WildHare

Hello folks, newbie to the forum here. Don't worry, I have some mechanical knowledge..

Anyway, the clutch problems.

Behavior: soft clutch pedal engagement, almost no resistance until about 2/3 through travel. Easy to bottom out. Difficult to get into gear, more than normal resistance getting out of gear. These are less pronounced if the vehicle is moving.

... I get a very slow drift foward when I am in a foward gear.

I drove the vehicle for 400 miles the day the problem started. I was home after the trip for a few hours before any symptoms arose. The clutch behaved normally during that 400 miles.

So, I think it's a master/slave clutch problem. I replace both, and same symptoms. no leaks can be seen in the OEM flexible hose, the steel line, or at the clutch master or slave.

I adjust the clutch pedal adjustment for maximum engagement: Ie: I unthread the slave piston from the pedal until the master piston threads are only filling the tapped hole in the clutch pedal. If I unthreaded the master piston another 1/4 inch, it would come undone.

Well, now I get decent clutch pedal feel, but only till about 2/3 way down. More than this and I get stiff resistance, but it doesn't stop. If I press the clutch pedal that 2/3 of the way down, it behaves much like before: shifting into gear is difficult, takes force. If I press it all the way down, I hear a slight whine from the engine compartment. The sound reminds me of an idler bushing/bearing going out on another vehicle of mine.

So, this sounds to me like there is something wrong with the clutch, but what? I got the clutch with the vehicle, and don't know it's mileage, so I can't tell how many miles it has. It could be worn. HOwever, I thougth that when clutches wore down, the clamping got SOFTER not HARDER.

Any suggestions?

TIA!

Jeff92se

Did you bench bleed the ms? And did you bleed the block inbetween the ms and the clutch hose line? Brass colored thing.

WildHare

Everything has been bled.

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1992 Max SE

Matt93SE

my guess is the throwout bearing is going out on you...

how to check what you're working on right now:

1. get a helper.
2. have them slowly press the clutch pedal in while you are watching the slave push on the pluger and clutch fork in the engine bay.

the slave cyl and thus the clutch fork should move as soon as the driver pushes on the pedal inside the car. if it does not, then you have air in the lines. if it does, then the problem is internal to the transmission--- most likely a throwout bearing, but it's also possible the clutch is dying and some fingers on the pressure plate are bent/broken.

both will cause the symptoms you're seeing.

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WildHare

Yep. slave cylinder and the clutch fork move immediately. I've been bleding many brake lines lately; it's good to see that those skills transferred over to the clutch hydraulic circuit.

I agree that it's internal to the clutch and/or tranny. And I've done something that will force me to go inside. Note that I had adjusted the clutch pedal so much that I started to get strong resistance at 2/3 stroke. Well, I was going to take it for a test drive, and had the clutch fully depressed, ready to shift into gear. To my suprise, the clutch pedal would not push back. The fork has frozen in the fully depressed position. I double checked this with a buddy: frozen. I suppose that I over-adjusted the clutch pedal, and pushed some parts together. Let this be a lesson to all of you - ugh.

However, this is a blessing in disguise. My 2nd gear synchros are shot, and now I have an excuse to drop the tranny. If dropping the tranny, I'll replace it.

Now, to get rid of that rough idling. I'm thinking knock sensor replacement, and injector rebuild (I do have 192,000 miles). If still no go, then time for the coil packs (how much $$ does that cost?). If still no go, then O2 sensor replacement. Hopefully they are easy to access and remove. I've broken a few old Honda Accord O2 sensors.

Matt93SE, I'm thankful and hubled that you'd answer my post. I first saw your site a few years ago, when you were still in college. It's posters like you (with knowledge and experience) that keep these forums going.

Ad thanks to all who replied!

-Dan

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1992 Max SE

Matt93SE

for the rough idle, give the engine a good internal cleaning before you start spending huge bucks on coils, sensors, and other replacement parts. you'll be amazed what a $6 can of Seafoam will do.

As for the clutch, it sounds to me like the throwout bearing was damaged, and the last adjustment finally broke it. I've had the 'ears' break and bend on a cheapo throwout bearing before- pics are on my website somewhere.. but it's not unheard of, especially if you drive the car hard. it only takes sidestepping the clutch once or twice to damage some of the cheaper TO bearings. Thus, I recommend using only an OEM bearing (NTN brand. same one they sell in Exedy and ACT clutch kits).

what part of the country are you in? I have a customer recently that had a lot of transmission issues, and found a good private mechanic near his home in SC that specializes in manual transmissions and rebuilt it for a very good price.

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My website.

WildHare

I've had a friend praise seafoam up and down, along with all the stuff you read on the net. I took my vehicle to the local nissan dealer (3 blocks away), and they did a "top engine clean". Basically, a pressurized can of fuel/cleaner tied into the fuel rail. Run the engine until the can runs out. Helped some, but not much.

I'll try the seafoam.

Good to know. Thanks for the advice.

I'm in Pocatello, ID, which is about three hours north of Salt Lake City in Utah. I suppose it's remote from the rest of the country. I can almost guarantee there isn't a Maxima clup within 150 miles from me. In fact, Newsweek said Pocatello "is 150 miles from any place you've heard of". They're right.

Thanks for the offer, though.

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1992 Max SE