Clutch pedal too soft/no feel? Remove the helper spring!

Vaughanabe13 · 08-29-2011, 09:26 PM

So I'm outside trying to take out the old helper spring and something annoying happens. I pop the C clip off the bottom of the spring and the thing shoots off somewhere in the car and I hear a little metallic "dink". I honestly have no clue where it went, I removed the panel next to the assembly and pulled up the carpet and searched around in there with a flashlight but I can't find the stupid thing! What are my options here, has anyone found replacement C clips that I could buy if I can't find it? I haven't gone any further at this point, I don't want to mess anything up.

ChipsWithDips · 08-29-2011, 09:35 PM

You can probably find a replacement at any auto parts store:
E-Clip | AutoZone.com

Oh, and they're called "E-clips"

Vaughanabe13 · 08-29-2011, 11:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChipsWithDips

You can probably find a replacement at any auto parts store:
E-Clip | AutoZone.com

Oh, and they're called "E-clips"

Ahh, my bad. Thanks!

Vaughanabe13 · 08-30-2011, 09:21 AM

I have yet to hear from three people. I'm planning on shipping out springs over lunch so if you want me to ship them today please contact me ASAP.

*update* I shipped out 6 springs this morning. Still waiting on 3 people to contact me back. The springs will be reserved for you guys until you respond so for everyone else, please do not PM me with spring requests if you are not on the list. Thanks.

LMBmikeZ · 08-31-2011, 08:13 AM

To help releave some of vaughanabe13 overloading inbox.......

Pm me! I have lots of springs in stock ready to ship!

Vaughanabe13 · 09-01-2011, 08:26 AM

Alright guys, I finished installing my new spring last night. I thought I would share my experience and some tips that helped me.

First of all, it's AMAZING with the lighter spring. It literally feels like a different car. As a noob manual driver I can finally get the feel of the clutch and it makes hitting the engagement point extremely easy. I can't even tell you how much BETTER the car is without that awful stock spring in there, it's unbelievable. Everyone MUST do this mod, IMO.

That being said, I haven't seen a definitive DIY tutorial on here, just bits and pieces of how to do it. There were a few things that were unclear to me when I started removing the spring, and I have gotten several PMs from people asking me how I did it, which tells me there are other people out there confused like I was. So this is what I did.

1. Leave the clutch engaged for now. Simply remove the E clip on the bottom pin (pin closest to the floor). I ended up using an angled needle nose pliers and I spun the clip around so the opening was facing away from me, and then I used the angled pliers to grip both edges of the opening in the clip and then I pulled toward me to release it. It does take a little bit of force. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you use both hands to do this. I ended up flinging the E clip back into the car somewhere, and even after tearing up the carpet and some panels I couldn't find the stupid thing. For now I don't have a clip on there anymore but I'm going to measure and buy a replacement E clip.
2. After the clip is off, you need to depress the clutch pedal almost all the way down. At first I tried doing this with one hand while I worked with the other hand and that did NOT work very well. Because the space is so cramped, it really helps to have someone/something hold the pedal down for you. I ended up asking my girlfriend to sit in the driver seat and hold the clutch down while looking pretty. This made everything 1000x easier.
3. With the clutch pedal down, use the angled pliers to tap the bottom pin from right to left and it should start to come out. If it doesn't budge you might need some more lube. White lithium grease should do just fine. If it's still stuck, you probably need to adjust the amount you're pushing the clutch in so the holes around the pin don't "grip" the pin into place. Tap the pin until you can't make it move any further, and then use the angled pliers to grip just below the head of the pin and pull straight out.
4. After the pin comes out, set it aside and try not to rub the grease off if you can help it. Now you need to pivot the clutch spring assembly along the top pin. DO NOT REMOVE THE TOP PIN/CLIP, you don't need to touch it. Just grab the bottom of the spring assembly and swing it towards you until you feel it come off the black clutch piece. At this point, the whole assembly will basically just fly off toward the floor, because there is a secondary spring hidden inside the assembly that will push it off of the bar. This is fine.
5. Now take the spring assembly out, remove the stock spring and replace it with the new spring. Re-assemble everything so you can put it back in. The order goes like this: Small spring, "top hat" piece, so the spring sits "inside" the top hat, then the spring assembly with spring installed.
6. Slide the whole assembly, starting with the small spring, back onto to the rod, which should still have adequate grease on it. At this point you will need your helper to push the clutch back in. Push the assembly up until the bottom pin holes on the assembly meet the holes on the black metal piece.
7. Now you just need to slide the pin back into the bottom of the assembly. It's actually not too hard to do, but I utilized an AWESOME tip by another forum member. You should get some channel locks for this step. Now stick the pin in the outside hole and try to line everything up. Push the pin in as far as you can by hand, which won't be very far. Now put one edge of the channel locks on the outside of the pin, and the other part should go around the outside of the black metal clutch piece that is holding the assembly. Now use one hand to hold the assembly so the pin holes line up with the holes on the black piece, and with the other hand, squeeze the channel locks to push the pin in. You will need to adjust the holes back and forth until they line up perfectly and then pin will shoot right through to the other side.
8. After the pin is all the way in, release the clutch. The last thing to do is to put the E clip back on the bottom pin, which you can do with the needle nose pliers. Be careful not to let the pin go shooting off somewhere! I skipped this step for now because I need to go buy a replacement clip. The clutch assembly won't go anywhere without that clip, the pin is pretty stuck in there while you're driving. But I'm going to replace it just for peace of mind.

You will now notice that there is a little bit of loose play at the top of the clutch travel. You will get used to this really fast and honestly it's no big deal. The clutch is a tiny bit harder to press but as you're letting it out you can really feel in your foot when you get to the engagement point. I guarantee you won't go back to the old spring after you feel the difference.

That's it! You now have a car that feels completely different! Hopefully some of you can benefit from my mini-DIY.

Evil Sports · 09-02-2011, 06:10 AM

Just to add 1 thing to his DIY, use Zip ties to hold the clutch peddle down while working on it alone.

SPOHN · 09-02-2011, 07:00 AM

Or you can take a piece of plastic pipe of piece of wood (anything that has a dull end) push the pedal in with it then slide the seat up to hold it in.

WhiskeyHotel · 09-02-2011, 08:12 AM

And if you have some clutch pedal play here's how to adjust it out:

Clutch Helper Spring (last chance)

fisherg · 09-04-2011, 10:20 AM

I ordered the softer spring about 3 months ago and never got around to installing it until this weekend. I saw all the comments about how much better it was from other members and thought to myself "OK, if it really is that much better why wouldn't Nissan spec such a spring in the first place?" They would be stupid not to if it makes the clutch feel that much better. So I didn't think it would make that much of an improvement. Well... IT DOES. I can't believe it. The stock clutch action is 1000% better! Thanks to all involved in this project!!

pedZ · 09-11-2011, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vaughanabe13

Alright guys, I finished installing my new spring last night. I thought I would share my experience and some tips that helped me.

First of all, it's AMAZING with the lighter spring. It literally feels like a different car. As a noob manual driver I can finally get the feel of the clutch and it makes hitting the engagement point extremely easy. I can't even tell you how much BETTER the car is without that awful stock spring in there, it's unbelievable. Everyone MUST do this mod, IMO.

That being said, I haven't seen a definitive DIY tutorial on here, just bits and pieces of how to do it. There were a few things that were unclear to me when I started removing the spring, and I have gotten several PMs from people asking me how I did it, which tells me there are other people out there confused like I was. So this is what I did.

1. Leave the clutch engaged for now. Simply remove the E clip on the bottom pin (pin closest to the floor). I ended up using an angled needle nose pliers and I spun the clip around so the opening was facing away from me, and then I used the angled pliers to grip both edges of the opening in the clip and then I pulled toward me to release it. It does take a little bit of force. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you use both hands to do this. I ended up flinging the E clip back into the car somewhere, and even after tearing up the carpet and some panels I couldn't find the stupid thing. For now I don't have a clip on there anymore but I'm going to measure and buy a replacement E clip.
2. After the clip is off, you need to depress the clutch pedal almost all the way down. At first I tried doing this with one hand while I worked with the other hand and that did NOT work very well. Because the space is so cramped, it really helps to have someone/something hold the pedal down for you. I ended up asking my girlfriend to sit in the driver seat and hold the clutch down while looking pretty. This made everything 1000x easier.
3. With the clutch pedal down, use the angled pliers to tap the bottom pin from right to left and it should start to come out. If it doesn't budge you might need some more lube. White lithium grease should do just fine. If it's still stuck, you probably need to adjust the amount you're pushing the clutch in so the holes around the pin don't "grip" the pin into place. Tap the pin until you can't make it move any further, and then use the angled pliers to grip just below the head of the pin and pull straight out.
4. After the pin comes out, set it aside and try not to rub the grease off if you can help it. Now you need to pivot the clutch spring assembly along the top pin. DO NOT REMOVE THE TOP PIN/CLIP, you don't need to touch it. Just grab the bottom of the spring assembly and swing it towards you until you feel it come off the black clutch piece. At this point, the whole assembly will basically just fly off toward the floor, because there is a secondary spring hidden inside the assembly that will push it off of the bar. This is fine.
5. Now take the spring assembly out, remove the stock spring and replace it with the new spring. Re-assemble everything so you can put it back in. The order goes like this: Small spring, "top hat" piece, so the spring sits "inside" the top hat, then the spring assembly with spring installed.
6. Slide the whole assembly, starting with the small spring, back onto to the rod, which should still have adequate grease on it. At this point you will need your helper to push the clutch back in. Push the assembly up until the bottom pin holes on the assembly meet the holes on the black metal piece.
7. Now you just need to slide the pin back into the bottom of the assembly. It's actually not too hard to do, but I utilized an AWESOME tip by another forum member. You should get some channel locks for this step. Now stick the pin in the outside hole and try to line everything up. Push the pin in as far as you can by hand, which won't be very far. Now put one edge of the channel locks on the outside of the pin, and the other part should go around the outside of the black metal clutch piece that is holding the assembly. Now use one hand to hold the assembly so the pin holes line up with the holes on the black piece, and with the other hand, squeeze the channel locks to push the pin in. You will need to adjust the holes back and forth until they line up perfectly and then pin will shoot right through to the other side.
8. After the pin is all the way in, release the clutch. The last thing to do is to put the E clip back on the bottom pin, which you can do with the needle nose pliers. Be careful not to let the pin go shooting off somewhere! I skipped this step for now because I need to go buy a replacement clip. The clutch assembly won't go anywhere without that clip, the pin is pretty stuck in there while you're driving. But I'm going to replace it just for peace of mind.

You will now notice that there is a little bit of loose play at the top of the clutch travel. You will get used to this really fast and honestly it's no big deal. The clutch is a tiny bit harder to press but as you're letting it out you can really feel in your foot when you get to the engagement point. I guarantee you won't go back to the old spring after you feel the difference.

That's it! You now have a car that feels completely different! Hopefully some of you can benefit from my mini-DIY.

Installed mine today. Vaughanabe13 - Your instructions were very helpful.

DIGItonium · 09-12-2011, 12:14 AM

Not sure if this was posted, but this is the correct tool to remove and install these "snap rings":
Snap Ring Tool Set - Retaining and Lock Ring Pliers - Pliers - 4YP48 : Grainger Industrial Supply

Perhaps Harbor Freight might have something

B&W_Evader · 09-12-2011, 11:46 AM

Got mine in the mail on Friday. Thanks Mike!

Canada Post Service LOL shoulda known it would take a while.

Sent something from SF Bay area to Canada once, didn't get delivered and came back like 2 or 3 months later. I think I calculated the speed of the package at 1 MPH LOL. Coulda walked faster than that Canada Post.

LMBmikeZ · 09-13-2011, 05:05 AM

Lol thank B&W glad you got yours! I have ha a couple people pm me asking how long. Sorry guys as b&w said I am shipping them with Canada post, as I am in Canada lol. The border always seems to add acouple days to shipments when going out of country. It's not like a national shipment where you get it in 3-7 days. For different country shipping they generally say 7-10 days unless you pay 3x as much then you get the 3-7 day........

Hope everyone gets there spring soon! Post comments and or reviews here or in my thread in my signature, once you have installed and had a chance to try it out!

Thanks
Mike

Sagi · 09-13-2011, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LMBmikeZ

Lol thank B&W glad you got yours! I have ha a couple people pm me asking how long. Sorry guys as b&w said I am shipping them with Canada post, as I am in Canada lol. The border always seems to add acouple days to shipments when going out of country. It's not like a national shipment where you get it in 3-7 days. For different country shipping they generally say 7-10 days unless you pay 3x as much then you get the 3-7 day........

Hope everyone gets there spring soon! Post comments and or reviews here or in my thread in my signature, once you have installed and had a chance to try it out!

Thanks
Mike

I just got yours today.. thanks Mike! I won't be able to put it on until the next couple weeks though. But I'll be sure to post a review once I get it in.

08-29-2011, 09:26 PM	#286 (permalink)
Vaughanabe13 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 387 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z M6 Rep Power: 14	So I'm outside trying to take out the old helper spring and something annoying happens. I pop the C clip off the bottom of the spring and the thing shoots off somewhere in the car and I hear a little metallic "dink". I honestly have no clue where it went, I removed the panel next to the assembly and pulled up the carpet and searched around in there with a flashlight but I can't find the stupid thing! What are my options here, has anyone found replacement C clips that I could buy if I can't find it? I haven't gone any further at this point, I don't want to mess anything up. __________________ 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black.

08-30-2011, 09:21 AM	#289 (permalink)
Vaughanabe13 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 387 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z M6 Rep Power: 14	I have yet to hear from three people. I'm planning on shipping out springs over lunch so if you want me to ship them today please contact me ASAP. update I shipped out 6 springs this morning. Still waiting on 3 people to contact me back. The springs will be reserved for you guys until you respond so for everyone else, please do not PM me with spring requests if you are not on the list. Thanks. __________________ 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black. Last edited by Vaughanabe13; 08-30-2011 at 12:58 PM.

08-31-2011, 08:13 AM	#290 (permalink)
LMBmikeZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 12,237 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 10350	To help releave some of vaughanabe13 overloading inbox....... Pm me! I have lots of springs in stock ready to ship! __________________ CUSTOM NISMO \| BERK \| H&R \| STANCE \| SPL everything \| EVO-R \| 34 Setrab \| WHITELINE \| Redline \| Carkitcompany \| Zspeed \| UpRev \| SEIBON

09-01-2011, 08:26 AM	#291 (permalink)
Vaughanabe13 Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Iowa Posts: 387 Drives: 09 Nissan 370Z M6 Rep Power: 14	Alright guys, I finished installing my new spring last night. I thought I would share my experience and some tips that helped me. First of all, it's AMAZING with the lighter spring. It literally feels like a different car. As a noob manual driver I can finally get the feel of the clutch and it makes hitting the engagement point extremely easy. I can't even tell you how much BETTER the car is without that awful stock spring in there, it's unbelievable. Everyone MUST do this mod, IMO. That being said, I haven't seen a definitive DIY tutorial on here, just bits and pieces of how to do it. There were a few things that were unclear to me when I started removing the spring, and I have gotten several PMs from people asking me how I did it, which tells me there are other people out there confused like I was. So this is what I did. 1. Leave the clutch engaged for now. Simply remove the E clip on the bottom pin (pin closest to the floor). I ended up using an angled needle nose pliers and I spun the clip around so the opening was facing away from me, and then I used the angled pliers to grip both edges of the opening in the clip and then I pulled toward me to release it. It does take a little bit of force. I HIGHLY RECOMMEND you use both hands to do this. I ended up flinging the E clip back into the car somewhere, and even after tearing up the carpet and some panels I couldn't find the stupid thing. For now I don't have a clip on there anymore but I'm going to measure and buy a replacement E clip. 2. After the clip is off, you need to depress the clutch pedal almost all the way down. At first I tried doing this with one hand while I worked with the other hand and that did NOT work very well. Because the space is so cramped, it really helps to have someone/something hold the pedal down for you. I ended up asking my girlfriend to sit in the driver seat and hold the clutch down while looking pretty. This made everything 1000x easier. 3. With the clutch pedal down, use the angled pliers to tap the bottom pin from right to left and it should start to come out. If it doesn't budge you might need some more lube. White lithium grease should do just fine. If it's still stuck, you probably need to adjust the amount you're pushing the clutch in so the holes around the pin don't "grip" the pin into place. Tap the pin until you can't make it move any further, and then use the angled pliers to grip just below the head of the pin and pull straight out. 4. After the pin comes out, set it aside and try not to rub the grease off if you can help it. Now you need to pivot the clutch spring assembly along the top pin. DO NOT REMOVE THE TOP PIN/CLIP, you don't need to touch it. Just grab the bottom of the spring assembly and swing it towards you until you feel it come off the black clutch piece. At this point, the whole assembly will basically just fly off toward the floor, because there is a secondary spring hidden inside the assembly that will push it off of the bar. This is fine. 5. Now take the spring assembly out, remove the stock spring and replace it with the new spring. Re-assemble everything so you can put it back in. The order goes like this: Small spring, "top hat" piece, so the spring sits "inside" the top hat, then the spring assembly with spring installed. 6. Slide the whole assembly, starting with the small spring, back onto to the rod, which should still have adequate grease on it. At this point you will need your helper to push the clutch back in. Push the assembly up until the bottom pin holes on the assembly meet the holes on the black metal piece. 7. Now you just need to slide the pin back into the bottom of the assembly. It's actually not too hard to do, but I utilized an AWESOME tip by another forum member. You should get some channel locks for this step. Now stick the pin in the outside hole and try to line everything up. Push the pin in as far as you can by hand, which won't be very far. Now put one edge of the channel locks on the outside of the pin, and the other part should go around the outside of the black metal clutch piece that is holding the assembly. Now use one hand to hold the assembly so the pin holes line up with the holes on the black piece, and with the other hand, squeeze the channel locks to push the pin in. You will need to adjust the holes back and forth until they line up perfectly and then pin will shoot right through to the other side. 8. After the pin is all the way in, release the clutch. The last thing to do is to put the E clip back on the bottom pin, which you can do with the needle nose pliers. Be careful not to let the pin go shooting off somewhere! I skipped this step for now because I need to go buy a replacement clip. The clutch assembly won't go anywhere without that clip, the pin is pretty stuck in there while you're driving. But I'm going to replace it just for peace of mind. You will now notice that there is a little bit of loose play at the top of the clutch travel. You will get used to this really fast and honestly it's no big deal. The clutch is a tiny bit harder to press but as you're letting it out you can really feel in your foot when you get to the engagement point. I guarantee you won't go back to the old spring after you feel the difference. That's it! You now have a car that feels completely different! Hopefully some of you can benefit from my mini-DIY. __________________ 2009 Nissan 370Z Touring, w/sport, 6MT, chicane yellow/black. Last edited by Vaughanabe13; 09-01-2011 at 08:34 AM.

09-02-2011, 06:10 AM	#292 (permalink)
Evil Sports Base Member Join Date: May 2011 Location: Mass Posts: 187 Drives: 11-370z-Blue-M6-ST Rep Power: 14	Just to add 1 thing to his DIY, use Zip ties to hold the clutch peddle down while working on it alone. __________________ My current Rice stable, Lexus RX 330, Nissan 370z, Honda Aquatrax turbo, Yamaha 212SS

08-29-2011, 09:35 PM	#287 (permalink)
ChipsWithDips Enthusiast Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 279 Drives: '11 Gunmetal 370Z MT Rep Power: 14	You can probably find a replacement at any auto parts store: E-Clip \| AutoZone.com Oh, and they're called "E-clips"

09-02-2011, 07:00 AM	#293 (permalink)
SPOHN A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Covington, GA Age: 45 Posts: 14,844 Drives: Waiting on next Z Rep Power: 221	Or you can take a piece of plastic pipe of piece of wood (anything that has a dull end) push the pedal in with it then slide the seat up to hold it in. __________________

09-02-2011, 08:12 AM	#294 (permalink)
WhiskeyHotel Track Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 530 Drives: 2015 GT-R PW Premium Rep Power: 17	And if you have some clutch pedal play here's how to adjust it out: Clutch Helper Spring (last chance)

09-04-2011, 10:20 AM	#295 (permalink)
fisherg Base Member Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 90 Drives: 10 370Z SR M6 Rep Power: 20	Amazing difference! I ordered the softer spring about 3 months ago and never got around to installing it until this weekend. I saw all the comments about how much better it was from other members and thought to myself "OK, if it really is that much better why wouldn't Nissan spec such a spring in the first place?" They would be stupid not to if it makes the clutch feel that much better. So I didn't think it would make that much of an improvement. Well... IT DOES. I can't believe it. The stock clutch action is 1000% better! Thanks to all involved in this project!! __________________ THE OPEN ROAD IS WAITING.....Solid Red Touring 370ZR w/Navi

09-12-2011, 12:14 AM	#297 (permalink)
DIGItonium A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Kansas Posts: 3,800 Drives: 09 Z34-TT 6MT Rep Power: 42	Not sure if this was posted, but this is the correct tool to remove and install these "snap rings": Snap Ring Tool Set - Retaining and Lock Ring Pliers - Pliers - 4YP48 : Grainger Industrial Supply Perhaps Harbor Freight might have something __________________

09-12-2011, 11:46 AM	#298 (permalink)
B&W_Evader Track Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: CA Posts: 972 Drives: slower than before Rep Power: 387	Thanks LMBMikeZ Got mine in the mail on Friday. Thanks Mike! Canada Post Service LOL shoulda known it would take a while. Sent something from SF Bay area to Canada once, didn't get delivered and came back like 2 or 3 months later. I think I calculated the speed of the package at 1 MPH LOL. Coulda walked faster than that Canada Post.

09-13-2011, 05:05 AM	#299 (permalink)
LMBmikeZ A True Z Fanatic Join Date: May 2010 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 12,237 Drives: 40th Rep Power: 10350	Lol thank B&W glad you got yours! I have ha a couple people pm me asking how long. Sorry guys as b&w said I am shipping them with Canada post, as I am in Canada lol. The border always seems to add acouple days to shipments when going out of country. It's not like a national shipment where you get it in 3-7 days. For different country shipping they generally say 7-10 days unless you pay 3x as much then you get the 3-7 day........ Hope everyone gets there spring soon! Post comments and or reviews here or in my thread in my signature, once you have installed and had a chance to try it out! Thanks Mike __________________ CUSTOM NISMO \| BERK \| H&R \| STANCE \| SPL everything \| EVO-R \| 34 Setrab \| WHITELINE \| Redline \| Carkitcompany \| Zspeed \| UpRev \| SEIBON

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