First off, since motovae has been down, use this thread as a reference.
http://forums.maxima.org/4th-generat...te-up-pix.html

So, I had lost 4th gear several months ago and lived with shifting 1,2,3,5 with not much drama.
Then I lost 5th, then I lost 1st and 2nd on the way to work and drove 14miles in just 3rd. I went on a business trip and planned on getting a rebuilt transmission before I lost all the rest of my gears. While on the trip I called DaveB and got a 5th gen clutch kit delivered to my house.

I tried to drive home after a business trip instead of getting it towed....well....that didn't work...I think I had a clutch problem




even starting messing up the shaft a little


So....I went back and forth with various people on this forum because in the FSM and Haynes it says to drop the cross member..and I didn't want to do it. I went out and got a $75 transmission jack from Harbor Freight, since I was doing this by myself....which I would also suggest.

I realized I had bought ES bushings for the crossmember from Cattman a while back (no idea why) so I decided to drop it anyway.



well hell..that made getting the transmission off the car way easier, if you have some extra jacks I would suggest doing it. I wouldn't suggest using hydraulic jacks though, my 3ton jack just doesn't have the incremental control that I would want to risk with the engine.

it actually tells you to use wood and partially use the oil pan as support...seemed ok actually

 

There is two little ***** on each side of the tranny...and each of them has the potential to **** you off because they get hung up....I was lazy and didn't drain the tranny, and all my shaking it to get it off dumped a bunch into the old transmission...but the rust on the inside was a nice touch


This also allows you to really inspect the radiator support properly.


I ghetto rigged something to soak the rad support in some Evapo-rust



which seemed to work, looked much worse than it was.

 

If you drop the crossmember with the engine, you also don't have to totally remove the transmission mount either.



So, you're supposed to emery sand the flywheel....ok....I guess it cleaned it up a little



I wouldn't be surprised if that exercise made no difference at all actually..but whatever

So, in the manuals it tells you to pull off the throwout bearing, but doesn't tell you really how to do it.



you have to disconnect one side of the spring metal guide, the FSM shows you what it is, but not how to disconnect it, and Haynes has some just about worthless picture in it.

 

Everyone b1tches about the hard to reach bolt on the shift linkage support, do yourself a favor and get one of these.



offset box wrench, $7-8 even if you buy craftsman.

and Evapo-rust works...use it or something like it to soak every nut, bolt, and whatever you can, makes life easier putting things back together.

 

So, go out and get a 5th gen clutch kit, but don't install it in the dark, I tried, but even with various hanging lights, I just couldn't see well enough to line the thing up.





and put everything back together...and you're done....

I left the cross member dropped when I installed the tranny, made my life easier on the install as well.

Everything else is just nuts and bolts (starting the shift support bolt is a pain, but ok once you get it started.

Of course, my biggest pet peeve with maxima's is how you have to install the driver's side axle, but that's another conversation for another day.

 

it's sad really, this was a FL car, and it's only been in the north for 6 years, there was no rust on it before that.

 

nice.. but please in the future DONT USE CINDER Blocks... thats what the rednecks use on their ford f150's right before they crash on their head..

 

it's a 4th gen....they're old enough to almost get into 'neck territory

what else would I use with those tiny jacks? I was paranoid about a hydraulic jack slowly losing pressure on me or not being able to lower it slowly enough...so I used those tiny screw jacks

 

Nice ... thanks for the referance to my thread.

 

I just realized you think I'm using the cinder blocks for support of the car, I wasn't.

The car was supported by jack stands, I was just supporting the engine with the tiny jacks and the cinderblocks. The transmission jack was supporting the tranny, and the hydraulic jack was there as backup. So, that's 4 jacks.

 

hey, your thread helped me get it going, especially since motorvae is down...from the looks of it, motorvae is gone actually.

 

what brand was the old clutch?

 

no idea, it says made in England on it, you want the part number, or whatever is printed and engraved on it?

Actually, you can see everything but the LC-(something) that's engraved where it's not showing in the first picture

 

I did drive 140k on that (blown) clutch after I bought it

 

this is GOLD thank you! along with JtzMax's thread I feel confident!

 

Hello there nice pics in this write up very handy.
Is the 5th generation clutch stronger or just easier to get nowadays??
Cheers Vee

 

You really should have fixed your leaks! that oil contamination is what was slipping youre clutch at first im sure, and the fly wheel ohh boyy should coulda would. Good job doing the mechanics yerself good man! gotta say i dont know what you mean by driver side axle install. What do you mean? i know i fcked up my snap ring on the way out of the old trans tho

 

Great guide with nice pictures

 

What leaks? Where were you reading that there was any? The clutch never slipped, the tranny started ingesting itself, it did not look terrific when the housing was opened up.

Regarding the driver side axle, more experienced people I know have lost quarts of expensive MT fluid because of that stupid snap-in design of the driver side axle. It would have made my life easier over the years if it just bolted in the way the passenger side does.

And shouda coulda woulda with the flywheel? You mean replace it with lightweight one? Who cares, it's not like I'm a drag racer, I don't need the engine to spin up any quicker than it does now, all I've ever done is autocross and a few track days

 

both actually

 

What about the pilot bushing? My imput shaft doesnt fit inside the one that came with my new clutch, nor did it fit the original bushing. Is there supposed to be a dowel that fits inside the shaft and bushing or is this just a bad design that wears the bearings prematurely?

 

The input shaft does not rest on a bushing inside the crank like other cars.