So for a month or 2 now after driving for 20-30 mins in my 6 speed 2k2 (103k on odo) , the clutch peddle starts to act funny , it gets mushy (mostly in the lower half of its travel), I noticed no slipping even under load (my load is around 3-3.5k rpm) ... Also some crunching noise when pushing the clutch to the end (the floor) making the shifts annoying,a buddy of mine was pointing that my clutch is going but I stil believe the hydrolics (and/or slave or master cylinder)....
Please chime in for that and thanks.

 

Check the fluid level . Then Try to bleed both of the points on the system and see if that helps

 

Interstingly , it's exactly how my clutch peddle is acting...

in my case I bled the system before and it was good for a week then it is back as it was...thinking it is the slave or the actual clutch assembley

 

If you bled it and it was good for a short while it may be getting air in the system. Do yourself a favor buy a new slave cylinder , master cylinder , and a one piece clutch line from race tech .

 

should I get Nissan parts ? slave cylinder is around 50$ (nissan part) , good ....But the master cylinder is around 100$...Can I get an aftermarket one ?

 

It's really up to you . Nissan dealer is ideal but not 100% necessary . If going to a advance , auto zone , etc try to get one of the better brands (usually cost a little more for a better brand) . And you should be fine .

 

ok thanks for the replies so far.....

I took the car for a spin today in a nice low traffic streets in this wonderful weather lol (I mean no rush hour driving and too much clutching) .. After 20-30 min the clutch peddle started to have my infamous "lower half clutch travel sponginess and springy feeling and noise"

So I poped up the hood open , opened the my window down and tried pressing the clutch peddle with my hands and then with my foot ... there is definitly some "springing" noise coming from the area around the master cylinder ... The sound (when at the lower half of the clutch travel) is exactly like a rusted spring noise ... So :

1.Should I invest in a Nissan master cylinder first and then , if that fails would try the slave cylinder ? this is important because the budget wouldn't allow for both if one is fine.......
2.I am thinking of getting the one piece clutch line .. How is the general feeling and experience about it compaired to the original OEM setup ? and how would the bleeding points be ? I assume this one piece will cancel one of them...
3.Is there a possibility of a faulty part in the peddle braket or mechanism before the master cylinder ? i.e above the clutch peddle.
4.Which one from MC or SC is more important to get from Nissan if I would order from Nissan and getting the other from somewhere else like rockauto.com ?
thanks.

 

If I were you just go to your local parts house by both pieces ( mc& sc ) and buy the one piece clutch line. I had a Toyota Camry and used the auto zone mc & sc I put 120k on the car till I got rid of it . Most parts houses have at least a one year warranty on parts so you should be fine

I can't speak from experience on how well the one piece clutch line works, but from the reviews on the org seem to be that it's well worth the 40 bucks . With the one piece line you will only have your bleed point on the slave cylinder.
In the next few weeks I plan on buying one for my max and I will be replacing the mc & sc at the same time.

With you saying that you bled it and it feels better than in time goes back to the way it was leads me to believe some where in the system is getting air . My clutch petal does the same squeak noise. Spray some wd-40 on it .

I don't think you need to go and get your parts at Nissan save yourself some money and get parts at your local parts house.

 

There's a way to isolate the slave/master for testing purposes, but it's a bit of a pain, and 90% of the time, it's the master cylinder or the line. Do you see wet areas around the master cylinder? Look inside the car around the firewall (where clutch pedal attatches to Master cylinder pushrod), as well as in the engine bay.

You should see wet areas, either on the line, slave, or master. If its the Master Cylinder leaking:

Buy the Master, slave, and line.

Install the Master.

Bleed the master/slave.

If your problem persists, change the clutch line.
If problem persists, change the slave.

If you problem is fixed, then return the slave/line and get your money back for it.


Ideally, you should be changing all components, this is a hydraulic system and when one component goes the others are likely not far behind. The cluch fluid should be changed as well.

 

So turner do you recommend the racetech 1 full piece line from MC to SC or should I stick to the nissan design and get a hose replacement ? I wonder why nissan didn't adapt the one piece line idea

 

Not necessarily. The master cylinder can leak internally giving the exact 'bleed down' symptoms the OP is describing. The fluid leaks passed the seal on the piston which relieves the hydraulic pressure proportionate to how much the seal is allowing to pass. No wet areas anywhere? I would agree it's the M/C.

 

Nissan uses the set up they do to ease clutch engagement. Replace the line with a one piece and the pedel will much stiffer.

 

Yes that's true. In most cases though, it seeps inside the car by the pushrod.

If he can't find a leak, then yeah I'd still call the Master Cylinder. Thanks for pointing that out.

I know the 4th gens were pretty famous for the line going bad, guys replaced them with a one piece SS line. I just want to make sure you check the line, etc before you replace any parts, if it's just the line and you're on a budget then JUST do the line and save your cash.