jmgeorge78

I was wondering if anyone could help me out.

I have a 98 Pathfinder SE with about 140K miles. It has been making an awful noise when I depress the clutch pedal. This only really happens until the car is warmed up and is very apparent when going through the lower gears. I went to a mechanic (and looked online) and was told it was the throwout bearing. The mechanic suggested I replace the clutch since I had such high mileage and the labor would be approximately the same as replacing the throwout bearing alone. He also said I could drive with the bad throwout bearing for a while as it would cause no other damage.

That's fine however, I broke down last night. There was a big pop and the clutch pedal was stuck to the floor. I thought the throwout bearing had completely gone and the clutch failed. This morning a different mechanic told me I had lost my clutch hydraulics. I will need a new master and slave as well as some hose.

So my question is: Does a bad throwout bearing cause other damage to the clutch system or anything else...transmission? If not, and this was just a coincidence, what happens when the bearing is totally non-functional?

Any other advice is appreciated!
Thanks in advance.

SPEEDO

take a look at your master & slave and the hose's, do you still have fluid in the master? The first guy is right, replace the clutch assy, you might even consider changing the rear main seal, and the fork boot. I know a Nissan clutch kit has the disc,plate,t-brg & pilot brg and runs about $140 the fork boot is about $8, I would bet your hydraulics are fine. let us know what happens!

96R50

Your pop may have been the failure of the flexible line that connects your clutch slave cylinder to the hard lines that run down the firewall from the clutch master cylinder. Several people have posted that their flexible line was in tough shape, I know that mine was at 150,000 miles. The heat shield that protects the rubber line from the passenger side exhaust pipe holds moisture that corrodes the end fittings. The steel end fitting on my hose was nearly completely rusted away. The hose was under $30 from Nissan and I think that it is available through Autozone’s web site.

If this or any other hydraulic line fails you won’t be able to disengage your clutch. If a broken line is the cause of your clutch pedal issue, replace the line, not the clutch master and slave cylinders. When I replaced my flexible line I did spend $20 on the kits to rebuild the clutch master and slave cylinders. That said, the original seals looked really good. I recommend re-building over re-placing. It is really easy to do and unless you have water in your clutch fluid that has caused corrosion in the cylinders or your cylinder walls are scored, new seals are all that you really need anyway.

As for your throw out bearing, replace it along with the pilot bushing, pressure plate and friction disc. The transmission needs to be pulled for every one of these items. You should also spend $35 to have your flywheel resurfaced and check your rear main seal. Most likely it’s not leaking but if it is, go ahead and replace while you have your transmission out of the truck.

I replaced my clutch set over two nights. I needed the second night because I had my flywheel resurfaced at a local transmission shop.

jmgeorge78

Thanks to both of you. It was indeed the flex line. I also have a leak from the slave cylinder. Unfortunately the flex line is on back order until the end of the week. Not much anyone can do about that.

As for the throwout bearing...Thanks for the advice. Not having my own garage (or anyone's to work in) I will be at the mercy of my local mechanic to get the job done. At least I am confident I'm not being taken for a ride.

Thanks again!

1997XETruck

See if you can order your parts from my buddy Joe at www.everythingnissan.com (call him at 1-888-216-5328) and let your tech. install them for you. He may charge a slightly higher labor rate, since his profit margin is labor rate + parts markup. . You'll also get the parts at wholsale prices!

I would stick to OEM parts for your clutch and flex line... someone installed an aftermarket clutch on my truck and I have to think that it would be much better with OEM parts. My throwout bearing (I assume that's what it is) is already making a very slight noise in cold weather (under 30F) and the clutch isn't that old.

Heath

__________________
1997 Nissan XE Truck - 133,000 Miles
1990 Infiniti Q45 - 91,000 Miles
2005 Infiniti G35 Sedan - 34,000 Miles