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Shifting issue just wont go away!

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Old 05-09-2004, 07:14 PM
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Shifting issue just wont go away!

i dont know what to do anymore. I'm so mad right now and cause money is tight every plan i make has to be precise and with low consequences.

My car has been having shifting issues ever since i had my clutch changed. It didnt happen the week i had my clutch changed but few weeks after. Basically my clutch pedal is harder than usual and when i hold it all the way down to the ground it still wont go into gear. I have to grind it into gear or sometimes cut car off, and put it in gear. The worst part about it is that its on and off so i dont know what it could be. I bled the clutch lines a week ago and a block after driving car felt like a dream. clutch pedal was almost as soft as my friends stock clutch and i could throw the shifter into gears instead of jamming it (Pascetter STS installed long time ago). As this week came to an end, the clutch pedal slowly became harder and getting into gears got tougher. Tonight, my pedal is hard like it was a week ago and i am really fighting to get it into gears. I dont know what the problem is and i dont know who to ask for help (besides nissan). The following things were recently done (clutch/tranny/shifting wise).

- Late December i had an Exedy Stage 1 clutch put in

- almost 2 months ago i had tranny opened and had diff bearing and speedometer gear changed due to leakage.

- blower put in about a month ago but this was way after i was having all these problems.

I have less than 5k miles on my clutch and on some mornings if not all i can hear a slight whistle when car is started. When i push clutch down it goes away. Its very hard to hear this whistle but in the morning when the environment is quiet and the car is cold u can really hear it. At night or after descent amount of driving u cant hear it. I spoke to some org members and they believe my throw out bearing is bad. My car was making this same whistle before my car was out of comission (before changing bearings, axle popped out of tranny). I have a brand new clutch, how the heck can my throw out bearing be bad already? bad install?

BTW my tranny rebuild, clutch install were all done by the same shop which has a great reputation but i wonder if they could have messed something up? I wont mention their name though cause more than likely they may not be responsible for the issue....

Anyway, here are a few things i think may be causing this problem which is ON AND OFF.

- bad master/slave cylinder?
- bad clutch pump? <~~ whatever that is?
- bad throw out bearing? <~~ shops fault on bad install?
- *open to any other ideas?*

thank u to whoever takes their time to read this. I have been struggling wit this shifting BS for months and i really want to get it fixed. I wish i had the ability to just take down my tranny look at the clutch and see if something in there is the issue but most of u know me and how well my installs are
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Old 05-09-2004, 07:28 PM
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You're probably pumping air into your clutch lines. Since the fluid isn't leaking, it just compacts in there and makes the pedal hard to push and makes the clutch partially engaged.

I'm thinking more likely your slave cylinder.
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Old 05-09-2004, 07:39 PM
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Originally Posted by iansw
You're probably pumping air into your clutch lines. Since the fluid isn't leaking, it just compacts in there and makes the pedal hard to push and makes the clutch partially engaged.

I'm thinking more likely your slave cylinder.
thanks for the quick reply ian. Im talking to u on IM as i write this but i forgot to also mention this:

My tranny has been leaking, not real bad until i changed my diff bearing. Before then my tranny was wet but never really dripped on the floor. After diff bearing was changed, tranny would stay wet and it would leak on the floor, not a few drips but a descent puddle. Enough to get the tip of your boot wet u could say. And the funniest part about it is that the leak just stopped out of nowhere. The tranny is still wet but leak has stopped long ago. What could cause this?

Also is it possible taht tranny leaked most of its fuel so this problem happens when it really gets hot? Like right now i'm having this issue. I guarantee in the morning when car has cooled down, the shifting will be descent and slowly get worst again. Thats what boggles me the most, its not constant. The sh*t is horrible one hour and the next (most times after proper cooling) the problem goes away temporarily....
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Old 05-10-2004, 03:57 AM
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maybe some of your clutch lines are pinched...or your slave cylinder...as you've mentioned...its hard to tell. Of course when I did my swap I had to get a new master cylinder, the other one just had no pressure, or not enough I should say
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Old 05-10-2004, 04:06 AM
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Originally Posted by meccanoble
thanks for the quick reply ian. Im talking to u on IM as i write this but i forgot to also mention this:

My tranny has been leaking, not real bad until i changed my diff bearing. Before then my tranny was wet but never really dripped on the floor. After diff bearing was changed, tranny would stay wet and it would leak on the floor, not a few drips but a descent puddle. Enough to get the tip of your boot wet u could say. And the funniest part about it is that the leak just stopped out of nowhere. The tranny is still wet but leak has stopped long ago. What could cause this?
They probably overfilled your tranny and it was leaking out past the drive shaft seals until it reached the lower level of the seal and stopped.

Also is it possible taht tranny leaked most of its fuel so this problem happens when it really gets hot? Like right now i'm having this issue. I guarantee in the morning when car has cooled down, the shifting will be descent and slowly get worst again. Thats what boggles me the most, its not constant. The sh*t is horrible one hour and the next (most times after proper cooling) the problem goes away temporarily....
My clutch did this until I changed the master cylinder. Cold clutch hydraulic fluid is more viscous and holds pressure better than hot fluid. When hydraulic fluid gets hot and thin it is able to leak past worn seals in the master (or slave) cylinder.
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Old 05-10-2004, 06:29 AM
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Originally Posted by Stephen Max
They probably overfilled your tranny and it was leaking out past the drive shaft seals until it reached the lower level of the seal and stopped.



My clutch did this until I changed the master cylinder. Cold clutch hydraulic fluid is more viscous and holds pressure better than hot fluid. When hydraulic fluid gets hot and thin it is able to leak past worn seals in the master (or slave) cylinder.
ok, some say its master cylinder, others say slave, and others say hydraulic lines.

Is there some way to do a final test?

Also my tranny leaked on and off for weeks. I must have lost a good 2 pepsi cans worth of fluid.
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Old 05-10-2004, 06:32 AM
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This is your test, like I said:

1) bleed clutch and tighten down all clutch lines - inspect lines for any blockage/pinching.

2) if the problem persists, replace slave cylinder.

3) If that persists, replace master cylinder.

4) If it still persists, change T/O bearing.

5) if that persists, replace clutch.

6) If that persists, replace car.
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Old 05-10-2004, 06:44 AM
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Originally Posted by iansw
This is your test, like I said:

1) bleed clutch and tighten down all clutch lines - inspect lines for any blockage/pinching.

2) if the problem persists, replace slave cylinder.

3) If that persists, replace master cylinder.

4) If it still persists, change T/O bearing.

5) if that persists, replace clutch.

6) If that persists, replace car.
hahahahaah

if it gets to option 4, does that mean there was an issue with clutch install? This problem has been happening before i was boosted and i never drove super hard on the car. I dont think i could have personally messed up the T/O bearing or even the clutch. clutch has like 5k miles on it. If it gets to taht point, should i just holla @ the shop that installed it?
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Old 05-10-2004, 06:46 AM
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the whistle you hear could be the throwout bearing, and the hard clutch coud be your slave cylinder. both of these things are common problems with our cars. the oil leak could be from the back of your flywheel which could also cause your clutch to mess up. man your bringing back memories of my day with a five speed and hp, so many problems. hope you get it fixed would like to see that baby run. i plan on hitting e-town on wed if the weather permits. hope my tranny will survive.
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Old 05-10-2004, 06:52 AM
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Originally Posted by meccanoble
ok, some say its master cylinder, others say slave, and others say hydraulic lines.

Is there some way to do a final test?

Also my tranny leaked on and off for weeks. I must have lost a good 2 pepsi cans worth of fluid.
A bad slave cylinder will leak fluid to the ground and your clutch fluid level will go down. A bad master cylinder won't lose fluid, the fluid just flows around the plunger seal. Same as with a bad brake master cylinder.
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Old 05-10-2004, 07:13 AM
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Originally Posted by Stephen Max
A bad slave cylinder will leak fluid to the ground and your clutch fluid level will go down. A bad master cylinder won't lose fluid, the fluid just flows around the plunger seal. Same as with a bad brake master cylinder.

ok, i'm going to follow everyone's advice. I'll inspect clutch lines then slave cylinder. Can someone knowledgeable in this area PM me their number or their Nextel direct connect . I know where slave cylinder/master cylinder are but i dont know what i'm supposed to do to to inspect clutch lines and whatnot and i think i'll get better results if i spoke to someone while doing this.

Stephen, Cmax, Iansw, show some love , someone pass me a number . BTW, be prepared to be annoyed, it takes 3 explanations to sink into my head
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Old 05-10-2004, 08:21 AM
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just hit you on DC..hit be back BISH!
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Old 05-10-2004, 01:04 PM
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Originally Posted by Stephen Max
A bad slave cylinder will leak fluid to the ground and your clutch fluid level will go down. A bad master cylinder won't lose fluid, the fluid just flows around the plunger seal. Same as with a bad brake master cylinder.
But not "two pepsi cans worth of fluid". My guess is an airlock in the master cylinder. The fluid leak is probably something different. Have you checked the master cylinder fluid level?
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Old 05-11-2004, 03:58 AM
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Originally Posted by DanL
But not "two pepsi cans worth of fluid". My guess is an airlock in the master cylinder. The fluid leak is probably something different. Have you checked the master cylinder fluid level?
Where did I say that his leak came from the slave cylinder?

It was already established that his fluid leak came from the drive shaft seals. If the slave cylinder is not leaking, that points to a problem elsewhere, like the master cylinder.
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Old 05-11-2004, 06:48 AM
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Originally Posted by Stephen Max
Where did I say that his leak came from the slave cylinder?

It was already established that his fluid leak came from the drive shaft seals. If the slave cylinder is not leaking, that points to a problem elsewhere, like the master cylinder.

a while back after a lot of the massive leaking my master cylinder was almost empty. Not sure if that was cause of the leak or if i just forgot to ever put liquid in there cause i never touched that since purchasing the car 2 years ago. I checked the fluids and they are fine now, still no leak though.

UPDATE on driving. I went to my car while talking to nupe500 on DC and opened my master cylinder cover and closed it and when i got in car, the pedal was soft as hell and shifting was a lot easier again. by the end of the day it was hard as ***** to get into gear but the pedal was still pretty soft. i'm going to bleed my lines and see if that solves the problem. If it doesnt i'll see what i have to do next. But its this inconsistent BS that worries me more than anything.
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Old 05-11-2004, 06:57 AM
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Adjust the clutch pedal. This is what I had to do to mine. There is a 10mm or 12mm bolt that you loosen and then turn the rod that connects the MC to the pedal until you get it right where you want it to engage at.
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Old 05-11-2004, 07:09 AM
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Yeah, as all have said, check the system hydraulics. I had a similar issue when my 3rd gen tranny was installed on my 2nd gen. After everything was replaced, it was still hard to shift. Turns out the pressure plate that came with my new clutch was defective.

However, based on your last statement, I'm sure that you got either a leak in your line, or your seals in the master/slave cylinder a fubared. I would do as Ian mentioned. Replace the slave first, see what happens, no good, replace master. If no good replace lines. Still have problem, then it's either defective pressure plate/clutch, or maybe a defective throw-out bearing.

S
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Old 05-11-2004, 07:12 AM
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Originally Posted by 96shogunmax
Adjust the clutch pedal. This is what I had to do to mine. There is a 10mm or 12mm bolt that you loosen and then turn the rod that connects the MC to the pedal until you get it right where you want it to engage at.
That could help, but looking at what's going on, I don't think that will completely solve the issue. He has mentioned how the pedal isn't being consistent. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it soft. I can see that maybe helping, but if he's having problems with air getting in the system, or some sort of defective hydraulics, then that fix would be feudal, and still suffer the same problem.

S
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Old 05-11-2004, 01:51 PM
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Mecca,

You definately have a leak...I would try bleeding once more both the master and slave cylinder...if the problem persists then you should replace the cylinders as maximase86 says...one could say the pressure plate but that wouldn't lead to change in pedal pressure would it?
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Old 05-11-2004, 06:39 PM
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Originally Posted by Stephen Max
Where did I say that his leak came from the slave cylinder?

It was already established that his fluid leak came from the drive shaft seals. If the slave cylinder is not leaking, that points to a problem elsewhere, like the master cylinder.
Ahhh, the danger of scanning thru a thread too fast. Sorry 'bout that.
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Old 05-11-2004, 08:12 PM
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Originally Posted by maximase86
That could help, but looking at what's going on, I don't think that will completely solve the issue. He has mentioned how the pedal isn't being consistent. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it soft. I can see that maybe helping, but if he's having problems with air getting in the system, or some sort of defective hydraulics, then that fix would be feudal, and still suffer the same problem.

S
Well I had the same problem. Pedal hard one minute, fine the next. Usually when im sitting still and car is running. After a couple of minutes the pedal gets really hard to press then. Then the clutch would slip b/c it wasnt fully engauged/disengauged. Im just saying he might want to try it out.
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