Hi, My clutch is beginning to slip in 5th gear.

I have a 2001 Maxima, made in 12/00.

Any recommendations on replacement clutch brand?? Sachs, etc.

Any brand to avoid, & is it OK to buy a clutch kit with thrust bearing, pressure plate, plate, pilot bearing, and alignment tool all in one?

I'm not looking for high performance, but would desire OEM quality, and don't want to do it over.

I was going to inspect the flywheel and roughen it if it's OK, or buy a new dual mass flywheel if not.

Just want to do it right the first time, and would appreciate some advice from you who have been here already.

thanks in advance,

Paul

 

There's are exceptionally good write-ups here:

Clutch Replacement
Clutch Bleed
Hose

 

Those are excellent write-ups on clutch replacement! But he paid $388 for the individual components from a dealer.

Could he have obtained the same quality parts in a kit from Sachs or other brand?

 

Dude, what is your hard-on for Sachs? Spend the money and purchase a quality OE clutch. Check the GROUP DEALS section under the CLASSIFIEDS area...good deals for quality products from reputable vendors there

 

i prefer southbend clutches verry good quality clutch, holds power like you you wouldnt believe... im waiting for my clutch to go before i order mine, but i have a few freinds i go to school with that use south bend thats actually how i found out about them, one is used in a pulling truck, the other in an r32 vdub

 

Thanks for the tip. Guess I'll try exedy. SouthBend sounds awesome though.

 

Just grab a new clutch kit from Dave B if you want OEM. Likely the cheapest you'll find. Also, you don't have a dual mass flywheel.

Yes, just buy a whole kit; pressure plate, clutch disk, throwout bearing (and an alignment tool if you don't already have one). Pilot bearing isn't necessary.

Are you doing this yourself, or having a shop do it?

 

pmohr is correct that I don't have a dual mass flywheel.

I guess that means it can be machined on a lathe, but the manual says to replace it if needed.

So I'm wondering what to do:
a) Have it machined - are there any issues?
b.) Sand it to get the right texture and ignore the machining & hope there is no chatter. :-(
c.) Buy a replacement flywheel and hope that it is well balanced on the engine.
d.) have a shop do it.

a.) sounds the best if possible.
b.) sounds the easiest - but dumb.
c.) sounds risky, costly, and hard
d.) sounds like I would miss the satisfaction of a weekend wrench and about $1000 from my pocket

Any advice would be appreciated.

Paul

 

No issues getting it machined (unlike the dual mass crap). Now would be a time to go for an aftermarket light weight flywheel if you've ever looked into it.

 

Thanks Pmohr,

An answer while still editing the post. I'm not looking to upgrade the car as much as keep it running well. Besides - it's the family car.

I'm hoping to mark the position of the flywheel, remove it while leaving the starter ring gear attached, have the assembly machined, and slap it right back in the same orientation. Would hate to have any chatter or have to go back in before another 8 years.

Paul

 

Why would you mark the position? In relation to what? The flywheel doesn't have a specific alignment required to bolt it up, or have it work; that's only on the VQ35s. The ring gear is welded on to the flywheel, so you have to leave it attached.

Are you wanting to do this just so everything's balanced? Unless it's a toddler running the lathe, the flywheel will come out with the same balance as when you brought it in,which should be just fine regardless of which way you bolt it up.

 

I replaced the flywheel on my 66 bug once and it seemed like it was out of balance when done. I was under the impression that they balanced the assembled crank and flywheel by drilling it after assembly.

Maybe the machining and balance got more precise in 40 years.

 

Yea, the VQ is balanced independantly of the flywheel or flexplate. No need to worry about flywheel alignment.

 

awesome!

Thank you!

 

Was thinking of wrenching on our 2001 Maxima to replace the clutch today when I realized that I might not have everything I need. And since it's our family car, I better get it sorted before diving in.

When removing the axles, I probably need new oil seals to reinstall.

And the car is like 8 years old - maybe new CV boots would be nice.

Anything else I'm forgetting?

And, can I really remove the flywheel with out something to keep the engine from turning. On my VW I had a jig that clamped the flywheel using the gears on the starter ring. It had a huge nut tightened to 300 ft-lbs Ughh!

Is this simpler on the maxima - what torque on those bolts?

Also - what's this about a sensor plate?? Is that part of the flywheel, and do I need to keep it aligned with the crank in a certain way?

Again - advice is greatly appreciated

Paul

 

You don't need new axle seals, but if you wanted to change them anyway, now'd definitely the time.

No need for new boots unless the old ones have failed. Just an added expense, risk creating a problem where there wasn't one before.

Flywheel bolts are only ~61-69 ft/lbs, nothing too bad. Eventually I'm going to get around to making a flywheel stop, but what I do (when I don't have an impact) is take a pry bar, set in one of the teeth in the front of the ring gear, then jam the handle against the ground. Use a breaker bar on the flywheel bolts, and the pry bar will keep the flywheel from turning. To torque them down, do it the opposite way.

The timing ring bolts to the back of the flywheel, and doesn't have a specific alignment. It's just a bunch of teeth that the CKPS POS reads to determine where the crank is (in conjunction with the CKPS REF). Here's a pic of it:


Just be careful with it, don't bend any of the teeth or let it get damaged in any way.

Also, while you have the trans down, sand down the mating surface between the bellhousing and the block. This is the how the trans and starter are grounded (primarily) and will help prevent starting issues down the road.

 

Thanks again Pmohr.

I'm getting the seals and boots just in case. The old boots haven't failed but the rubber is getting hard. Will evaluate the quality of the replacements and likely leave the original alone.