Clutch sticking half way to floor

KoolKarmaJoe · 05-30-2015, 03:06 PM

I'm the next victim to clutch failure! Clutch pedal sank halfway to floor . I wasn't driving hard. Just making a 1 mile trip to my Post Office in a residential neighborhood. I made a easy start, went to shift into 2nd, then heard a "thump". BINGO - pedal sinks halfway to floor!

macwest · 05-30-2015, 07:47 PM

how many miles on car?

KoolKarmaJoe · 05-30-2015, 08:04 PM

First thing, I'm not the original owner. I bought this 09' base 370z December 2014. It had 64500 miles roughly when bought. At time of clutch failure 65643 miles. I bought it from a dealership, and title search says it was traded in by original owner. I use the car for weekend drives only, weather permitting. CSC was documented as being replaced prior to me taking ownership. I wasn't rough on car, in fact just wanted to drive 5 city blocks to local Post Office when it failed while shifting from 1st to 2nd.
Tried all day to bleed & exchange fluid. Finally found a leak at seal where CMC mounts to firewall. I don't know why it suddenly failed. Tomorrow will attempt to tighten CMC, but I must mention that when I first bleed hydraulic system

, nasty black as coal fluid with sediment came out! Possibly a sediment blockage within caused failure. I'll update my findings.. Oh, pedal to the floor now CMC is toast I expect.

huudoo · 06-07-2015, 07:00 PM

almost the same here, 2009 just turned 50.000 miles, and is stock I think and zspeed is backorder on the csc. temp was 89 degree's was driving
25 miles mostly spirited some redlights my clutch pedel did not come up all the way, half way up used my toe to bring the pedel back up ..this is the 2nd time it has done it almost the same place where i was driving... no fluid loss no clutch slip. I can drive to Georgia and back no issues 200 miles, I drove to Nashville 250 miles no issues...
I think the fluid gets too hot in stop n go traffic and spirited driving...I guess I will try the fluid flush first..as the dealer cannot tell whats wrong if it doesent have the pedel issue

should I use the grt fluid or buy some motul rbf 600.......

what do you think of the fluid cooking / getting to hot

sorry to jack your post , but didn't want to start a new thread sence yours is most current

kenchan · 06-07-2015, 07:05 PM

does that mean you got air in the system?

huudoo · 06-07-2015, 08:32 PM

I really don't know if air is in the system , it drives fine now,
might have been at the time the heat soaked clutch fluid line maybe
VAPOR LOCK
but I have not pushed it either like getting on it

TheNismo · 06-08-2015, 04:49 PM

I just had this happen to me as well.. Got my 2011 used with 30k miles from a Nissan dealership (clutch fluid was full and clean when I got the car) and then the fluid completely drain at 32-33k miles. The clutch went to the floor and reservoir was empty, I refilled it and drove it home.

I took it to Cerritos Nissan at first and they couldn't find any leak so they said it was not an issue with the CSC or MC, then they said there's a TSB stating to flush and refill with GTR brake fluid and they wanted $320 to do that...
So of course I said no cause that's ridiculous especially at that price. I waited until I could make the ~4 hour drive to the dealership that I got the car from and they said the same thing but offered to do the GTR brake fluid flush for significantly less.. but also said no warranty work could be done.
So for now I'm just keeping an eye on it, but at least I have record of a Nissan dealership performing the work just in case it happens again.

huudoo · 06-08-2015, 07:23 PM

I talked to a gtr tech@ local nissan today , he said most likely the clutch master cyl.
that the piston/ valve in the mc was not opening all the way ,
to enable enough pressure to get pedel to come all the way up... if so it would be cheaper
to just put a mc on and add the motul rbf 600 I bought today.. in stead of just flush
the fluch would be $100.00 -- the mc is 138.00 plus labor $150.00 including a bleed and
my motul ....my car only does it when it is really hot and spirited driving....

or I could just wait and drive it normal and see what happin's

Jsolo · 07-12-2015, 02:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zbrah

Mind sharing which dealer did your work?

It's been recommended many times that one should also replace the master clyinder at the same time. If they didn't replace the mc, you can pretty much count on it to happen again.

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. I don't see how the MC can influence SC failure.

The reason for replacing the MC is because of difficulty in bleeding the system when replacing the CSC. This becomes an issue on higher mileage cars, not brand new cars. For lack of a better term, an "aged" MC has more wear inside and may leak (to some extent) internally. As a result, it's difficult and/or impossible to get air out of the system.

On a car with 1900 miles (OP), this should not be an issue. After the car is aged - 50, 60, 70K miles, and clutch/csc replacement is necessary, then absolutely, replace the MC too.

My recommendation, change the fluid in the reservoir once a year. Use some kind of suction device to suck out most (not all) of the fluid from the reservoir. Replenish. Drive the car a few days then repeat. Do this 2 or 3 times to renew the fluid. Every 2 years do a thorough flush. Doing this removes contaminants from the clutch line and should prolong life of the entire system.

Edit: I should add, failure of a CSC on a brand new car is very discerning. Doesn't inspire lots of confidence in the build quality. Usually they fail later, 40-60K miles.

MagmaRed370z · 07-12-2015, 02:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

Edit: I should add, failure of a CSC on a brand new car is very discerning. Doesn't inspire lots of confidence in the build quality. Usually they fail later, 40-60K miles.

CSCs from Nissan/infinity fail between 500 miles and +100k. Bad plastic design. Check the CSC failures thread.

KoolKarmaJoe · 07-12-2015, 03:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schellingr

CSCs from Nissan/infinity fail between 500 miles and +100k. Bad plastic design. Check the CSC failures thread.

Man that is sooo sad! It turns my stomach to know Nissan puts such shabby parts in their vehicles. I can't help but wonder what my next part failure will be.

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KoolKarmaJoe · 07-12-2015, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

I'm not sure I entirely agree with this. I don't see how the MC can influence SC failure.

The reason for replacing the MC is because of difficulty in bleeding the system when replacing the CSC. This becomes an issue on higher mileage cars, not brand new cars. For lack of a better term, an "aged" MC has more wear inside and may leak (to some extent) internally. As a result, it's difficult and/or impossible to get air out of the system.

On a car with 1900 miles (OP), this should not be an issue. After the car is aged - 50, 60, 70K miles, and clutch/csc replacement is necessary, then absolutely, replace the MC too.

My recommendation, change the fluid in the reservoir once a year. Use some kind of suction device to suck out most (not all) of the fluid from the reservoir. Replenish. Drive the car a few days then repeat. Do this 2 or 3 times to renew the fluid. Every 2 years do a thorough flush. Doing this removes contaminants from the clutch line and should prolong life of the entire system.

Edit: I should add, failure of a CSC on a brand new car is very discerning. Doesn't inspire lots of confidence in the build quality. Usually they fail later, 40-60K miles.

I agree... Has anyone ever "bench bleed" a Nissan CMC??? I saw other manufacturers do so on YouTube but they weren't Nissan CMC's

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Jsolo · 07-12-2015, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by schellingr

CSCs from Nissan/infinity fail between 500 miles and +100k. Bad plastic design. Check the CSC failures thread.

Lol. I'm well familiar with that thread. We'll see when mine becomes a statistic

Another 80K+ to go to hit 100K.

KoolKarmaJoe · 07-12-2015, 05:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jsolo

Lol. I'm well familiar with that thread. We'll see when mine becomes a statistic

Another 80K+ to go to hit 100K.

Haha ! Kudo's to you ! I hope you make it.

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SilverFox006 · 07-12-2015, 09:16 PM

My 16' nismo had the slave cylinder go out Friday with only 1200 miles on the clock. It had the same symptoms with the sinking clutch pedal.

05-30-2015, 08:04 PM	#33 (permalink)
KoolKarmaJoe Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 417 Drives: 09' Nissan 370Z R M6 Rep Power: 11	First thing, I'm not the original owner. I bought this 09' base 370z December 2014. It had 64500 miles roughly when bought. At time of clutch failure 65643 miles. I bought it from a dealership, and title search says it was traded in by original owner. I use the car for weekend drives only, weather permitting. CSC was documented as being replaced prior to me taking ownership. I wasn't rough on car, in fact just wanted to drive 5 city blocks to local Post Office when it failed while shifting from 1st to 2nd. Tried all day to bleed & exchange fluid. Finally found a leak at seal where CMC mounts to firewall. I don't know why it suddenly failed. Tomorrow will attempt to tighten CMC, but I must mention that when I first bleed hydraulic system, nasty black as coal fluid with sediment came out! Possibly a sediment blockage within caused failure. I'll update my findings.. Oh, pedal to the floor now CMC is toast I expect.

06-07-2015, 07:00 PM	#34 (permalink)
huudoo Base Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: TN Posts: 12 Drives: 09 370z Rep Power: 10	almost the same here, 2009 just turned 50.000 miles, and is stock I think and zspeed is backorder on the csc. temp was 89 degree's was driving 25 miles mostly spirited some redlights my clutch pedel did not come up all the way, half way up used my toe to bring the pedel back up ..this is the 2nd time it has done it almost the same place where i was driving... no fluid loss no clutch slip. I can drive to Georgia and back no issues 200 miles, I drove to Nashville 250 miles no issues... I think the fluid gets too hot in stop n go traffic and spirited driving...I guess I will try the fluid flush first..as the dealer cannot tell whats wrong if it doesent have the pedel issue should I use the grt fluid or buy some motul rbf 600....... what do you think of the fluid cooking / getting to hot sorry to jack your post , but didn't want to start a new thread sence yours is most current Last edited by huudoo; 06-07-2015 at 08:32 PM.

06-07-2015, 08:32 PM	#36 (permalink)
huudoo Base Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: TN Posts: 12 Drives: 09 370z Rep Power: 10	I really don't know if air is in the system , it drives fine now, might have been at the time the heat soaked clutch fluid line maybe VAPOR LOCK but I have not pushed it either like getting on it Last edited by huudoo; 06-07-2015 at 08:49 PM.

06-08-2015, 04:49 PM	#37 (permalink)
TheNismo Base Member Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: SoCal Posts: 57 Drives: 2011 Nismo 370Z Rep Power: 10	I just had this happen to me as well.. Got my 2011 used with 30k miles from a Nissan dealership (clutch fluid was full and clean when I got the car) and then the fluid completely drain at 32-33k miles. The clutch went to the floor and reservoir was empty, I refilled it and drove it home. I took it to Cerritos Nissan at first and they couldn't find any leak so they said it was not an issue with the CSC or MC, then they said there's a TSB stating to flush and refill with GTR brake fluid and they wanted $320 to do that... So of course I said no cause that's ridiculous especially at that price. I waited until I could make the ~4 hour drive to the dealership that I got the car from and they said the same thing but offered to do the GTR brake fluid flush for significantly less.. but also said no warranty work could be done. So for now I'm just keeping an eye on it, but at least I have record of a Nissan dealership performing the work just in case it happens again. __________________ \| ARK Performance DT-S Exhaust \| Volk Racing G25 Prism Dark Silver \| \| Feal Suspension Coilovers \| ACT HDSS Clutch + Flywheel \| \| ZSpeed HD CSC \| Takeda Intakes \| Pioneer AppRadio4 \|

07-12-2015, 09:16 PM	#45 (permalink)
SilverFox006 Base Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Dallas Posts: 18 Drives: 2016 PPW Nismo Tech Rep Power: 10	My 16' nismo had the slave cylinder go out Friday with only 1200 miles on the clock. It had the same symptoms with the sinking clutch pedal. KoolKarmaJoe likes this.

05-30-2015, 03:06 PM	#31 (permalink)
KoolKarmaJoe Enthusiast Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: Baltimore MD Posts: 417 Drives: 09' Nissan 370Z R M6 Rep Power: 11	I'm the next victim to clutch failure! Clutch pedal sank halfway to floor . I wasn't driving hard. Just making a 1 mile trip to my Post Office in a residential neighborhood. I made a easy start, went to shift into 2nd, then heard a "thump". BINGO - pedal sinks halfway to floor!

05-30-2015, 07:47 PM	#32 (permalink)
macwest Base Member Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: nyc Posts: 57 Drives: 2015 370 Nismo Rep Power: 13	how many miles on car?

06-07-2015, 07:05 PM	#35 (permalink)
kenchan A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: N/A Posts: 76,801 Drives: N/A Rep Power: 141521	does that mean you got air in the system?

06-08-2015, 07:23 PM	#38 (permalink)
huudoo Base Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Location: TN Posts: 12 Drives: 09 370z Rep Power: 10	I talked to a gtr tech@ local nissan today , he said most likely the clutch master cyl. that the piston/ valve in the mc was not opening all the way , to enable enough pressure to get pedel to come all the way up... if so it would be cheaper to just put a mc on and add the motul rbf 600 I bought today.. in stead of just flush the fluch would be $100.00 -- the mc is 138.00 plus labor $150.00 including a bleed and my motul ....my car only does it when it is really hot and spirited driving.... or I could just wait and drive it normal and see what happin's

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