Hey guys, I got a 5spd swap done on my car 2 years ago... but there's this one nagging issue I just cant get rid of.

I had my mechanics complete the swap for me (I'm fairly certain they didn't follow the write up here and did it their own way) but it turned out fine and everything is great...except the clutch pedal is stiff as hell and I barely need to come off of it for the car to move!

I took it back to them..they said some weld had broke on the pedal and they fixed it... it was fine (still pretty stiff to depress... however it was like a normal 5spd 4th gen in that the pedal came up much higher before the car would go). But then a few weeks later... it went back to square one with the pedal being stiff to depress and I barely need to come off the clutch pedal for the car to go.


Any reason why this is happening? At this rate my left leg is gonna have calf muscles 3 times the size of my right leg, and I'd really like to have the clutch pedal act "normal" (meaning the pedal needs to come up more than what seems like 2 inches before the car starts moving.)

Thanks in advance!

 

What clutch did you use? Did you bleed the hydraulics recently?

And what do you mean by "I barely need to come off of it for the car to move" Does this mean that you have the pedal fully depressed to the floor to disengage the clutch, and only need to let a pedal up a little to re-engage the clutch?

 

ajm8127: I have an ACT stage 1 clutch with Fidenza flywheel. To be honest I haven't bled the hydraulics since the 5spd swap. Would that cause the stiff clutch pedal?

and that's exactly what I mean when I say i barely need to come off the clutch pedal... I have it fully depressed to the floor...and if i lift up like maybe not even 1/4 way... the car begins moving.

 

How much did the swap run you? I might wanna do this in the future. How much more fun is it to drive your 5 spd now?

 

That stiff clutch may be a feature of the aftermarket clutch. The pressure plate may have a heavier spring to avoid slipping under load. The barely letting off is usually a brand new thickn clutch but can be a bad/leaky or master or slave cylinder or air in the system. I am not sure if the slave cylinder on the maxima can be adjusted.

As ajm8127 said, air in the system will compress lots before moving any hydraulics.

 

EsQueue: If ACT stage 1 clutch's are this stiff.. this is nuts lol... It's a good workout to depress the damn thing lol.

When I did my swap i bought the master and slave cylinder brand new from the dealership so I don't think they are the culprit. I'll take a look into bleeding the clutch lines... the only thing that makes me doubt that was that my mechanic WAS able to fix the clutch pedal issue so that I can release the clutch and the clutch would disengage about almost halfway after release. He said some sort of weld broke on the clutch pedal and they re-welded it. But a couple weeks later it went back to doing it again (as if the weld broke again)

I told my mechanics that the pedal went back so that I barely need to come off the clutch and the clutch engages.. and they told me there's some kind of plate or something that keeps breaking that's on the pedal... any idea wtf that could be or why the weld keeps breaking?

Maxprivate: i did this swap 2 years ago and i got many parts brand new so it ran me almost $3000 incl labour. Diff is night and day... I also have a 4th gen 95 maxima that's 5spd (from the factory) and there's no way I'd go back to autotragic.

 

The reason I say that is because I had an ACT clutch kit but I can't remember the stage on my old h22a swapped civic. My calf would actually cramp if I didn't sit close.

 

Thanks for the input man.. at least I'm glad to know it may just be something that's the usual for the ACT clutch.

if anyone has input on the pedal issue that would be great

 

[QUOTE Maxprivate: i did this swap 2 years ago and i got many parts brand new so it ran me almost $3000 incl labour. Diff is night and day... I also have a 4th gen 95 maxima that's 5spd (from the factory) and there's no way I'd go back to autotragic.[/QUOTE]

HA HA I see, If my engine or tranny ever goes Im definitely looking into doing this. I'll run my car to the ground, so I wouldn't mind spending the money either. Thanks for the info.

 

Bump! Where are all the 5spd swap guru's!?! lol

 

Stage one shdnt be that stiff. But it cd be...idk cuz i have OEM clutch

 

perhaps they used a reman master or slave cylinder that wasn't properly rebuilt?
check for kinks in the lines?
I also wonder if "stiff" is really a driver preference, or a real clutch issue. has anyone else driven the car, and commented on it?
I also agree, a stage1 shouldn't be real stiff, but perhaps stiffer than stock.

 

Bro no offense but that post was 110% useless. You provided no helpful insight aside from what I already know and you are commenting on something you have no experience with since you say you DON'T KNOW since you have an OEM clutch.


As an update, I just got off the phone not too long ago with Dave Burnette and it appears there is a clutch pedal bracket that goes to the firewall that if it's broken, it could cause the issue I have. I will order that part and see if it fixes my issue regarding the clutch pedal (where I need to barely release the clutch pedal before the clutch engages.)

I'm trying to keep this thread limited to useful information only, so if anyone else has any idea why:

1) The clutch pedal is so stiff (I have not had time yet to bleed the hydraulic lines due to exams but if there could be other reasons please feel free to post)

Thanks!

 

Benstoked: I bought the master and slave cylinder brand new from the dealership.

Others have drove the car as well and commented on how "difficult" it is to depress the clutch.

 

hey guys...SO I have a 98 maxima auto SE that I want to switch to 5speed. I found all the parts for a crazy cheap price and all tested..friends dad owns a junkyard..total looking at around 1165 with labor. I just want to be sure all the parts listed in this link is all i need.. I understand somethings will be forgotton, etc. I also got the manual computer. The things I plan on buying new are clutch kit, all the small bolts, return spring, and motor mount? Should I also buy hydraulic lines new? Any thing else I should buy new..I'm only doing the swap if price is right, I'm only 19 so I don't have a ton of cash. Please let me know all your thoughts and If I am missing anything else. Thanks for your help, And if anyone is looking for an auto tranny with 165k miles on it, I will have one for sale after this swap...and any other auto parts you need that will come out via the conversion.
Here is the link with the parts listed:
http://www.vqpower.com/v2/articles.php?article_id=44
--Tyler.

 

Cashoit---You don't happen to be looking for a auto tranny from a 98 maxima are you?? I saw Worcester and I drive through Worcester way too often.Just a thought.