Does the 350Z use the same clutch alignment tool as any other Nissans? We're about to do a flywheel install on my car, but we need to get our hands on an alignment tool. If an alignment tool from other Nissans would work, then perhaps I could find someone locally loan me one.

 

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It should be the same as any other Nissan, however it may not be necessary to use the alignment tool. I have done several clutch replacements all without the alignment tool.

 

You don't think it would be necessary? I'd be up for that, but I'd hate to get the thing all disassembled and not be able to get it lined up and back together again because we didn't have the tool. Is it really that easy to line up without the tool? Do you have any tricks that allow you to do so?

I've been calling *everywhere* in my town today and *nobody* can help me out with this darn tool. My Nissan dealer parts department didn't have any they could sell me, and of course the service department won't loan them out. My friend who is going to do the work has been calling all of his contacts trying to find one, and he's having no luck, either.

 

No its not easy to line up without a pilot shaft. It really is a pain and takes more time but it saved me the expense of finding one.

What I do is try to make sure everything is lined up the best I can before tightening the pressure plate bolts. Then I just fight the transmission until I get one of the holes in the housing to line up to set a bolt through it. Then everything should work itself in at that point. Just make sure you tightening everything in a crisscross pattern.

 

Without an alignment tool you are asking for trouble. If it's not aligned you could damage the clutch disc with the output shaft when you try to slide the tranny onto the motor. You could eyeball it but why risk it. Most of the larger retailers have tool rentals...any place where you can rent strut spring compressors, pully pullers, etc ....should have what you need.

 

I ended up calling every single place in my area I could, and no one had any Nissan alignment tools for sale or rent. So, we scrounged up a universal alignment tool (a decent quality one), and it did the job. It did require a little bit of eyeballing to make sure it was lined up right (since it was not splined like the proper tool would be), but we ended up doing it perfectly on the first try. Tranny slid in perfectly.

Overall the install was pretty easy for this type of work and went very smoothly. My mechanic kept commenting on how much room there was to work compared to other cars he has to work on all the time.