I'm loving it. And to think before this happened, I was debating trading in the car. Now I am definitely keeping it for a long while longer.

 

realize this is an old thread, but curious how the JWT combo is working out a year into it.

my car just experienced its first "weird" clutch moment. i have been babying it and reading up on possible solutions. getting the slave cylinder TSB checked asap and if they have it apart, will have everything checked out and/or replaced on infiniti's dime. may try bleeding it first on my own in the driveway. that is what the tech suggested when i had it in for an alignment. as of a few weeks ago, the fluid looks clean and full in the master cylinder. will check again later today.

for what it's worth, infiniti springfield quoted me 2800 for a full clutch and flywheel replacement parts and labor. the dual flywheel is high, like $1300 high. the service manager said the verbiage from infiniti is "if the old flywheel shows bluing and heat damage, replace to avoid sticking and chattering problems with the new clutch plate". they will not turn/resurface the old flywheel.

also, replacement of the engine rear main is $30 in parts and 1/2 hour extra labor if the flywheel is already off, so this is another no-brainer if it's already apart to fix the slave or replace the clutch. i haven't heard of replacing the transmission main before and these usually do not go out, but if that is an issue and the part is affordable, i guess i would get that done to prevent any leakage getting onto the new clutch surface in the future.

 

well, not getting any love from infiniti. apparently the slave cylinder SB was performed on my car at 8K miles, 14k before I purchased it!

so, now, what are the options. hmmmm.

i guess i'll try to bleed it and see if that helps.

after taking a closer look under the hood, i am starting to understand the source of some of the clutch problems on this car. it looks like infiniti had to make some design compromises (due most likely to aesthetics and computer designed structural frame components and a rather awkward wiper motor location). anyway, instead of a normal sized master cylinder, our cars have one that looks more appropriately sized for a go kart. i can see how upgrading the slave cylinder to a beefier part could cause the master to start blowing seals and it looks like a real bitch to work on. i can barely get my medium sized fingers down in the well to feel for leaks, let alone get a line wrench on the hydraulic line fitting!

 

Yo, bleed your clutch hydraulics!

Did mine yesterday. the fluid looked pretty clean from outside the reservoir, but looking inside, it was cloudy and seemed to have fine little particles of black rubber material or something suspended in it. probably worn seal material. sucked out all the fluid from the reservoir and replaced with clean, fresh, DOT3.

when i went underneath to check out the bleeding situation, found a small amount of fluid under the rubber bleeder cap (this should normally be bone dry) indicating the bleeder nipple wasn't completely tight. assume if fluid was getting out, air could get in. bled the hydraulics until clean fluid came out. got a few small air bubbles and fluid itself thinned noticeably and flowed much better (lower viscosity) by the time the fresh fluid made it through the system.

i have to assume the tech who performed the TSB for the slave cylinder on my car didn't fully tighten the bleed valve. the valve itself feels like it may be fine metric threaded meaning you have to crank it down another 1/4 to 1/2 turn once it shuts off to actually get it tight and sealed. takes an 8 mm wrench for anyone who wants to know.

as the new fluid made it's way down through the hydraulics, my helper who was pumping the clutch on the top side noticed the pedal feel improving with each bleeding cycle and the clutch pedal itself returned more quickly to the top position with each bleeding cycle.

we did have a few scary moments after the first bleed where the clutch wouldn't come back up from the floor at all without help and then it was very difficult to "pump up" to get the next bleed. not sure what caused this. the springs on the clutch pad itself should be plenty strong to push the pedal up off the floor. guessing on this that the higher viscosity of the dirty fluid was somehow clogging the hydraulic lines or otherwise messing up the smooth return of the pedal. (this is in fact what my "weird clutch" incident was all about. letting off the clutch pedal quickly but the clutch pad not fully engaging and thus smoking against the flywheel when starting off on a steep hill. normally, the rear tires should break loose before the clutch slips.)

seem to recall reading somewhere that our cars have a tempering valve or restrictor in the hydraulic line which slows the return of the clutch pedal or is supposed to improve or dampen the feel? don't really remember. anyway, if that is the case, it is also suspect when the clutch fluid viscosity changes and would result in a simulated "riding the clutch" effect and ultimately cause premature wear of the clutch pad surface if keeping the pedal from coming all the way back to full, top position. either way, the problem seems to have resolved itself with fresh clean fluid and a good bleed.

i am now back to about 1/2" to 3/4" or better top play (with no additional threaded rod adjustment) and the clutch engagement feels more consistent. test drove it and dropped the clutch a few times with zero burning clutch smell. hoping this small service task will delay the $2800 clutch replacement to a more normal mileage increment (well past 100K miles).

whole process took about an hour or two including clean-up and a trip to the parts store for fresh fluid.

do it, biatches. you know you want do play under your G this weekend!

amp

 

Resurrecting this old thread again.

I replaced my clutch (plate, disk, flywheel) this past summer due to slipping. I bought the car with about 69K miles on it, and I'm convinced it was driven petty hard by previous owner(s). I went with the JWT clutch kit, which I like, and I don't mind the chatter. I replaced the slave cylinder at the same time, but went with the OEM (Nissan) version, which was a mistake.

Fast forward about 5 months and the clutch pedal dropped to the floor and wouldn't come back up. I confirmed it was leaking fluid. My mechanic found that the OEM clutch slave cylinder was the source of the leak. I replaced the OEM slave cylinder with the ZSpeed version, which is what I should have done in the first place. Once again my car was shifting as it should....for a few days. Then the pedal starting sticking about half-way up on the return. I took it back to my mechanic to bleed the clutch again, but it seems that is not the problem. Now it looks like I will need to replace the clutch master cylinder as well.

As far as I can tell from this, and other threads, it is fine to go with the OEM clutch master cylinder. If anyone thinks differently, I would love the feedback before I buy the part. Also, has anyone opted to rebuild the master cylinder, instead of replacing it?

I have not yet determined if it is a simply DIY job. If it is, I would love to save myself the $150 labor cost.

 

Replace the master, Not that hard, You can drop the 3 bolts out of the pedal if needed to wiggle out the master if the ABS unit gets in the way. We use the 370Z master on these and they work great.
You can just leave the line loose on the master, fill with fluid until it comes out the threads on the line at the master, tighten her up and you should be good to go.
I don't recommend rebuilding them as they seem to be wearing the cylinder bore which causes the leakage.

 

Thanks for the reply. Would you mind sharing the link to the 370Z clutch master cylinder, or confirm it is:
http://zspeedperformance.com/Nissan-...0610-jk00b.htm

I have the 2008 G35S Sedan, so it looks like that is the right part. Will that be sufficient to work with your ZSpeed clutch slave cylinder?

 

Yes, It fits and works perfect on the G35S

 

So i have noticed a lot of these post are really old. Hopefully I'm not the only one still roaming this particular forum.
i have a 08 G35s 6Mt, i have read through countless threads on multiple forums and just can't seem to find the positive feedback i'm hoping for.

Quick run down, driving home from work one day and lost pressure in the clutch,
read through forums -- did the GTR recommended fluid flush, gave be back some pedal for about 2 days
changed the master cylinder- got more pedal for another 2 days
finally decided it must be the Slave Cylinder inside the transmission housing.

i'm the third owner, i got the service records from the dealer for the original owner for mileage 0-56,000 - car was in the dealer 4-5 times for weird clutch issues.
2nd owner never took the car to any dealer so i have no idea what was done on the car or how it was driven between milage 56,000 & 77,000 when i bought it.

So getting back on topic, i figure if i gotta drop the tranny for the Slave Cylinder i figured i would throw in a new clutch to ensure i get as many miles out of the clutch as i can on fresh parts. I've seen the recommendations for the Exedy stage 1 & light weight flywheel combo , the ACT HDSS with streetlite light weight flywheel and so on, even mix matching the parts and the responses and feedback have been all over the place with nothing really being uniform with positive results.

i want a little more clutch pressure than stock, but don't want it too ridiculously hard, it is my daily driver, over read all about the Chatter issue with the light weight flywheel and would love to meet up with some one who may have one to see what it really sounds like, i agree what may be tolerable of one person may be totally unacceptable to another. I would prefer less noise over more thus possibly keeping the stock dual mass flywheel. I don't want to end up putting in a stronger clutch system that ends up killing other components of the car leading to more repairs or issues.

In all wondering if the Exedy Stage 1 Clutch upgrade is really worth it or i should just replace all parts OEM?

Any help & Guidance or feedback is appreciated!!!

 

I recently installed Zspeed South-DailyVHR-PACK | South Bend Complete Clutch Package Stage 2 with the silent disk option to my wife daily driver. The clutch is great and you don't hear that annoying "Cement Mixing/ Diesel truck" TB noise when at idle. Clutch is strong and grabs really well especially driving on the hills of San Francisco! The revs of the lighten flywheel is very responsive. The pedal pressure is a tad bit more stiff than OEM. The only negative thing I have is the slight chatter when taking off in 1st Gear. Once it gets passed 1500k RPM its fine. After awhile you'll get use to it. Other than that the wife and I are happy with SouthBend. Good luck on your product selection!

 

@rtype1206
Thanks for the input and recommendation, after all my research I ended up purchasing and Exedy complete kit, model NSK1024FW, the kit includes everything needed, the hydraulic slave cylinder (cause of most initial clutch issues people experience with this car) the clutch disc, friction plate and a solid super thick flywheel to replace the OEM dual mass flywheel, pilot bearing and alignment tool. Along with the kit I picked up another bottle of the GTR brake/ clutch fluid for the install. I will be having it installed on Saturday 9/26/15 and I will report back with the results, overall so far I'm glad the kit came with ABSOLUTELY everything needed, the solid flywheel to match the size of the stock one which is suppose to eliminate any chatter that a light weight flywheel my cause and keep that stock sound and feel. The clutch kit is also said to feel like stock but with a bit more pedal pressure but not super heavy like the higher stage racing ones. Wish me luck!!!

 

It will be noisy, Flywheel weight in itself will not get rid of or dampen the noise at idle. The slave that comes with it is a replacement stock plastic slave that will probably die soon also. You will still need a new master cylinder as the GTR Brake fluid doesn't fix a weak master for long. It will come back.

Exedy is good brand but what you think (or were told) is not correct...

 

^^ This

Sadly, it's not the first time I've heard people misinterpret the term "dual-mass" to simply mean that it has more, or twice, the mass of a normal flywheel. In actuality, it refers to the fact that the there are two separate flywheel masses that comprise the flywheel assembly, affixed to one another via a suspension of shock absorbing springs. In addition to the collective mass of the two halves, it is that internal spring suspension within the dual-mass flywheel which acts to dampen and absorb the sharp torque impulses of these raucous VQ engines. Those rattling sounds that people so often comment on is simply the transmission gears rattling in sympathy to undamped torque spikes.

.02

 

@Zspeedperformance
I agree that no matter what flywheel goes into the car even stock I will end up with some noise at idle no matter what, this I have accepted as inevitable.
I have already replaced the master cylinder in my initial trouble shooting before realizing the final issue was the slave so the car does have a brand NEW OEM Master Cylinder. As soon as we realized it would be the Slave that would need replacement I purchased a brand new OEM Slave from the dealer then started the Clutch Kit research – once the kit was decided on & I saw that it came with a new slave in the kit – I attempted to return the one I bought and although still in the box, wrapper untouched, no grease, no oil, unused just as they gave it to me when I picked it up as from date of purchase I took it home and just set it aside they wouldn’t let me return it because I had it more than 7 days so I was stuck with it.

I agree that any important mechanical part in any vehicle should not be constructed of plastic – hopefully it will last me a long time – if anything I probably won’t sell the one I’m stuck with from the dealer & keep it as a backup.

I believe I read in another thread a member buying an upgraded aftermarket slave that was metal but ended up being too strong for the master and caused problems elsewhere.

 

@Kumho17

How did your clutch set-up workout? Please update. I am also in the process of weighing out which clutch to go with. I like the OEM refinement, but don"t want to spend the OEM $$ (~$3000). Was leaning toward the JWT set-up but not sure about the chatter. Would be nice if the exedy kit was the best of both worlds. Thanks!