Hello all.

Had my Z out today and noticed the clutch starting to slip a bit. The Z is a '91 2+2 with 42,000 miles on it (original clutch). How difficult is it to change the clutch (pressure plate and throw out bearing) in a Z? I've changed clutches before, but on older British cars.... what I am looking at for a Z clutch in terms difficulty?

Thanks.

 

It's really no different than doing a clutch on any other rear drive vehicle. The driveshaft takes a little more to get out due to the center support bearing.

Also required replacement when doing the clutch is the engine rear main seal which is prone to leaking. You'll need the 3-piece kit that includes the main seal, an oil pan seal, and a gasket.

It's also adviseable to replace the tranny mount, shifter bushings, clutch pivot ball, and tranny/diff oil. It's also easier to change the heater hoses while the tranny is out because you can tip the motor forward a few inches and access the hoses easier.

Another common upgrade is to replace the older heavy 2-piece oem driveshaft with a new aftermarket lighter 1-piece driveshaft. The stock driveshaft tends to wear out at the center support bearing and cause a vibration that you'll feel in your seat at around 30-40 mph.

 

the major difference is that with most old british cars (midget, b, a, tr-2-6 ext.), the job is most easily done by pulling the whole motor and tranny together and doing the job on the floor. with all the lines going to the z engine, this is not the case. you drop the transmission right out from underneath thanks to the removable rear mount.

the hardest part is getting the transmission back in the car. it weighs 85 lbs, and it's a tight fit to stab the shaft while the bell housing is pressing into the tranny tunnel.

you can do it. just be careful handling that transmission while your head is right under it.

 

Mine wasn't replaced with my clutch should I be worried? (96' TT 95,000miles)

 

Not really. You may be pulling the tranny again at some point to replace the seals before you need to do the clutch again. That's all.

 

Dropping the tranny by itself is how I have done it in the past so, aside from the fact the Z tranny will probably be twice as heavy as what I have done in the past, I don't expect any surprises.

Do you know if they make the centering spindle for a Z clutch install? I know in the past I used one on my old MGB. It was basically just a piece of engine drive shaft designed specifically to align the components on the transmission precisely.

 

Rough guesses on cost for the 3 seal kit, tranny mount, shifter bushings and clutch pivot ball? I want to use original Nissan parts to keep the car as orig as possible.

What is the fail rate of the OEM driveshaft... I had never heard this to be an issue. I would rather not replace if not absolutely necessary. I assume if problems did come up, it could always be done later. The car has 42k original miles on it, doesn't leak or show any signs of mechanical wear (other than the clutch.... which was fine today but acted up yesterday).

 

Courtesyparts.com is a Nissan dealer in Texas that sells online. They have really good prices. Mynismo.com is another dealer (Performance Nissan) in southern California.

Seal kit - $40
Nismo Tranny mount - $40
Shifter bushings - $15
Clutch Pivot ball - $20

Dayum, with 42k miles, you probably won't need the driveshaft, tranny mount or pivot ball. The seals may be o.k. too, but I'd replace them so that they should be good untill you need a clutch again.

Most clutch kits include the alignment tool that you'll need for the install.

The driveshaft is probably good for 150k+ miles.

 

2nd^^ most of that stuff should be good for you. i wouldn't worry about anything but the rear seal, clutch, pilot bushing and throw out bearing. don't forget to get the flywheel resurfaced. that really is a must. picture putting worn brake pads on a new rotor. doesn't fit well.

i recommend the exedy clutch kit. i got mine from ebay for $130 shipped. came with the allignment tool, and all other parts. works great.

if you do get a rear tranny mount, either get a nismo or one of those that i think spl sells. they are stiffer and won't wear out as quickly.

the life of the ds depends on age of the car a little but mostly driving habits and mileage. i'd say that if someone drove your car hard enough to wear the clutch out that fast, your ds may not be too terribly far behind. more specifically, your carrier bearing. i don't believe it's worth replacing the carrier bearing when you can just get a 1-piece for twice the price of the carrier bearing.

 

remove exhaust, remove exhaust heat shield, remove drive shaft, remove tranny (3 sensors and 10 bell housing bolts) pull tranny, drop clutch and flywheel, replace, and reassemble.

I've always found exhaust to be the biggest pain in my ***.

 

maybe taking the down pipes off. but the exhaust is never any problem for me on the n/a.

 

when removing a stock exhaust, it's a pain in the *** just because the bolts are rusty... my exhaust isn't any more bc i replaced it all.

 

oh yes agreed. it took me several days to get mine off the first time. i had to run around trying to find the right drill bits to drill the bolts i broke out. then had to run out to get more pb blaster for lube. bad weekend.

 

That's the thing I find odd: this car has not been driven hard. I bought it from an older gentleman in FL with 36k miles on it. It was garaged all the time and ridiculously mantained (timing belt at 25K). Not a single scratch on the car.

Granted, none of this means he wasn't tough on the clutch, but I find it odd at 42K I'm starting to notice it slipping.

 

a bad carrier bearing or rear transmission mount can easily be mistaken for a slipping clutch. the drive train wobble just makes a judder-like feel

 

first and foremost,did you try adjusting the pedal?

if it does come to pulling the tranny to replace, just remember to drain the tranny fluid before you go to stab it back in. /wink kasabekz

 

No I didn't adjust it because there is no free play. It has nice consistent pressure all the way down.

 

pressure shouldn't really be consistent all the way down. usually it eases up a little when you get near the floor. an adjustment can't hurt. it could save you a really big job. if the adjustment was out such that it would cause slip, there would be no free-play anyway.

 

I take back the bit about consistent pressure. I just checked it carefully again. The clutch has about an 1" to 1.5" of free play at the top before pressure which is then consistent all the way to the floor. The clutch has no problems getting into gear and shifts smoothly, it's acting like it's not releasing all the way. Driving carefully, it won't slip. Still go with the adjustment?

 

sounds like you are adjusted too far the other way to me, so no, i'd wait til after the clutch job. but i do still recommend checking trying to figure out if the judder is from the clutch or the carrier bearing or the rear tranny mount. are you actually seeing obvious slip where the engine revs but the car doesn't accelerate? or is it just shaking?

 

No shaking really, just slipping... engine revving but no acceleration. The first time it happened the other day, when I got to my destination a few miles down the road, you could smell the burning.

 

oh ok. it was worth checking

 

Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.

 

has anyone dealt with the spec stage 2 clutches?

 

One technique for testing a slipping clutch is to put in into 5th then dump the clutch. It should obviously just stall right away. If this is not the case, it's slipping. They do this in shops as a quick test. Just make sure you don't go flying through your garage door. Free play you mentioned seemed a little much, you might check to adjust it.. however too much free play would probably just not release your clutch when the pedal is pressed rather than cause the clutch to not engage fully(slip).