So my car wont go into gear. I can get it into first but reverse is bad. It is usually fine once it warms up but today that wasn't the case... I literally broke my shifter lol. I need to fix my car ASAP because it is stranded in a parking lot. I need to start with replacing the shifter, I have an OEM one to throw in there. But still it only goes into gear when warm. I tried letting it idle for about 15 minutes today and it still wouldn't go into gear. No grinding, but it takes way too much force. I am running redline MT85, a Z1 clutch/flywheel, new slave, used master cylinder. No fluid leaks, pedal feels firm, I tried adjusting it for weeks, just today I ran out of threads to move the engagement point up off the floor.

I just swapped my motor/tranny for a 6 speed. I drove for 1000 miles, and the clutch held 445WHP no problem so I think everything is put together correctly... I also haven't smelled a hint of clutch burn, and the clutch/flywheel engagement hasn't changed much so I shouldn't need to separate the engine/tranny to fix this. I'm suspecting the master cylinder, or is MT85 not the right fluid? I also ran a one piece braided line from the master to slave, have the cast pivot fork, chromoly pivot ball, new throwout bearing, new sleeve, my crank did not accept a pilot bushing, I measured it and the OD of the input matched the ID of the crank within a few thousanths. The transmission is a CD009 by the way, with 40k on it when I got it. I bought that fluid because they advertised it would help this issue... When trying to push it into gear the car starts to inch forward but other times when you get it into gear it doesn't want to stall or creep forward, mainly once things are warmed up. This thing has been all over the place... I have been constantly adjusting the pedal.

What should I do here to get my car back home ASAP? I can probably push it backwards then get into first to limp home after replacing the shifter. Or that might not work at all... I have Monday off so I can use it to install a new MS if someone here thinks I should. HOnestly that is a PITA in the cold and bleeding it sometimes takes just as long as installing it... I want to be absolutely sure here ha. I'm going to top off the fluid when I'm down there replacing the shifter but need to know if the redline mt85 from z1 is the right stuff. What is the root cause?? I have read and read but everybody's problem is different it seems. I know the pivot fork is moving because I can stop my flywheel chatter by pressing the pedal, just might not be moving enough.

 

Get it towed, I'd rather be safe than sorry.

 

I think I need to bite the bullet. Having no crash bar doesn't make it very easy to get up on a truck. I will remove the front bumper and hope that my buddy can grab it from the subframe.....

 

The clutch bracket inside the car, are you sure you have the clutch rod threaded right to make a full stroke on the master cylinder. Make sure the fork is being pushed all the way by the slave and master is doing a full extension. Over time the rod can get loosened inside the car so make sure that did not happen.


Clutch Rod Adjustment Information: The clutch rod threads in and out of the clevis to raise and lower the
overall pedal height and fine tunes the initial friction point. The 12mm lock nut must be firmly tightened at all
times. Driving with this lose could cause the rod to disengage from the clevis over time

https://g35driver.com/forums/drivetr...alignment.html

http://www.rjmperformance.com/upload...tall_guide.pdf

 

I have the rod maxed out right now to the point where I am on the last few threads of it and always use the lock nut. I found lengthening the rod raised the clutch engagement point but I ran out of threads to keep raising it up off the floor. Possibly fluid getting past the seals in the master? The clutch pedal still springs right back up fully retracted even on first pump so it would really suck if I replaced the master and that wasn't it... Regardless I am looking into towing it this week but that won't fix this problem I have been messing with for weeks!

Edit: As for shifter re-alignment, we took the gate off and tried with vice grips to get it into gear, even without the gate there was no "sweet spot" where it slid right in, it always took a lot of force no matter if it was depressed down like you're going into reverse or in any other combination of angles/heights. I did not ever have an issue getting into 5th or 6th, maybe just the resistance issue related to the clutch not disengaging if anything. The short shifter came on the tranny so I never loosened those alignment bolts. I will install the OEM one in the right way now thanks to you though! Thank you both for the replies.

 

I think you constantly messing around with the pedal adjustment may have worn something out. These cars are notoriously hard to adjust due to the "helper" spring in the clutch pedal removing the normal feedback when making adjustments. You can remove the spring, or get an RJM clutch pedal to fix the issue.

When you say you're out of threads on the adjustment, is it all the way out or in? Out (ie longer) means the clutch is always engaged (pressure plate is partial pushed in) and could prematurely wear out the clutch, along with slipping, etc; In (ie shorter) means the clutch may not engage fully making shifts harder.

Does the car shift into gear with the engine OFF? If it does, then the problem is clutch related and you can focus on that area. Redline MT85 is good stuff and isn't the cause of these issues. Most recommend using Redline MT85 or OEM Nissan MTF.

 

Hey there,

My adjustment screw is elongated completely, the clutch engagement point would be very high up if it was working properly in other words. I had no slippage at 445 WHP so partial disengagement isn't it.

The car does go into gear with the engine off I believe. That used to be the case, so it probably still is as it stands now. It used to go into gear perfect then I would start it and have to wrestle it in. I adjusted that out or so I thought. I got it to the point where it was only an issue when cold.

Before I mated the engine/tranny I confirmed that the clutch fork pivot ball retaining clip, throwout bearing retaining clip, etc was all functioning properly IE I gave it all a good shakedown and it stayed in one piece sliding up and down the input shaft. Clutch/flywheel are torqued to proper specs (68 for the flywheel and 25 for the clutch pressure plate I believe)

What else goes wrong in there? That is F'd up if I have to drop the tranny............. Wastegates need to be moved etc. AKA shitty anxiety riddled job that I will hate ha.

 

So earlier today I stopped at school where my car is stuck to take another look. I got under it and had a friend pump the pedal as I planned to bleed the system. The slave cylinder functions perfectly, and no air came out when I bled it for good measure. It moves the fork about .5" maybe even more and that is with the pedal adjustment in the middle of its limits.

I'm not sure where to go from here. What really gets to me is I put almost 1000 miles on it and just had issues when it was cold...it was also tough to get into gear when my tuner gave it back from the dyno though. I'm thinking I need to start it in gear and drive around slipping the clutch a bit at this point to see if I can wear away a bit of clutch material. According to the FSM the clutch disk or pressure plate springs are the issue. Clutch disks are cheap ish so I'm going to see what happens I guess, I will avoid heating the flywheel too much by trying to wear away the excess clutch material slowly. Its not very far off by the way; if I start it in gear, and keep my foot on the brake the engine just bogs a little bit like I'm driving an automatic. Any input is appreciated. Yes this is a bad idea but Wtf, this is an awful situation. I'm definitely upset I can't drive this car I just put a full year into making it what I wanted... Oh well

 

Can't you just start the car in reverse to get it out of the stall the turn it off shift in to first start it and then rev match all the way home

 

Yes. Security isn't on me yet so I was trying to fix the problem before doing that because I like my synchros but I've basically been driving like that anyways... Idt slipping the clutch will help but I'll do that when I'm limping to my buddys where we're going to drop the tranny

I'm thinking about modifying the slave cylinder a bit to ensure there is no slack in the system before the throwout bearing contacts the basket. Currently looking into if there is any adjustment on the slave.

Before resorting to the clutch slip thing I am going to add a crown nut or turn something similar on the lathe at school to get rid of some potential mechanical slack between the throwout bearing and the pressure plate.

 

You don't even have to use the clutch to rev match you just need the clutch to get it rolling

 

Fixed it... Added a crown nut in between the slave and the clutch fork now it releases fully and drives smooth. I'm glad I didn't have to drop the transmission. Thanks for the help though guys.

 

 

Adjust your clutch pedal first, after ensuring the system is bled.

To adjust the pedal get a small pair of vice grips, a 12mm wrench, and a pair of small pliers. Grab the rod that goes from the clutch pedal to the master cylinder with the vice grips not too tight. Stay off the threads. Once the vice grip is holding the rod from spinning loosen the 12mm lock nut that is against the pedal on the rod. Next turn the rod about 2 turns to the right if you are looking at it from the drivers seat facing the front of the vehicle.

Re-tighten the lock nut and see if you are getting closer to a full disengagement. Repeat as necessary. See below for important tips...

If you run out of clutch pedal adjustment (keep an eye on how many threads are left before the rod will screw all of the way out of the pedal) you will then need to go under the car, take off the slave cylinder quick, and find something to put in between it and the clutch fork in the transmission. I used a crown nut from the store drilled out so the slave cylinder rod went into it deep enough to be secure. Before doing his adjust your clutch pedal all of the way to the left to make re-installing the slave a breeze.

 

Well I'll take it to my mechanic again I thought it was from clutch being gone
So I changed my clutch n it still kept happening took it into the shop and was told it was pedal even after they adjusted it it still happens any clues????