Help ASAP! Clutch Bad!?!?

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok, I have a 89 coupe. All stock minus exhaust and lowered. It acts up all the time. In traffic, my clutch will be all the way in, in gear, and if I let off the brake, the car rolls forward. It is hard to shift most the time. Sometimes it grinds. The car sometimes shakes like it wants to stall at a redlight or such. If it shuts off. I will start it back with clutch in and in gear and the car jumps forward a little, like if the clutch wasnt even in. Does it need to be adjusted if there is such a thing? Or is it just done with? Or is it even my clutch? Any input greatly appreciated.

Some things I searched and found:
- adjustment behind pedal, worth looking at?
- lose bolts on flywheel any chance?
- bad MC or SC?
- bad clutch overall?

When I accelerate it does not rev up faster then the car is speeding up. My Honda did that when I had it and burnt the clutch.

Any input greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Simon

[Phlip]

Could be a bad master or slave cylinder, could be a bad throwout bearing, could be that the pedal needing adjustment, could be a bad pressure plate, as in the little fingers on it have broken, or could be that little fork holding the throwout bearing has broken, the last is what the problem was when my old 14 did the same thing you're describing.
When it happened to me, I replace the clutch and that fork (not the proper name, but you will know it when you have it apart). It is doubtable that the bolts on the flywheel are loose or lost, I know someone who lost an engine when THAT happened.

[aznpoopy]

its definitely a clutch engagement issue. your clutch is fine. check hydraulics and clutch play.

Originally Posted by philip

I know someone who lost an engine when THAT happened.

thats fucking scary. lucky he didn't lose a leg...

[HalveBlue]

My girlfriend's Prelude has a similar problem. Her master cylinder has a leak which makes it hard to engage the clutch. You can temporarily fix it by filling up the clutch resevoir with fluid.

It's a cheap, temporary fix, but it'll do for now.

[driftfactory]

Do the pump test. Try to pump the clutch and see if you can build up pressure to disengage the clutch. If you can I would look at the hydraulics if you can't I would try to adjust the clutch pedal first then go from there.

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok, well here is what happened on the way home.

I was at a stop light and decided to pump the clutch. So I pumped it while trying to put it in gear. Just grinded. Then actually stalled after I threw it in. Started back up and I left. Next light, car's rpm's dropped in 1st and was hard to get going. Next light. Car shut off and was very hard to start. Almost sounded like it wasnt even turning over fully. Finally did and ran ok. Still hard to get in gears and all but got home. At home, ifI floor it in neatural sitting still, the car will not go past 1k, it is stuck there. But I think that is a different issue. I am lost. My clutch fluid is full, I added some two weeks ago I flushed the old out and put in new. It has not dropped. Does that rule out the hydraulic question? Any help def. appreciated thanks!!

Simon

[Ess14]

Simon this may be your problem - i had the SAME issue.

I have an s14 sr, it felt extrmely hard to put into gear and rolled when clutch was fully in and at a stop. It was like i hit a wall in 1st and 2nd gear and had to literally two hand it into gear. clutch was obviously not disengaging all the way. I had a friend press the clutch and I was looking under the hood and found my clutch fluid resevoir moving back and forth with the clutch. The bolts were simply stripped right off and the whole resevoir was moving. The clutch was barely disengaging at all.

I don't know what it looks like on an 89 but it is worth a shot. Have a friend press the clutch in and take a look - it could be an issue of similar origin. sounds farfetched, but worth a small check.

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok will check thanks!

[Simon Tibbett]

Checked it didnt move I am going to go look at the adjustment thing just to see.

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok, looked at my slave cylinder under the car. When I push the clutch pedal down, fluid seeks out around the rubber boot on the cylinder. The shaft feeling thing under the boot is very lose and weak feeling, I dont know what is under it or how it is supposed to feel, but that is what I can describe. Could this be my problem if fluid is leaking out? Only thing is I am not losing fluid from the master it is almost still full. But if only a little lets out, or there isnt enough pressure from the slave it will act up right? Help! Thanks

[aznpoopy]

are you saying your slave cylinder is leaking?

replace it and fully bleed the system. done and done.

[Simon Tibbett]

yes, clutch fluid is coming out around the boot on the slave cyl. is that probably the problem? if not i guess it needs to be swapped anyway now.

[s13coupedrfter]

Clutch slave cylinders are like 40 bucks new at kragen or auto zone. Make sure to BLEED THE SYSTEM!!!!! Teflon tape at the fitting does'nt hurt and do a clutch pedal adjustment when your done.

[s13coupedrfter]

Also, take the old one apart so you get a understanding of the monkey motion going on inside. Your o-ring inside sounds like the culprit.

[Phlip]

If fluid can get out, air can get in... this also explains the erratic behavior.

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok, I am getting a new one. Will let you all know thanks

[axiomatik]

oem slave cylinder is $37 iirc, through performance nissan. I just installed mine, got it in the mail in 2 days. I have heard of many people who had kragen/autozone etc slave cylinders start leaking within a year. go oem.

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok I swapped the SC and bleed the whole system. Car is the same, HARD to get into gear. Is my clutch bad? I am lost and everytime I smash my car into 1st I feel horrible Any more ideas?

[aznpoopy]

could be your master, but

make sure you bled it properly. theres another bleeder valve on the clutch damper box thinger thingy that people remove. you have to bleed it from the slave and from that box.

[Simon Tibbett]

is that the box right near the slave? would you all suggest changing master before clutch or something major? thanks

[NIK90s13]

Yes it is the box by the slave, Follow the line back from the slave and it runs into the box, bleed there. How old is your clutch? It would suck to install the master and it no be the problem after spending the money.
If ''your'' master is bad then it is not fully ingaging the pressure plate. It would be easier then changing the clutch, but I'm not totaly sure it's the master.
Here is a rough way to tell if your clutch is bad. Start the car, put it in gear with clutch pettal down foot on the brake.
Hold the brake down, let off the clutch with the brake on. if the car dies your clutch is grabbing and it is good, if the car still runs your clutch is slipping an need of replacing. Don't leave the car running like this long, it will burn the clutch. But it will tell you if it is slipping.
If it doesn't slip then it could be your master not working right.

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok I will bleed that, and try the other thing you said. Thanks. Also I know in my old Honda when my clutch was bad, if I floored it, it would rev faster then it was going. My 240 wont do that, is that just because different type of drivetrain? Thanks!!

[Simon Tibbett]

Oh yeah do I bleed the slave, then right after the other? Or just the other? I have not driven it yet after I bleed it, just started it in the driveway and tried to put it in gears. Thanks again

[SilviaSR20DET]

how do you do a clutch pedal adjust ment? do you just turn the bolt or something?

[NIK90s13]

Bleed the slave after the block, When the honda's rpms went up, that clutch was gong gone, Your 240 may not be that far gone, if it is bad.

[axiomatik]

clutch hydraulic system bleeding procedure (from rogoman, if any of you remember the 240-chat/amarok days):

Here's a procedure for bleeding the hydraulic system:
Bleed only one unit at a time; do the clutch slave cylinder first then do
the piping connector (clutch damper). Get someone to operate the clutch pedal while you do
the bleeding.

1 - Have someone pump the pedal several times then hold the pedal down.
2 - With the pedal depressed, open the bleeder valve to release air.
3 - Close bleeder valve; now the other person can release the pedal.

You may have to repeat steps 1 thru 3 several times to purge all the air.
Repeat steps 1 thru 3 for the piping connector.
While you're doing the bleeding, make sure to keep the reservoir full.


clutch free-play adjustment (also from rogoman):

Check the clutch pedal free play. It should be 1.0 - 3.0 mm (0.039 - 0.118
in). Hold a ruler against the floor and up to the top of the pedal pad. Take
a reading on the ruler at the pedal pad in the resting position. Now push on
the pedal pad very gently until resistance is felt; at this point take the
new reading on the ruler. Subtracting the two readings will give you the
free play spec.

To adjust the clutch pedal free play, adjust the pushrod for the clutch
master cylinder which is located under the dash at the top of the pedal
assembly. The pushrod has a locknut which must be loosened. Now the pushrod
can be adjusted. Also make sure the actual pedal pad height from the floor
is between 186 - 196 mm (7.32 - 7.71 in). It can be adjusted with the pedal
stopper lock nut.


If there's too much play, the clutch may not fully disengage when you press
the pedal to the floor which then makes it difficult to shift the tranny.

Next thing to check are the clutch hydraulics. Make sure that you're not low
on fluid. Bleed the system of air if needed.

[aznpoopy]

Originally Posted by Simon Tibbett

Also I know in my old Honda when my clutch was bad, if I floored it, it would rev faster then it was going. My 240 wont do that, is that just because different type of drivetrain? Thanks!!

two different problems

you'll understand what's going on if you understand the system

www.howstuffworks.com has a good "how the hell does a clutch work" article.

honda you had a problem with the clutch disk. it was out of life. it wouldn't grab the flywheel.

nissan you have a problem with the clutch hydraulics. you can't disengage the clutch disk from the flywheel. you are basically trying to do a partial clutchless shift everytime you throw it in and out of gear. that's why you get grinding, etc.

[Simon Tibbett]

Wow awesome help thanks I will look into it all and let you all know! Thanks again!

[Simon Tibbett]

Ok, well I bleed the system again. But did the clutch damper first, then slave. Should I try again doing the slave first? Here is the result. It was a LITTLE easier to get in gear, at first, the car would not roll in gear, and was normal. Drove it, easier to shift, still not SMOOTH but better. I drove it around and after a while (10-15 minutes) it was back to what it was before. I guess I can try the pedal? Any more ideas?

[NIK90s13]

It sounds hydrolic all right, try to bleed it again, gheck the play in the pedal, ajust it if need be, let us know.