Hey guys I posted this in the general maxima discussion but now I think it would be better to put here. I'll just quote the info from that thread here...

Hoping for some good info on this. Thanks!

 

a good way to check is to put it in 5th (or in your case 6th i guess) at around 45 mph, and step on it, if the clutch is slipping, the RPM's will climb but your speedo wont.

 

Well, 6th gear at that speed is around 1500rpm, I wouldn't wanna punch it there. But maybe 4th around 40 would be good. That's about 2100rpm. But I did hit it in 2nd from about 3k to redline and I didn't notice any slipping.

If it doesn't slip, what else could it be? What else explains the clutch not grabbing and the engagement point moving up on the clutch pedal??

 

You can adjust the pedal travel with the threaded rod that connects the pedal to the master.

The pedal travel will move up a bit as the clutch wears. That's probably what you're feeling. Most other problems will cause the engagement point to be closer and closer to the floor till you can't push it in far enough to disengage.

If you want to check for a slipping clutch just try to bark the tires. If you can bark them you're pretty good. Usually when they first start to slip it will only be noticeable when taking off and shifting. By the time you can get it to slip while it's already engaged it's pretty bad and your flywheel is probably toast.

 

I'll give that a shot! thanks!

The thing that gets me though is that I swear it didn't act like this before I left! I'm really hoping that its an adjustment or fluid thing!

If not, I guess I'll have to do a Fidanza FW and a 350z clutch. On that note, does the 370z clutch work in our cars??

 

Went out tonight and did the 1 to 2 test and it held just fine. Also held when I was in 4th at 40 and got on it. Ran with a couple people tonight and no problems. It is definitely engaging later so I hope its just out of adjustment.

 

is the adjustment similar to a 4th gen anyone know?

 

As already explained to you above, clutch engagement will occur higher up with the normal wear of the clutch friction material. It's just simply a fact of life. The master cylinder (piston) pushrod adjustment is for obtaining the correct pedal freeplay adjustment only, NOT for adjusting the engagement point. If you lengthen the pushrod in a misguided attempt to "adjust" (lower) the engagement point you'll end up eliminating the pedal freeplay and probably cause a premature failure of the release bearing (because the bearing will be loaded/spinning all the time). (The normal, correct pedal freeplay is "about" 1/2 inch).

 

This is very true. Any adjustments you make to it should be small and always check for proper freeplay.

 

Thanks for all the great info as always, guys.

The only thing I can't figure out, is why this started to happen after I let the car sit for a week. It never did it before that and no one drove it or anything. Is it at all possible that something is out of adjustment or something??

 

Were you driving a different stick shift car for that week?

 

Nope, just a rental auto Mustang Convertible. I went through that in my head too. I'm not wearing different shoes and the seat is all the way back like it always is.

Went to the mechanic and the slave cylinder fluid was low, topped that off and it didn't help. He checked underneath the car and removed the inspection plate (didn't have him remove the crossmember so it was hard to see) but he said that everything seemed fine. He ran his fingers in there and they came back a little black but nothing excessive.

So at this point, I have to think this is either the beginning signs of a going clutch or a bigger transmission problem.

 

It would have helped if the info in your last two posts had been included in your first post. It appears that you could have a slave or master leak/bypassing issue. What to you seems like a high engagement point could be more like lost motion between the master and the slave. If you hold the clutch pedal down for a minute or so with the engine idling in neutral is it hard to get into reverse or 1st without clashing the gears? Keep an eye on the fluid level for now but it sounds like you may have a fluid leak which may be an indication of a master or slave cylinder problem. How much pedal free play have you got?

 

Probably unrelated... but my brakes have always felt squishy. I've had the lines replaced, fluid changed, and bled the brakes. Only thing I haven't done is changed the pads and rotors. Does the clutch and brake use the same cylinder? Like, the brakes work but I can be stopped and put the pedal on the floor without even trying. Possible cylinder problem?

I'll try the clutch in and car in N later when I go out today, but I have noticed a slight "clunk" going into 1st and 3rd recently.

And I would say the clutch used to start engaging about 1/3 of the way out and had a good amount of room before it fully engaged, but now it feels like it starts engaging like 1/2 way out and is short before it's fully engaged.

 

if you can put your brake pedal on the floor than you have a problem

 

Unfortunately, I'm not sure what that problem is and I'm wondering if it is somehow related to this clutch problem.

 

The brake system is in NO WAY related to the clutch. Completely seperate, you could remove the entire braking system and the clutch would work fine. At least until you crashed the car

I wouldn't worry about the tranny going bad either. This is most likely a problem with the clutch/hydrolics.

At this point I would flush the clutch fluid. It could be that moisture collected in it and sitting for a week made it worse. It may not help but it's cheap and easy. You should rule it out before doing anything else.

 

Ok, I am pretty sure it has to be something hydraulic related. When I pull a fast shift, it tends to grind and than drop in, which tells me that things aren't moving fast enough in the hydraulics. It also happens once the clutch engages, it feels like it slips but its not. Its just not grabbing right away.

So what are things that might need to be replaced? I don't know that a clutch flush is gonna help now.

 

I always thought the best way to test the clutch is to apply the parking brake and try to drive away. If the clutch slips, the rpms will rise and the car won't move. If the clutch is good the car should want to stall.

 

It sounds like you have a problem with diesngaging (grinding) AND engaging (slipping). Usually a hydrolic problem will cause a problem with disengaging. As you loose fluid or get air in the like you lose the ability for the clutch pedal to transfer the force to the clutch fork. That causes grinding because you can't fully disengage the clutch. Think of it like this. Hydrolics push it to disengage and the clutch springs force it to engage and not slip. With no hydrolics the clutch would be engaged. With no clutch the pedal would go to the floor and stay there. They work together.

If you're slipping it's usually the clutch material wearing out or the springs getting weak.

If your hydrolic lines are full of junk it could cause a problem with releasing and let it slip too. If the fluid can't travel through the lines smoothly it can have the effect of slowly releasing the clutch even if you dump it fast. Contaminated fluid can get worse from sitting too as the contaminates settle and clump up. Just do the fluid flush. You can do it in your driveway with the help of one person to just push the pedal. It'll cost you about $4.00 in fluid.

 

That works too but you can still stall the car unless it's really slipping bad. If it's just starting to get weak that wont tell you anything.

When I think of a clutch slipping I'm talking about not being able to bark the tires going into 2nd or 3rd. Normal driving will still be fine for a while. Spinning the tires in 1st can still be possible for a while but you know it needs to be handled soon.

 

The trouble with testing to see if the clutch is slipping is that if it was not slipping before it will most likely slip after! Clutch slipping test is a destructive test. If you think or know it is slipping, don't do any test on it but add coins to your piggy bank for the clutch replacement budget :-)

- Vikas