at the top of the pedal travel, since the SS lines do not re-use the distribution block from the original lines, which I think might provide a kind of "back pressure," so to say.
In any case....my review of SS lines: Not worth the hassle of install. Not worth the money. Only useful if your stock lines get a leak. Performance difference is *nothing*
And no, I'm not taking freakin' pics. You guys all know what a braided clutch line looks like
06-29-2006, 08:21 PM
#6
still brewin'
Join Date: May 2005
Location: MA, lost in GA
Posts: 317
I feel your pain, at least partly. In my 2nd gen, the clutch slave cylinder went out twice in one year. Once while at a Thanksgiving dinner, and the other while sitting in traffic. The only gear I could grind it into was reverse to park. I had to push it forward, jump in and throw it in second. I ran about 3 red lights that night. 
While you were tooling in the engine bay, I must ask, did you get a look at your less ghetto oil catch can. 
While you were tooling in the engine bay, I must ask, did you get a look at your less ghetto oil catch can.
06-29-2006, 08:27 PM
#7
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Originally Posted by Yayomax
I feel your pain, at least partly. In my 2nd gen, the clutch slave cylinder went out twice in one year. Once while at a Thanksgiving dinner, and the other while sitting in traffic. The only gear I could grind it into was reverse to park. I had to push it forward, jump in and throw it in second. I ran about 3 red lights that night. While you were tooling in the engine bay, I must ask, did you get a look at your less ghetto oil catch can.
While you were tooling in the engine bay, I must ask, did you get a look at your less ghetto oil catch can. I did notice that the view gauge on the catch can had oil residue in it, which suggests to me that oil is collecting inside.
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