So out of nowhere my car started acting up today as I was leaving for auto-x. At first it was real hard to get into reverse and first, then as it went on it got harder to shift into other gears. By the time I got close to the auto-x event it wouldn't go into ANY gear, and I was stuck at a stoplight. I turned the car off, and it went into gear fine, so I started it in first with the clutch in, and the car was bucking like it was trying to go forward, even with the clutch in. When I revved it in neutral the bucking went away. I finally got it into a gas station, and just got it towed home.
I walked to the auto-x event and talked to Jason and Josh, and they said it sounds like a bad throw out bearing. I just put in an OEM TO bearing along with my stage 2 Spec clutch about 4 months ago....so I'm a bit confused.

Can you guys think of anything else that could be wrong?
This sucks.....

 

Sounds like you broke a spring off the clutch disk. Same thing happened to my 240sx.

 

have you also checked fluids to make sure some is in the system.

 

Since you will be in the market for a new clutch, let my highly recommend the 5th gen oem non key value clutch, The biting force is amazing. It will break my tires loose on a hrad 1st to 2nd shift at 3k.

 

the 5th gen clutch can stand up to the DE-K + 65 dry shot of nitrous?

 

that is a good point... Well whatever you get don't get another spec clutch. Between what i have heard about them for 240sx's and maxima's they are terrible. Talk to I30ds i think his friend had the same problem you are you having and he also had a spec.

 

Yo....
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=392285

in reference to
http://forums.maxima.org/showthread.php?t=390812

 

Very similar problem here...but I have an '04 with 26k miles...not my first MT either, only bought MT since first new car in '84. Fluid full, no leaks, and after two days of not being able to enter a gear UNLESS car off, now I can enter gear with car running. I am not driving anywhere at risk of getting stuck...ideas?

 

I haven't checked any fluids yet.....

BTW- I've been babying it lately due to gas prices....and it drove perfectly last night, some 5 hours before I drove it today. How does something break when the damn car is off??

Bijan- I saw that thread when you made it. I don't see how it relates to this situation. Are you saying you think a spring in the clutch went bad, and not the TO bearing?

Edit again- Still haven't sprayed on the new motor, but did spray a few times on this clutch before the old engine blew up, but that was like 4 months ago, haven't sprayed since.

 

Once the Spring pops off the disk it gets lodged inbetween the disk and the flywheel preventing engagement. Hence you cannot get it into gear. I am going to have to agree with bijan on it being your clutch destroyed or grenaded.

 

So here's a question for people who have had a spring pop out- what did you do to cause this to happen? Like I said I've been real easy on the car lately....and when I parked it last night it drove perfect. How does a clutch grenade itself overnight?

 

My clutch only had ~1500 miles on it when it happened. I honestly remember shifting into 3rd, and giving it too much throttle...and it bucked, but not too an extent where I think it could break that spring out.

Maybe that did it, maybe not...I drove it pretty easy after I got the clutch and flywheel in.

Bags had VERY similiar problems too this past week, he called me seein if I still had his tranny jack cuz he thought he was gona have to drop the tranny and change the TO bearing as well....I told him all about the crap that happened to mine, and since he's been driving NA for a while I doubted his clutch was shot....

Well, he decided to just take off the slave cylinder, push the clutch a couple times, put it back on...and he said it was fine after that.

Everyone knows these damn Maximas break and fix themselves sometimes.... but then again most times they don't.

 

Have you checked the clutch master cylinder to see if the fluid level is ok yet and the slave is working and pressing against the clutch fork?

If thats happening, then you have an internal clutch problem.
If thats not happening troubleshoot the master and slave.

 

It dpends when my spring poped out it was because i had down shifted really hard so i am not sure why yours would if you were babying it. If i were you what i would do is first check all the obvious things that everyone has suggested, clutch slave,master cyl, then go from there.

 

I agree. Check your fluids.

 

Fluids and master and slave appear to be good.....

 

Next step, drop the tranny and inspect the clutch.

 

Definately the TO bearing. My friend had a spec stage III (dont even ask why) on his 96 I30. We put it in with a non OEM TO and about 8K later the car started to get really hard to get into gear.

This only lasted about 2 days and when we were trying to make our way back home so we could pull the tranny to take a look, the car started jerking very violently. We pulled off the side of the highway and called a tow truck.

When we removed the tranny we saw that the TO had pretty much been reduced to dog ****. Pieces of it were every where inside the bell housing. Because the TO came a part, it caused the clutch disk to waer unevenly which got worn down to the rivets in certian areas. The rivets then fucced up the stillen flywheel pretty good.

Over all it was a mega pain in the @ss.

 

So does he know what caused it to happen? Does the OEM TO bearing not work well with Spec clutches? Maybe the SPEC To bearing is better somehow....
I'm not looking forward to seeing what has to be replaced. Do you think there is a warranty on the OEM TO bearing I got from Dave B. 5 months ago?
I can't think of anything that would have caused this....this blows

 

Sorry I need the edit my post... We installed the non oem TO that came with the spec III. In fact, when we compared the 2 during the install of the spec III, amd the nissan TO looked a lot beefier than the spec TO. To be frank, the spec III TO looked like a piece of **** compared to the nissan one. I always thought that if we would have installed the nissan TO, there might not have been a problem... after this though, it obviously would have made no difference.

 

I went out to the car today and realized that the clutch pedal felt lighter than usual, although it's not a huge difference. Hell, it might even be in my head, but I thought I would post....

 

I forgot to add that my I press in the pedal I hear a squeaking noise when I get closer to the floor.
I went out to try and adjust the clutch pedal, but couldn't find enough room to actually loosen the first nut on the CC switch thingy, and I certainly can't find enough room to loosen the nut on the rod leading to the slave cylinder....how do you guys do it?

 

I would check the clutch engagement point. You adjust it by loosening the locknut, then twisting the piston that goes into the master cylinder.

 

I Have The Same Fukin Problem!!!!!!!!!!

 

You'll notice that spec includes a beefier throw out bearing for their stage 3 and up clutches, our stock one is pretty weak in comparison

Your car sounds exactly like when my friend's 4th gen had a spring break off on his clutch. Its odd how yours happened without hard driving, which makes me believe it could be the TO bearing instead

 

How'd it happen to my clutch?

Went to start the car at -48C stepped on clutch, started car released clutch, warmed up engine, pushed in clutch, shifted into reverse, released clutch pedal, NO GO.

Got it pushed home. Dropped transmission. Inspected clutch. Didn't look like it was fully engaged. Found the head of a rivet from the clutch spring caught between two of the spring fingers, preventing the clutch from engaging.

Rivets are subjected to high stresses. Many repetitions of load leads to fatigue failure.

Other failures of the clutch which appears to have similar symptom.
The bushing on which the throwout bearing is mounted wears a notch in the input sleeve on the front of the transmission. Cause riding the clutch, using the clutch to hold the car on a hill, not having proper clutch pedal lash.

Neither of these is a TO bearing failure, but they sure have the same symptoms!

-bob

 

Just had the same problem with my A31 Cefiro. My TOB seized and bent the springs on the pressure plate. Amazing what failure to replace and $18 part can cause. An ORC 409D pressure plate =$ 230.

 

UPDATE!!!!!!
Although not especially good.....
Had the car towed to a local mechanic and was told the master cylinder was on it's way out. Had it replaced today and it works perfectly now, but there is still a problem with the clutch. The mechanic was thinking that if it had been a clutch problem all along, that me trying to drive it with the problem might have led to the failure of the master cylinder because of some reasons which I no longer remember.

Now it's time to order another damn clutch and TO bearing and get it towed to Tilley's shop, and find out exactly what went wrong internally.....I can't wait.....

 

Like i said before... its something to do with the clutch disc...more than likely your broke a spring.

 

I'll put 5 on the TO.

 

well id say for sure its either the TO bearing or the clutch disc. Either way youll have to drop the tranny to check for sure. Whichever one it may be, replace the whole clutch and TO bearing. Thats what id do.

Ive had a few customers with simlar probs, 2 of them turned out to be broken tabs on the throwout bearing and 1 was a broke spring on the disc. the 2 broken tabs came off an ACT and an Exedy clutch. The broke spring on the disc came from an Exedy. I have yet to see a broken spring or broken tab TO bearing on OEM clutches. Id recommend the 5th gen clutch as well...all the 4th gen guys ive been doing it for have all been happy and no complaints/problems yet.

 

UPDATE!!!
Finally got to Tilley's shop, dropped the tranny, and found a spring on the disk had broken out. Put the new Spec stage 2 in, and it drives real nice, maybe even better than the last one.....now I gotta wait another 1000 miles till I can spray I had to reuse the OEM TO bearing I put in 5 months ago since the one I ordered to a dealership didn't arrive in time. Let's just hope that Spec validates my warranty claim (I don't see why they wouldn't), and that this clutch is better than the last....
Tilley also threw in the T.E.T shifter bushing, and in the 2 miles I've driven so far it feels real nice.....I'll try and post a more detailed review later......

 

Good to hear you got it all figuered out. Want me to paypal that 5 to ya??

 

Just for the record this is where i called it.Yes i know i am just that good.

 

May i should paypal YOU the 5 then...