UPDATE

My mechanic said it will most likely be Slave Cylinder. He's looking at it now and he will call back.

Is it best to replace both Slave and Master cylinder at the same time? He gave me an option to replace both (it's the best practice apparently). It's up to me to decide in the end.

I know this guy and he's not trying to rip me off. I've dealt with him before.

What do you guys think? Should I replace both? slave cylinder = $70, master cylinder = $120. prices without labour.

Thanks!

 

Yup my guess also. Happened in my 240...

 

Had the same problem with my civic before I bought my G. I just kept adding fluid once every 3 months and it worked fine, but if I didn't the clutch would just die on me until I added more fluid. I guess I didn't have a big of a leak.

I think it makes sense to have the mechanic change both while you have him under the hood...


Good luck with getting everything fixed.

 

I wouldn't replace the master at this time. Just do the slave if that's the problem.

 

So, I just got a call from my mechanic. They found no leakage in the master and slave cylinders. I didn't find leakages on the day my clutch malfunctioned. But one thing is certain something is broken. They will have to open up my clutch assembly to see what is actually broken. I was able to put the gear into 1st gear so I'm guessing the clutch plate is still intact. Perhaps throw out bearing or some sort of spring mechanism within the assembly gave out.

Could it be that low clutch fluid level caused something else to fail? Too be honest I failed to check the clutch fluid level for a while... I probably checked it in the summer. What I can't understand is what happened to the fluid?!

 

UPDATE

So this is what went down...

They opened the clutch assembly and found that the clutch pin? (it's the hook that holds the clutch pedal assembly I think.. I know what it looks like just don't know how to explain.. :S) broke so basically my clutch pedal was on its own and also the slave cylinder was loose which made the fluid level go down. I don't know what went wrong first...

All in all, this pin can be replaced however they gave me an option to replace the pressure plate, clutch plate, throw out bearing.... pretty much the whole clutch assembly since it's been worn out. I went ahead and replaced them since it will cost me that much more to replace them again in the future.... I called an ex-infiniti head mechanic to verify and he also agreed that was the best thing to do.

Things go wrong and there this. This is exactly what I was afraid of....

Oh well,... if it's gotta go then it's gotta go. The new assembly is going on tomorrow and i'm kinda getting excited. Although I loved the feel of my clutch the way it was. (It had no slippage no funny business....) I asked for the parts to be returned. I will take a look see tomorrow on the conditions and get it verified by another place I trust.

Folks, if you haven't checked your clutch fluid level lately please check it frequently and avoid any mishap!

Cheers,
K

 

Glad you were able to figure it out. To bad it turned into such a big project, but hey.. at least you get a new clutch out of it.

 

As a rule when your clutch pedal won't return you can just pull it back and go on your way and the cause is the clutch hydraulic cylinder wearing out and will eventually need to be replaced. Don't recall hearing of a pin breaking causing the same issue or your clutch needing to be replaced when it was working fine?? Sounds like an Infiniti sales pitch to charge you more $$!
Gary

 

Sucks I saw this so late, I had the same thing happen to me, it was the clutch fork pin that snapped. GTM makes an updated stronger one, which you can order on their site. BTW now that your tranny is out you have the opportunity to upgrade the clutch and flywheel, i did and never looked back

 

Its a more common problem than you think, here is the piece from GTM i was talking about:

http://www.gtmotorsports.com/product...cat=263&page=1

 

Ya this I heard from my main mechanic (ex-infiniti head mechanic) that it is known to happen. I could not go to him because CAA only allowed 10KM towing so I went to my secondary shop. I verified with my main mechanic before I gave the OK. I have also asked for the parts back and will get them verified. I will see if the parts are indeed worn. If it was the hydraulics then they won't need to open up the tranny.

 

I think the clutch I had was heavy duty aftermarket. I remember one mechanic specifically tell me it feels more stiff a while back and mentioned this. That's probably why the factory clutch pivot pin broke. The clutch must've been replaced before I bought this car.. (if it ever was)

The shop is putting on an OEM infiniti clutch assembly.. I'm just worried it will not feel as sharp as before.

Maybe I should have gone with aftermarket clutch kit and heavy duty pivot pin?

 

akoustic,

Was it the pivot ball that broke or was it the clutch pedal pin? I did a 6MT swap and we had to order a clutch pedal pin, I don't recall what it was or what it did but I know I needed it for the clutch pedal to operate. Maybe this broke and not the clutch pivot ball.

Regardless, if you ordered a heavy duty clutch, then yes you should get a new upgraded pivot ball - I did.

 

Yes, it was the clutch pedal pin and also my slave cylinder was out of place. I got my old clutch plate and pressure plate back and my clutch plate is worn out. Same with my pressure bearing? Now my clutch is super quiet and I don't hear any rattling when neutral. Also gone is soft rattling when rpm is low.

I found out that my old clutch assembly was OEM factory kit. The thing I don't understand is now the clutch feels lighter and sharper. It depresses with more bounce... more springy. I'm getting used to this new "feel". My old clutch felt heavy... I mean HEAVY.... perhaps my hydraulics were malfunctioning before causing me to use more force?

Another scenario I can think of is, maybe they put in 05+ clutch assembly? I dunno if this will make any difference but I know for a fact 05+ clutch feels softer. Maybe it has got nothing to do with the assembly.. I'm just thinking out loud.

Engaging my 5th gear feels different I don't know for whatever reason... I used to do a sharp left and up sort of looks like this --> _| (instead of going straight up from 4th to 5th) time to time and now there is more resistance in doing that. Can swapping clutch assembly have a play in gear box?

It's not a serious matter as I have no problem driving and my gears still feel great.

 

Same happened to me....what a hassle!! It was that pivot ball where the isue was...the oem one is so cheap cause they are not supposed to break that easily...