Never had this issue...... But http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...new-issue.html this is my issue, reinforcing the idea that this clutch/tranny setup is not up to par for tye car its in, they skimped where it counts..... Such a shame.

Welps... the slight notchiness came back, so I might have them bleed and realign the shift plate when the car returns to service.

I tend to park the car in gear. I notice it's intermittently difficult to get out of gear when the car is parked on a sloped driveway. What give?

my stock clutch is back in for now with the upgraded CSC and flywheel, car drives normal again and has had no issues getting into 1st and no lurching. Only thing i can assume is the clutch disc was dragging/not releasing all the way. We'll see what southbend has to say.

have the lurch. 16k nismo. bolt on car....

scratched 2nd the first time the other night..... car and everyyhing was at op temp.

this drivetrain is ruining this car for me

I'm glad I started this thread, I knew I couldnt be the only one feeling this way.

I drove my friends 11' GT yesterday damn ours suck. good thing it can holds power!!

Interesting. It's pretty unfortunate that other than this slight nagging issue that comes and goes, it's pretty nice 85% of the time.

Sadly this is also what ultimately pushed me over the edge to get rid of her and get a 5.0. I thought our z trannies were SUPPOSED to be this way. Then I go test drive a 5.0, per everyone's recommendations. And voila. I thought to myself so THAT'S how transmissions SHOULD be. It was tight, quiet, and refined. And the clutch was fantastic. I didn't realize how bad our trannies were till I drove other cars.

Yeah Nissan really screwed up on this car with the tranny :shakes head:. It's my first MT so but not the first to drive. I think I didn't notice anything because I was so happy with my first sport car lol :roflpuke2:. I really don't regret buying the car(maybe sometime when I'm in a bad mood), but if I went back I might not buy the Z :wtf2: and stick with my other three options, STI, EVO, supra, and the GT.

Nothing new... I had an '03 that needed a replacement transmission because of grinding. It was great for a few months, but then it became real notchy to the point it hurts my wrists. It also lurches in 1st.

When I got the 370Z, I did some reading about failed slave cylinders for the '07+ 350Z. There were other models that had the same issue as well. Master cylinder failures is no surprise either. I don't get what's so hard about having a decent clutch hydraulic system especially from a car that's starting to touch $40k.

Speaking of which, any progress on an upgraded master cylinder?

Yeah the Z was not my first sports/sporty car. I've had an Integra, RX7 TT, G35, and then the Z. The Z was by far the worst tranny. I have NO idea why. The G35 I had, was a 2003, it was notchy, but it was in no way like this Z. I don't know how Nissan can revert backwards... makes no sense. Makes me wonder if I had a car that had tranny issues? Mine didn't have a lurch at all, but just that rattly, grinding sound that was so annoying, esp when driving with windows down. I heard it all the time when slowing to a stop or starting to move from a stop. After much research and talking to fellow Z owners, I guess that was supposed to be "normal".

When I had buddies in the car, they'd say, "what is THAT sound?". I'd say, oh it's normal!!! They say, "Oh really???? ummm ok..." Kindda embarassing... :shakes head:

I agree Digi... kindda same thing with an oil cooler. Add it on, even as an option, I'll pay for it.

There's nothing really wrong with the tranny, the problem is the slave. Nissan made the switch in 2007 to the CSC instead of the traditional slave with clutch fork to save money. There has been nothing but problems ever since. Nissan is doing a pretty decent job of sweeping the problem under the rug to avoid a recall, then again a recall usually requires a solution - which they don't seem to officially have yet. Dragging clutch causes all kinds of problems including notchy engagement, grinding, and premature clutch wear. Also failure is a serious replacement task where as the external slave was a simple bolt on affair.

They had a recall at the beginning of 08 for some of the problems the 07's were having with the slave.

Then you've got owners like me, who have aftermarket clutch, flywheel, and CSC. It's great, but the 1st gear lurching and clunking is there. That can be avoided by being a little more patient getting in 1st. Then there's the intermittent notchiness where it literally takes more muscle to get in and out of gear. Bleeding the clutch fluid helped quite a bit, so the problem is not as frequent as before. However, I find myself getting stuck when parked in gear on a slope.

Sounds like the CSC doesn't have quite long enough of a throw for your aftermarket clutch. What CSC did you use? Did you use the spacer?

It's the ZSpeed HD CSC. The only modification is to the transmission cover to fit the new CSC.

If that's the case, is there any way to adjust it so the CSC pushes further? Would it be related to adjusting the clutch pedal engagement point in the 350Z?

I guess it depends on where the real problem lays. What clutch did you go with? Z Speed has a bearing sleeve that fits over the CSC that extends it's reach so to speak, with some clutches the CSC doesn't make good contact with the fingers of the pressure plate.

350Z HR High Rev Concentric Slave Cylinder bearing adaptor sleeve
http://www.the370z.com/engine-drivet...-clutches.html

I ordered the ZSpeed CSC and South Bend DXD Stage 4 as Joe recommended.

[EDIT] The car is still "drivable." There were a few times I got stuck in 1st, so I eased the car forward a bit and was able to take it out of gear. I tried to see if the car would budge or checked the tach with the clutch fully pressed. No difference, so it appears the clutch is fully disengaged. Again, the problem comes and goes. When it doesn't happen, the gearbox is very smooth (knock on wood).

Update... I just got the car back from service after replacing the rubber boot that covers the shift linkage.

The tech was able to duplicate the sticky gearbox issue by getting on an uphill slope and even backing up the car. He also noticed a bit of judder that comes and goes. He spoke with one of the GT-R master techs and he noticed that I'm running DOT5 fluid (Module RBF600). So the possible causes for the gear getting stuck is possibly the DOT5 fluid not being up to temp and clutch disc (as esfourteen mentioned).

Again, the car is still drivable and this issue does not appear to grind gears. I'm told to keep driving, and to take it back if it gets worse.

I found a thread in the Challenger forum in which owners had the same issue. There were mentions of some sort of shift rail, detent ball and spring, etc., that might be causing the hang up.

Whatever it is, hopefully I can get it covered under warranty.

Its the southbend clutch disc/pressure plate combo. I'm using the Zspeed CSC and dot 3 fluid and it's 100% normal with the stock clutch, so clearly there is enough travel here. With the southbend it had a hell of a time getting the car into gear 80% of the time.

The clutch is going back to southbend and hopefully they can explain why this is happening.

Thanks for the heads up. When did you order yours? Mine was in Feb. this year. You would think there would be enough testing to ensure this sort of issue doesn't happen. :shakes head:

I just sent a message to South Bend. I let my friend test drive my car today, and we also drove around and did some test runs. Almost all of the time we were unable to get into 2nd at full throttle, and it grinded very badly! Afterwards, it was difficult to get into any other gear so we had to take it easy for awhile.

Today was pretty warm as well, so I wonder if heat is causing issues with the South Bend clutch.

shame to hear...with this issue and the natural overheat tendencies I'm considering something else :(

I recall the notchiness in my bro's 350 and a buddy's g35 but this sounds worse. I miss my AP1 gearbox!

The gearbox isn't the best out there, but it's much better than the one in my 350Z. The only reason why I'm having issues is from the upgraded clutch. I should be able to resolve with with some adjustments and more miles.

However, it is true that the master and slave cylinders are fairly weak, but the 370Z is not the only one affected. I'm running an aftermarket slave and am waiting for an aftermarket solution for the master cylinder. There's one in the works for DE/HR, but VHR has an ABS module that interferes with the installation.

If you had to do it over again knowing what you know now about the drivetrain, would you still buy the 370z? I'm trying to decide between the standard: 370z, Evo X, STi

The issues I'm having with the aftermarket clutch can be remedied. I just need to take it in to bleed it again and try to make some adjustments. Member Zat_Zuma provided some advice because he also had the same issues. Other than that, the car is still drivable until I get the adjustments made. No regrets.

Check your PM.

Evo 10's have the same problem it seems:shakes head:
:ninja3:
I guess its the clutch master that go's

I heard there is an extended throw csc in the works that might fix the issue. I'm not going to try it, Nissan sucks and I'm probably not going to buy any other nissan...ever...except maybe a GT-R down the line. Terrible experience and they have officially lost a customer.

Have you listened to the GT-R transmission? It's not quiet. I revved it in neutral and can hear the clunking sound off throttle. Hopefully it does well in the long run...

You're right... it really spoils the fun in driving. It was worse in the '03 350Z with transmission replaced in '06. I couldn't get in gear at high revs, so it was embarrassing. It clunks so much, and it is so notchy my wrists hurt from shifting.

The 370Z transmission is an improvement, but still gets notchy and clunky (in 1st) at times. The master and slave cylinders... not so much. I don't track my car and already have issues.

I'm hoping Zat_Zuma's advice is enough to get rid of these hiccups and hopefully be able to shift into 2nd at WOT.

I mean...everyone can certainly drive AROUND the problem, but I have no interest in doing that. I want to drive my car the way its supposed to and the way it deserves to be driven. I find myself shifting slower and not wanting to rev the car out as much so I don't notice these problems as much.

In the past, I've read that other than syncro rev match, the tranny's were virtually the same between the late model 350Z and the 370Z. Can't find a source though. :(

I was driving my car today after having read the first few pages of this thread today and I am not sure if I have the same problem..can somebody explain it to me? I am referring to what the OP said about the car "lurching" forward when bringing up the clutch pedal in first when the vehicle is stopped.

I noticed that I don't have to give it any gas to start moving. All I have to do is bring up the pedal a little and the car hesitates slightly but it does start moving. I am used to this happening in my old 350z and G35 when the engine was cold, but never when it was fully warmed up. Is this what the OP was talking about?


Also, I sometimes feel like when I am taking off from a stop under normal driving, as I am bringing up the clutch pedal and giving it a little gas, I kinda feel some vibration in the clutch pedal just after I start moving and have the clutch pedal almost fully released. is this a problem? I'm not really sure if I am explaining it correctly but I never had this feeling in my 04 G35 or 03 Z


EDIT: nevermind I see now that the OP was talking about the car lurching forward when the clutch pedal is fully pressed to the floor. I don't have this problem, but are the other things I described ok? (especially what I described in the paragraph immediately above this)

Is there anything different about transmissions (physical) with SRS?

There's someone on the 350Z site that's working on installing a 370Z 6MT into his 350Z. There's a few subtle differences but I think overall its not much different.

These things don't like fast shifting. There were a few members who are great at quick shifting to get the best times, but end up replacing the transmission at least once. You're right, you gotta be nice and it'll let you get through the gate.

The latest is CD -009. When the 350Z transmission was replaced in '06, I think it was a CD -006.

Slight vibration is normal. If the car shakes, that's clutch judder. It was bad out of the box, and 16k miles later the CSC needed replacement. The judder was virtually gone afterwards. With the aftermarket clutch and CSC, the car would judder quite a bit. It seems to get better the more I drive it, and engagements are getting smoother.

I'll get back with you guys after my next oil change (1k miles). In the meantime, I'm feathering the clutch more often to "bed" it. Hopefully it doesn't necessitate replacing the disc.

I wouldn't worry about slightly feathering the clutch to help break it in. I wound up breaking in my clutch and bedding it in; in about 30 seconds time. Clutch has never given me a problem since.






It was very stinky when I was done though :eek:

Just this morning I bounced off the limiter in 1st and shifted to 2nd fairly quickly - for research purposes, of course ;) - and I didn't see any issue. I think my 370Z tranny is slicker than my 350Z ('08) was but certainly nothing to write home about. But it gets the job done so long as you aren't expecting F1 style shift speeds.

It's subjective what "fast shifting" is - I can shift much faster than I actually do. That's because I would not expect a transmission to last long shifted abusively (i.e. as quickly as possible, at redline) at all. I also don't slam the clutch to the floor. I've never had a problem with my CSC yet either - and I hope I never do.

I think there are people with legitimate complaints who got shitty trannies, bad service work, etc. and I think there are other people who abuse the transmission and don't see why it doesn't hold together, and then there are other people who don't really have a problem other than the charmingly clanky/clunky transmission that Nissan wanted all of us to get - the clank and clunk and clutch chatter and throwout bearing noise are all stuff that the recent Z cars have had so I'm used to it, you can mostly drive around it, and it's generally a non-issue in any kind of performance driving conditions.


Edit: Not me, but I think this guy is "doing it right." He complains about people saying he's shifting too slow... Seems like it's about right to me, unless I've got a tranny shop sponsoring me. :roflpuke2:

theres a difference between slamming gears and shifting quickly/swiftly at high RPM. I find that I have to slow down my shift so much, to keep it from feeling forced in, that my revs drop too much and I can't drive the car smoothly. I don't abuse my car, neither of my STI's had anything even resembling a worn clutch or transmission. Shifting was always smooth and precise. I can't stand driving my Z anymore. A transmission isn't supposed to clank and grind, thats just a sign of a poorly engineered part.

If an STI transmission is a favorable comparison, then I think you definitely have a lemon of a tranny. Mine ('06) was pretty comparable to the Z as far as notchiness and shift feel.

You definitely shouldn't be getting any grinding at any RPM so long as you aren't rushing the shift too much. The clank, well... You'll just have to live with that, or buy something else.

^ I think much of our issues are from the South Bend Clutch and ZSpeed CSC. It wasn't too bad before. Other than RCZ, Zat_Zuma, and esfourteen also have the same combo like mine.