tharais

Long time lurker, need a bit of help. I've been through several forums and talked to a few shops but still, don't know which way to go.

2005 350ZR 6MT and all of 20,000 miles on the odo. It's bone stock and, I don't drive it hard.

1) Had the "clutch pedal not fully returning when hot" issue a few times when still under extended warranty. Dealer said they couldn't duplicate, not to worry. I listened but, should have trusted my gut.

2) Occasionally smelled burning clutch. I yelled at wife to not ride clutch. Now, I owe her big time. It wasn't her. ;-(

3) Began driving 60 mile RT to work as daily driver two months ago, after years as a garage queen/weekend fun rides only. I commute from Vallejo to Antioch daily.

Just last week the clutch began to slip. Research shows, I should have trusted my gut years back when I knew that something wasn't right and pushed hard on Nissan for new clutch and most likely, slave cylinder.

But, that's water under the bridge now.

I need to:

A) Figure out which clutch to go with and where to get it.
B) Figure out what shop to have put it in (I'm too busy to do myself).
C) Make sure I get everything right and don't pay too much.

After a lot of research, here's where I stand and need your advice:

* A local, well rated shop says buy whatever clutch kit and flywheel I like and they'll install for $400.

This is not bad except, I was looking to them for recommendation and they had none. They have done Nissan clutches but not 350Z. This causes me hesitation.

** Eat the high cost and let Nissan dealership do it.

But, they will go with stock OEM and, I have no faith new clutch won't also be gone in 20,000 miles. Plus, I had the local Nissan dealer repair the seat belt warning light, only to find out four month's later that they screwed up the passenger side. There is no warning light function for passenger seat. I have little hope that a Nissan dealership will get a clutch right for long term reliability.

*** Spoke to a great shop owner in South Bay who advertised as being a Z specialist. Had a lengthy conversation and he recommended going with Exedy Stage 1 and quoted $470 labor.

I was comfortable with him and how he dealt with me but... he had researched online too to figure out what was what. He quotes the clutch kit and flywheel for twice what I would have to pay to online discounter here, for same items. And, in conversation I figured out his "Z specialist" credentials were due to prior racing experience with 280Zs and that, he is not as familiar with Z33 as I had assumed based on his ads. And, the Exedy Stage 1 he is quoting is the OEM if I understand things correctly.


**** The Z Garage is tempting. I haven't spoken to them yet. They are far away.

My temptation at this point is to utilize one of the vendors here with $775 offer for JWT clutch kit, flywheel and new, SS lines and take it to the local shop with no Z experience but they seem honest and talk to me like I know something.

What advice can forum participants offer?

faiz23

Let me get this straight. You have 20k and your clutch is toast. I have 102k and mine grabs like a MOTHERF****R. If you truly need a clutch then get the exedy kit online or JWT. I highly doubt it is clutch or flywheel with only 20k but hopefully you can salvage the dual mass flywheel to keep chatter at OEM levels. If you go lightened flywheel don't whine and moan when she talks to you.

The issue with pedal not returning probably has to do with clutch fluid or needing to bleed your line. Lastly it could be the slave cylinder or master cylinder but I would start with fluid since it is cheap and way overdue for most folks.

tharais

Let me get this straight. You have 20k and your clutch is toast.

Yes. Sadly, not uncommon. There are similar early clutch failures all over the internet, even this forum. Commonality is Nissan 3.5l V6 w/MT6 applications for both Nissan and Infinity. Nissan has (or had) a clutch problem but they have refused to address it.


If you truly need a clutch then get the exedy kit online or JWT. I highly doubt it is clutch or flywheel with only 20k but hopefully you can salvage the dual mass flywheel to keep chatter at OEM levels. If you go lightened flywheel don't whine and moan when she talks to you.

It is definitely the clutch and/or clutch disc. She slips and burns with only a little goose of the go pedal. Salvaging the double mass flywheel is unknown until the tranny is dropped. I am not holding out hope. But, for the reasons you site, I'd love to keep it.


The issue with pedal not returning probably has to do with clutch fluid or needing to bleed your line. Lastly it could be the slave cylinder or master cylinder but I would start with fluid since it is cheap and way overdue for most folks.[/QUOTE]

The failure of the clutch pedal to return to a full up position in hot conditions is also all over the internet. You'll see it on this forum and other 350Z forums along with those pertaining to sister ship G35. Concensus seems to point to heat related problems with slave cylinder and possibly line. Some report improvement with fluid change to DOT4. Others have replaced the master cylinder.

I appreciate the advice. I only wish I too could have gotten 100,000 miles out of the OEM clutch. I seriously doubt I'll ever buy another Nissan. Not because this problem happened. But because Nissan won't deal with an obvious problem that purchasers had with these particular models and applications. Toyota has been so much better about issues.

djamps

iTrader: (1)

JWT is a good aftermarket option. Clutch replacement isn't rocket science... I'd say go for it with your cheaper shop, just make sure they are aware of the flywheel alignment on the DE (since they may not have much experience with DE/HR engines)... if they don't align the marks correctly it won't run. Also replace your fluid, bleed the hell out of it and get the SS line along with the kit.

tharais

Thanks. You're right of course about the level of sophistication necessary to do the job. I'd already been thinking, get the JWT clutch kit and a new slave cylinder and drop it off at the local shop.

In the meantime, I've contacted Rob at ZGarage and had a nice chat. It's true, the man knows his stuff and has a great rep according to online reviews except for two and one here on this forum. The negative reviews are harsh and claim he oversold and overcharged and was "a good friend" until he had your money.

He's recommending the JWT clutch and replacement of the MC, line & slave cylinder.

BUT, he's also carefully avoiding talking about cost and insisting he needs to see the car AND me driving it to determine my driving style before he can recommend which level of clutch to go to.

And that feels like the hard sell. After all, if I drive it the 70 miles down to his shop he pretty much has me over a barrel and can try the Big O Tire technique of quoting a high price but insisting that I can't drive it away now and need to let him do the work. His reviews are great and that gives me confidence but this feeling of being pushed to "bring it in so he can see me driving it" makes me wonder if he's the Tony Robbins of the Z world? I'm not afraid they'll do bad work. But, I am afraid to needlessly overpay.

I can buy the clutch kit, flywheel and MC line & slave kit pretty cheaply online from one of the forum vendors and drop it all off with fluids and Nissan trans oil at the local shop knowing that I face whatever I've spent on parts and $400+ in labor for the install.

I guess I have to decide if the Z Garage's reputation and model specific specialization is worth what is likely a higher cost for labor plus the trip down there and the cost of renting a car to go back and forth.

I have noticed in the Z Garage's five star reviews that people said they were cheaper than the dealer and some other shops.

zakmartin

Please do everyone a favor and file a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The more complaints they receive about this issue, the more likely it is that Nissan will do a recall or reimburse people who have had to pay out of pocket to fix the defect (yes, D-E-F-E-C-T). Thanks!

tharais

Well, I've had some more dealings with Rob at ZGarage and, I'm scheduled to drop the car off. He gave me a written quote and asked for approval and even allowed online signing of a pdf document which is rather sophisticated for an auto shop. I'm feeling much better about this whole thing, although I still don't get the "need to see you drive it" shtick but, hey, sometimes it's just me.

The quoted price was reasonable as these things go. I could have saved a couple of hundred on the clutch R&R based on what I see from vendors here, and the quote from that local shop but, I've got Rob doing a complete replacement of the clutch MC, slave and lines - which my online research of the issue leads me to believe is the problem which leads to early clutch failures in the Z - so I'd rather pay for the specialty knowledge of the model to be sure that it is installed OEM precise.

I hate it when I pay a shop - which isn't too often - for work only to find a functional, but not so esthetic jury rigged result....you know? When the line didn't quite fit so they bent it and scratched up the area around it using the Ford tool to gain clearance?

I have great confidence I'd never see such butchery from the Zgarage.

worm1998

the m/c and slave are constant problems with the Z. def a good idea to replace along with the new clutch. i had the JWT Clutch/Flywheel package/ss line installed at AAMCO here in Burbank as the owner knew nissans and said the Z is one of the easier cars to do a clutch job on. Labor total was $400 even out the door and has run great ever since. good luck and i hope everything comes back running great for you

tharais

I'm really pleased with the JWT clutch and ZcarGARAGE after two weeks of driving the new set up. I highly recommend both.

It's much better than stock ever was as the clutch engages lower allowing me to rock on my heel, grabs tighter and slips in a more predictable fashion making shifting a less vague. Even the gearshift seems to slide about in the notches in a tighter fashion and less vague than it did before.

Yes, it transmits slightly more transmission noise than before. But, it's only noticeable from about 0 to 20 MPH, maybe because I've got a roadster and, there is plenty of noise with a soft top anyway.

And, the clutch takes a fair amount more effort from my left foot to hold down, but nothing that I can't handle. Although, my wife hasn't even tried to drive the car with her bad knee and berates me for getting the MT in the first place.

Yes, I know that ATs have come a long ways. But, I'm old. I still say that having and AT on a sports car like the Z is like having training wheels on your Harley.