Recently i have been having a horrible problem while driving the Z. If i jam on the gas my car over revs by way too much and then drops back down again fast and finally catches back to where it should be. I was thinking maybe its a slipping clutch but i dont know much about clutches, flywheels, and transmissions.

An example was the other day on the freeway i needed to speed up to make a pass and i hit the gas about 3/4s down. The tach shot up to about 5-6k rpms and i smelled something like burnt clutch. I was in 6th gear and only going about 82. 5-6k rpm in 6th gear is more like 120+ mph.

I went to Mossy Nissan here in San Diego and they didnt give me the time of day but the guy said hed guess it may be a clutch problem, then proceeded to tell me that clutch problems aren't covered under warranty. Clutches ARE NOT supposed to burn out after 27k miles from what I have heard.

Is it a clutch problem or could it be something else?
If it is a clutch problem is it really not covered under warranty?
Shouldn't clutches last longer than 27k miles?

Thanks,
Alex

 

It sounds like it is your clutch and no they are not covered under warranty. After 5k miles sure it might be possible but after 27k no way they will cover it. Your driving style affects it too much. Its like brake pads. Either way you are going to need a new clutch soon enough. Best bet head up to Mossy Oceanside and talk to Greg Vogel. He runs Mossy Performance and can give you a good deal on a JWT clutch that should last you for quite a while.

 

I concur. What you listed as the problem is a common way to test a clutch. It is definitely slipping and you will need a new one. I would suggest adjusting your clutch tecnhiques with the new one.

 

so what are you guys trying to say....stop driving fast...haha fat chance. Naw jk, but seriously i should probably stop letting other people drive my car, i would say thats a good part of the reason why my clutch is already burned out. If im getting a new clutch i might as well get a new flywheel huh?

 

You could get the whole JWT setup for about $700 from Greg.

 

I definitely would not buy from mossy Nissan. The markup on their parts is ridiculous. Best would be to buy a clutch flywheel package from www.hopupracing.com or some other site that offers good deals. Then take it to mossy and have them do the install. They don't offer you a break on the labor wether you buy stuff from them or not so you might as well buy it cheap from somewhere else.

In the future you might want to take certain measures to protect your clutch.

#1 When waiting at stoplights switch to neutral. and let out the clutch. this will save the throwout bearing and expensive labor $$

#2 keep your foot off the clutch unless you are depressing it. People who always have their foot on the clutch can unknowingly allow slippage, not to mention unnessesary wear of the throwout bearing. Use the dead pedal and leave your foot off the clutch if it is not being used.

#3.Match revs, or double clutch on downshifts. A normal downshift wears the clutch quite a bit

Pretty simple stuff but chances are you are not doing at least 2 of the 3 things here. Hard on your car or not, a clutch should last more than 27,000 miles.
I beat the **** out of my car, but I maintain it well. I am at 31,000 and no tranny problems yet other than some annoying chatter at idle which has been there since day 1.

 

Yeah i am aware of all those problems listed above, i knew about them from before i ever got the Z. I always keep my left foot on the metal foot rest when not pressing the clutch, always keep it in nuetral at stoplights, and i match revs on downshifts. On my way from Sacramento to San Diego about 3 weeks ago i got stuck in horrible traffic in the grapevine. I was on the clutch every 20 seconds for 3 hours straight and i noticed the slipping after that so i think that may have put the clutch over the edge.

 

yeah WTF is that sound??? I get that every once in a while too.... I took it in and they said it's normal... then I've testdriven 3 others new Z's just like mine to see if they did it... only 1 of them did.

Do you get that clunk when you start the car out and take it out of nuetral??

$700 doesn't sound bad at all for a JWT clutch and flywheel! (thats for both right? ) how much do they usually want for the install on those tho???

 

Was wondering same thing as Die Die Die - how much install will be. I need to try to keep everything under $1k if i can.