370Z Clutch Issue
 

This evening I was cruising on a toll road and came to a toll booth. After paying I was accelerating into traffic and for the first time ever I ground the gears shifting from 1st to 2nd when a truck merged into my lane. Immediately after my inept self ground the gears the clutch pedal went limp and basically had no resistance until it was almost to the floor. Shifting into any gear was difficult and I had to rev match the throttle. I was able to limp it the Nissan dealership near me to drop it off. When I was showing the service tech what the issue was almost seemed back to normal, although I wasn't driving it, just sitting in the parking lot pushing the clutch pedal.

Any idea what it is? This has been one of the most embarrassing days of my life. Doesn't help that I had a cute lady in the passenger seat. :/

Seems like a CSC issue.

^ Concentric slave cylinder or Clutch master cylinder issue. The former is known to fail as it is a weak part. They sell a reinforced one for our cars, made by ZSpeed.

That's what I was thinking after reading up on some threads.. It's about 200 bucks to replace, right? They gave me a Sentra to drive until my Z is fixed. I miss my baby!

I Fvcking stab somebody if they did that to me!!!:confused:

Mine failed yesterday. They are replacing it with another OEM one. 2009 Z, with Turbos.
Lasted for over 50,000 but whole job is just under $1,000 to replace. Wish I had known about Zspeed part.

Anyone have any idea how many people have had the Slave Cylinder issue? Is is time to start bugging NISSAN for a recall like what we did for the Steering Wheel Lock?

They did it passed the warranty period or did you have extended warranty?

sounds like the CSC is going out. if its under warranty and the clutch isnt burnt up then they should replace it free. if you are out of warranty or when they crack open the bell housing and see a burnt up clutch from abuse or if its just worn and ready for a replacement then you will have to pay. Its $400 to open the tranny alone., :/

Thanks to this forum, every time I shift I wonder if it's going to be my last time, haha.

Usually when the CSC fails, it ruptures and ruins your clutch, dumps fluid on the ground.

This sounds like either A: your fluid boiled or B: your master cylinder is going out.

Both of these happened to me, replaced the CMC, issue resolved. Either way, you're under warranty and you weren't on the track, so they'll fix you up no prob I'm sure.

mine didnt. they opened the bell housing and said the clutch looked fine at 24k miles. replaced my CSC and put it all back together.

Nissan 370Z Forum - fuct's Album: oh-oh - Picture

:icon14: I feel the same every morning when i depress the clutch to start the car. im like..... is today the day? :icon14:

I swear, I find myself looking for opportunities NOT to use the clutch, then I start having fun and forget about it.
I just keep my fluid clear and fresh and don't hotrod or do crazy stuff, I haven't got the time to take it apart and change the CSC.

I had a Pinto for 12 years and absolutely beat it to death and never once had clutch problems. I rebuilt the motor at 130K for the fun of it and didn't need to change the pressure plate, clutch, or throw-out bearing. I did change the throw-out bearing just because. Of course, it was cable...my point being that it would be nice to have a MT Z that didn't engender worry about the CSC failing, so I could just drive and not have CSC gnawing at the back of my mind every time I shift. I'm learning to adapt though... the fun wins every time.

Is there a pattern where guys change their CSC to an aftermarket and soon after their MC fails? Maybe there is some hydraulic incompatibility with the aftermarket being of stouter material/workmanship takes more pressure to move the aftermarket the same distance?

Just to update everyone on what happened:

They drove it and visually inspected everything and couldn't find anything wrong. I picked it up and it drives just like normal. I have no clue what caused the clutch pedal to have so much play, or why it fixed itself, but I'm happy. Good to know about the CSC issue as I'm sure i'll have to deal with it down the road when the car has more miles on it. I appreciate everyone's input. It's great to be part of such an awesome community!

You probably boiled the fluid somehow.. usually it comes back after the bubbles have time to work their way up and out of the lines.

It'll probably happen again unless you flush with a higher temp fluid. *shrug*

Hmmm - my clutch occasionally gets the funky limp, but only in the morning when it's cold; eventually fixes itself after driving a couple of blocks. Wondering if it's caused by boiling while it's hot, then sitting until the bubbles come to the top after it cools down...

motul RBF600 and and SS clutch line and I haven't boiled the fluid yet since the swap :tup:

Mine does the exact thing, only in the mornings and then it operates like normal after a few minutes; I'm gonna try and do a flush and see if that helps soon.

Its your CSC you cant fully inspect it unless you remove the tranny, which I doubt they did.