Sticky: (Official) 370Z Clutch Pressure (CSC) Failures

KoolKarmaJoe

I'm done with Nissan. Selling my Z after CSC & CMC repairs and swearing off the Nissan brand.

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"Joe"
AAM True 3" Duals / Whiteline Bars & Rear Links / Tanabe Sustec Pro / Mishimoto Oil Cooler / Michelin Pilot SS
ACT HD Pressure Plate / ACT Performance Disc / ACT Streetlite Flywheel / ZSpeed HD CSC on GTR Fluid.

Zbrah

I don't blame you. Good luck with the sale.

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tencent

Not sure how they wouldn't be successful. Looking at all the papers they gave me when they sold me the car. They have nothing to stand on. Their 2013 warranty booklet also gives them nothing. Those parts are absolutely covered.

Swindler

So has your CSC been ok? Also at how many miles were you when you installed the RJM pedal?

ColdFire

I had a failure i'm not 100% sure but Joe@Zspeed said it could be CSC and i'll explain why.
My car been sitting a year under a cover with battery disconnected since i'm away and i have trust issues handing over my 370z key to ANYONE .
After doing an oil change i drove my car around for a day or two and i noticed my clutch pedal feels spongy. It happened to me before and after driving for a while it goes back to normal usually. I was like " Yea man it's not a biggie"
Anyway after driving for few hours the pedal feel got super spongy and it won't go into any gear! I parked it waited for 15 mins then i tried slamming the knob into 2nd and it did. Kept driving home and got on the phone with Joe@Zspeed and he suspect it's CSC failure.

Ordered Zspeed CSC, Clutch and Master Cylinder. I'm still waiting for my parts to arrive from OH to Qatar... Shipping is a pain in the a$$. When you live 8000 miles away from the source.
After doing some research i've seen that symptoms of bad CSC would be leaking of clutch oil. Upon inspection the Master Cylinder seems to be above the max!! so i have oil for sure. I kept checking underneath the car everyday! I don't see a single oil dot.

However, when i turned the car on today to keep the battery charged. It seems that it engages in all gears! IT HEALED IT SELF! I haven't driven the car yet. since i ordered the parts. But what could it be? Any clue ? Could the system oil had boiled and it had air and now its fine? Hmmmm it's very weird indeed. I hate to take my tranny off if an oil flush or a new master cylinder could be the fix.
I've been thinking.... Letting your car sit for a year could mean that my clutch oil absorbed water and got contaminated. That's why i got the spongy feel and that's why my clutch fluid is above the max mark. is that possible?

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Jsolo

No loss of fluid suggests the master cylinder is failing. Seals within are no longer sealing and when you press the pedal, the rod just moves through the bore without generating any pressure.

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G37S Sedan 6MT, Eibach swaybars, Invidia Exhaust, Weaker Clutch Pedal Spring

For sale links

JARblue

That is definitely the symptom and the culprit. I'm on my 4th OEM master cylinder in 80K miles

It appears as though I will be the first to install a heavy duty master cylinder (RJM Performance) on my Z later today

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redline10000

Good tip! I am having the same problem. My clutch goes all the way to the floor whenever I drive it hard. But then when its driven normal its fine but still a little soft at times. Doesn't look like I am leaking any fluid from the CSC or CMC.

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AAM Axleback + AAM Midpipe | K&N Drop in filters | Eibach Front Sway bar |Whiteline diff bushing| Dunlop ZII

SkipinJupiter

Don't forget to try the cheap fix before you spend too much money. I had my clutch pedal get spongy and start to drop with no apparent loss of fluid in the hot Florida summer.
I took it into Nissan and they drained the fluid and replaced it with high temp fluid (for free as their recommended tech. Bulletin fix) and it's been fine for 2 years now.
The original fluid was subject to boiling in the lines because of its close proximity to the exhaust and also a good amount of residue from the action/wear in the slave.


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Prashiy

Add me to the list. Drove from San Diego to LA today. In the stop and go traffic near Costa Mesa, while being on the 2nd left lane, the clutch pedal got stuck close to the floor and wouldn't come back to release position. Had to turn on the hazard lights and maneuver around a couple of semi trucks to get to the closest exit. The level of clutch fluid was fine and it was not boiling. Interestingly, after an hour of being parked and cooled down I was able to pry off the pedal with my leg. I waited another hour in order for evening traffic to clear. Then I was able drive back home 40 miles with the clutch functioning fine. I'm afraid it would happen again. Will be driving the car around closer to home or dealer to see if can reproduce the issue. It happened all of sudden today. I baby the roaster even though I drive it fast. And I'm very careful not to ride the clutch.

JARblue

Put some new clutch fluid in it. If that doesn't work, you probably need a new master cylinder.

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onzedge

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Tommy Kaira|Momo|Optima|Hella|Hotchkis|Red Line|ZSpeed|Stillen|B&M|H&R

SkipinJupiter

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BlackZeda

So I have been throwing a lot of money into trying to mitigate the issues I have when it gets hot outside having done the following:

- Added a 19 row oil cooler
- Replaced the OE radiator with a CSF
- UpRev tuned

With these mods the engine temp issues seemed to be solved, but yesterday when it got into the 90s I started to experience a really mushy, unresponsive clutch where when I try to accelerate from a stop, it feels like the transmission is bogged down and the car just does not want to go.

I am wondering that even though I am not experiencing the "clutch pedal drops to the floor and doesn't return" symptom, that what I am experiencing may be the CSC getting too hot.

Would it be worth trying the Z1 CSC Elimination kit if you were in my shoes? I must solve this otherwise it may be time for the Z to go

JARblue

What clutch fluid are you using and how fresh is it? See Post #1528 (three posts above yours)

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