Nissan 370Z Forum - View Single Post - DIY: Replacing Your Clutch, Pressure Plate, Flywheel, and CSC (Zspeed HD CSC)

fillerbunnie · 02-06-2017, 03:43 AM

So I've just done this one on jack-stands... and I have few things to note:

Firstly, thanks to djtodd for this post, as without this I would have had serious problems ever completing this task!!

This was by far the biggest PITA mechanical job I have ever completed. Having done numerous complete engine and transmission swaps on jack stands before (4wd iron block sports cars too) I thought north-south RWD would be a walk in the park... Oh how wrong I was. I don't know if was the age of the car that has made everything just that little bit harder (rusted bolts etc) but even if I had a lift and 2 people this was still at least a long day's work.

In total it took 4 days over 2 weekends to get done on my 2010 w/50K miles...

*IF* (and I say IF, because I would STRONGLY recommend not even considering to attempt this without a lift, transmission jack and a weekend) you decide to DIY, here are some things to note:

1. In case I wasn't clear, I cannot recommend enough against DIY this if you have a 370Z that is anything but new from the factory and don't have a lift

2. This is not possible with 2 jack stands. You MUST have the car level to re-mount the transmission (so jacked up on 4 stands).

3. The transmission weight guestimate of 65-70lb's is inaccurate (Sorry djtodd, couldn't have done this without you but the weight guestimate was a bit off

. I initially attempted this without a transmission jack as I thought I could muscle 70lb in with 2 people. In reality this is easily a 140lb transmission - The empty weight is rated 130lb, so add transmission fluid and whatever other bits and pieces are hanging off it and you have one heavy lump of metal.

4. Going on from above, this is not possible without a transmission jack.

5. You must have a high-lift jack, mostly for access but it is essential if you want to remove the transmission from under the vehicle (though it is possible to complete this keeping the transmission under the car). A 480mm lift (19") hydraulic jack did not get the car even close to high enough to remove the transmission. If you decide to leave the transmission under the car, as I did, you will need to remove at least one of the downpipes to push it far enough back to work on.

6. Removal of the top 2 bolts on the transmission was not possible for me even with about 50" of extensions and a breaker, I was getting far too much flex in the long extension. It may have been OK if I had 50" of 1/2in drive but I was bending 3/4" Cr-V extensions and the bolts were still not breaking free. I ended up doing these with a 1/2" drive socket wrench directly on the bolt, and only exerting as much force as I could with my arms in the limited space around the bell housing. These bolts aren't actually on that tight, just burst a few veins in your head and they will pop off with just your arm strength.

6. If you have a tap & die set you can easily remove the old pilot bushing with a tap the same diameter as the bushing, just throw it in, tap away and keep tapping until it pops out. (I tried with the grease method first, but the bushing would not budge)

7. Do yourself a favour and buy an OEM brass (oillite) pilot bushing from Nissan, and save yourself the headache of trying to seat the cheap aftermarket ones. My Southbend-provided one didn't feel like oillite and was roughly finished (no chamfered edges, looked like a cheap bit of cut brass pipe). After having to hammer the hell out of it just to get it starting to go in, I realised the input shaft may well have the same issue seating inside it. I decided it was of questionable quality and bought a Nissan-OEM one (FAR nicer, all chamfered edges and came obviously well internally-lubricated in a sealed packet). The Nissan OEM one slid in with a few taps from a rubber mallet and provided no headaches for re-seating the input shaft.

8. Make sure you have a perfectly level car when you re-seat the transmission. Get the input shaft ligned up, then wiggle it until the input shaft splines line up with the clutch plate. Then keep wiggling until it seats against the pilot bushing. Once this has happened (you should have an even ~3/4" gap between the bell housing and engine the whole way around) you can either slowly and evenly tighten one bolt on either side (they should give you no resistance as the input shaft seats - if they do, something is not lined up) or if you have phsical space you should be able to just push/pull the transmission the last 3/4" into the bushing.

9. As a couple of people have noted, removal of the crank sensor is unnecessary - It is mounted to the engine not the tranmission and I can't see a way you could damage it, as reseating the transmission without it being aligned is impossible

10. Pay someone else to do this!!!!

02-06-2017, 03:43 AM	#56 (permalink)
fillerbunnie Base Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: AUstralia Posts: 31 Drives: '10 370Z Rep Power: 167	So I've just done this one on jack-stands... and I have few things to note: Firstly, thanks to djtodd for this post, as without this I would have had serious problems ever completing this task!! This was by far the biggest PITA mechanical job I have ever completed. Having done numerous complete engine and transmission swaps on jack stands before (4wd iron block sports cars too) I thought north-south RWD would be a walk in the park... Oh how wrong I was. I don't know if was the age of the car that has made everything just that little bit harder (rusted bolts etc) but even if I had a lift and 2 people this was still at least a long day's work. In total it took 4 days over 2 weekends to get done on my 2010 w/50K miles... IF (and I say IF, because I would STRONGLY recommend not even considering to attempt this without a lift, transmission jack and a weekend) you decide to DIY, here are some things to note: 1. In case I wasn't clear, I cannot recommend enough against DIY this if you have a 370Z that is anything but new from the factory and don't have a lift 2. This is not possible with 2 jack stands. You MUST have the car level to re-mount the transmission (so jacked up on 4 stands). 3. The transmission weight guestimate of 65-70lb's is inaccurate (Sorry djtodd, couldn't have done this without you but the weight guestimate was a bit off . I initially attempted this without a transmission jack as I thought I could muscle 70lb in with 2 people. In reality this is easily a 140lb transmission - The empty weight is rated 130lb, so add transmission fluid and whatever other bits and pieces are hanging off it and you have one heavy lump of metal. 4. Going on from above, this is not possible without a transmission jack. 5. You must have a high-lift jack, mostly for access but it is essential if you want to remove the transmission from under the vehicle (though it is possible to complete this keeping the transmission under the car). A 480mm lift (19") hydraulic jack did not get the car even close to high enough to remove the transmission. If you decide to leave the transmission under the car, as I did, you will need to remove at least one of the downpipes to push it far enough back to work on. 6. Removal of the top 2 bolts on the transmission was not possible for me even with about 50" of extensions and a breaker, I was getting far too much flex in the long extension. It may have been OK if I had 50" of 1/2in drive but I was bending 3/4" Cr-V extensions and the bolts were still not breaking free. I ended up doing these with a 1/2" drive socket wrench directly on the bolt, and only exerting as much force as I could with my arms in the limited space around the bell housing. These bolts aren't actually on that tight, just burst a few veins in your head and they will pop off with just your arm strength. 6. If you have a tap & die set you can easily remove the old pilot bushing with a tap the same diameter as the bushing, just throw it in, tap away and keep tapping until it pops out. (I tried with the grease method first, but the bushing would not budge) 7. Do yourself a favour and buy an OEM brass (oillite) pilot bushing from Nissan, and save yourself the headache of trying to seat the cheap aftermarket ones. My Southbend-provided one didn't feel like oillite and was roughly finished (no chamfered edges, looked like a cheap bit of cut brass pipe). After having to hammer the hell out of it just to get it starting to go in, I realised the input shaft may well have the same issue seating inside it. I decided it was of questionable quality and bought a Nissan-OEM one (FAR nicer, all chamfered edges and came obviously well internally-lubricated in a sealed packet). The Nissan OEM one slid in with a few taps from a rubber mallet and provided no headaches for re-seating the input shaft. 8. Make sure you have a perfectly level car when you re-seat the transmission. Get the input shaft ligned up, then wiggle it until the input shaft splines line up with the clutch plate. Then keep wiggling until it seats against the pilot bushing. Once this has happened (you should have an even ~3/4" gap between the bell housing and engine the whole way around) you can either slowly and evenly tighten one bolt on either side (they should give you no resistance as the input shaft seats - if they do, something is not lined up) or if you have phsical space you should be able to just push/pull the transmission the last 3/4" into the bushing. 9. As a couple of people have noted, removal of the crank sensor is unnecessary - It is mounted to the engine not the tranmission and I can't see a way you could damage it, as reseating the transmission without it being aligned is impossible 10. Pay someone else to do this!!!!