I have JWC clutch/flywheel with 20K miles on the setup. Today my 2nd CSC busted (1st replaced under recall at the time of the clutch install).
I did a spirited climb earlier today without issues. Later in the day I was driving and started noticing the clutch pedal sticking and engaging lower and lower. Immediately pulled into a nearby parking lot. Turned car off and waited a few min. Figured it's the same sh** again - boiling fluid. Depressed the clutch - it went to the floor and stuck. Checked fluid - empty Called a friend to bring brake fluid. Added fluid, pushed the pedal a few times. The fluid would get sucked into the line but the pedal feel was unchanged. Rolled the car off and saw fluid on the ground. Towed home.
It's on jacks now. Fluid leaks from the bell housing where it attaches to the block. Quite clear that CSC is busted. I did some googling and saw a Maxima driver with the same issue. In his case, the CSC "blew up" and spewed brake fluid all over the housing, rendering the clutch disk useless. Should I worry about that with my Z? I'm ordering ZSpeed full kit (master, slave, lines). I would hate to get a new disk, too

Thanks for any advice.

 

You wont know if there is brake fluid in the bellhousing until you take it off and inspect. Might be a busted line thats leaking fluid but since youve got the upgraded clutch then Zspeed CSC and the master cylinder are a must.

 

The OEM CSC is a marginal POS at best. New clutch easily overloaded it, and led to early failure.

Go back to OEM, trade car for one with 5AT. End of problems.

 

I drove my car for 360 miles without the CSC and brake fluid in my bell housing. Didn't hurt my clutch at all. No slipping what so ever.

 

Yes, I figured as much.

lol, no, thanks.

Good news. Thank you.

 

Of course it didn't slip. You weren't disengaging it if you couldn't use the clutch.

How exactly did you drive the car without using the clutch, though?

You might not have hurt the clutch, but your starter and transmission must have caught holy hell.

 

You can change gears without using the clutch. You essentially slip the tranny into gear at certain rpms.. idk how to explain it exactly.

If you are familiar with Minnesota at all.., I drove from Duluth, which is in northern MN, to Austin, which is in southern MN, from 11pm to around 3am, around 360 miles.

I had to start the car in first, which probably wasnt the easiest on the starter. But the tranny should be able to hand that. Banging gears and no lift shifting probably will cause more harm than what I did. Any way, when I got home, I parked the car in my garage popping it out of first as I rolled in,, and now it just sits.

It still moves in and out of gear just fine when the car is off. Starts just fine with the car in neutral. If however, when I replace the Entire hydraulic system, the clutch slips, or isn't functioning properly, it (the clutch) will be replaced as well. I doubt there will be any issues though

 

Will I need to realign the clutch/pressure plate/flywheel when putting the transmission back on? I plan on replacing the CSC without taking the trany from under the car. Just take it off and slide it back far enough to work.

 

If you don't loosen the bolts holding the pressure plate to the flywheel, the clutch disc cannot move, so you won't need to realign it.

I doubt there's enough room to do what you're planning, though. Please let us know how it goes.

 

Thanks, man. I saw a post on a forum, guy said he did just that. Took the transmission down and rolled it back far enough to get in there and swap the CSC.

 

It worked out pretty well New master (Wilwood) and slave (Zspeed), plus steel lines.

 

Hey, what kind of transmission jack are you using and where did you get it from?

 

Harbor Freight. $80.

 

i have the wilwood/zspeed setup and like it. i am about to change the clutch but been scared to due to all the bleeding issues i have read about.... how hard was it to bleed with this setup?

 

LOL. That's what I thought. I'm going to use my 25% off coupon and pick one up over the weekend.

 

nice

 

Not sure what those bleeding issues are. I bled it before connecting the hose coming from the CSC. Then connected CSC line and bled again. The only issue I had was with the travel of the clutch pedal after install. Had to shorten it by a couple of revolutions at the master cylinder piston rod.

 

the problems i was talking about was with the stock setup, but i now how this one but didnt know how hard it was to do.... sounds easy