How's it going? I've got an '05 ZR with ~70,000 miles on it. Around 10,000 miles ago my clutch pedal started sticking here and there. I bled the hydraulic system and it fixed it for a little while, then it recently came back. Long story short, I was in a drive-through and when I went to shift into gear and pull away from the window my shifter had a hard time getting into first & all subsequent gears. Now it just refuses to let me shift into any gear. Initially after reading the forums I though it was a pressure issue in my hydraulic system, so I swapped out my master/slave cylinders and bled the system out again with Nissan Heavy Duty Brake Fluid. Now the clutch feels great.........but the Z still wont allow me to shift into any of the gears

I feel like I've definitely done my due diligence in research and am pretty sure its time to let the professionals handle things. My guess is one or more of the synchros in the tranny are toast from the previous driver, any other suggestions? Anyone know a trustworthy/decent Mechanic/Transmission Shop in the Virginia Beach area? I've been using Hall Nissan in the past, but they recently jacked up all of their rates (wanted $650.00 to replace the master/slave cylinders, which I did with $175 in parts and an 1-1.5 hours of my time) and I've heard a few horror stories when it comes to transmission engine work adding up fast with little things additional charges here and there.

Thanks in advance for any help,

Mike

 

As far as trannys go im sure you know you need to look for A cd009. You could also get away with used one since the car has 70000 miles on it anyway. They are kind of hard to come by but if you start searching diligently on the forums etc im sure you can find one for 600-700 dollars. Sounds weird that the synchros would go all of a sudden. Are you sure its the tranny and not something clutch related seeing as you had a bunch of other problems?

 

+1 on being a clutch issue... sounds like the clutch isnt engaging for some reason if you cant shift into ANY gears at all.

But sorry I have no recommendations for shops in your area.

 

My father actually talked with his BMW mechanic and came back with the same answer as well. So, if there is a good chance its clutch issues inside the bell-housing, how difficult is it to drop the tranny? Is it something I could probably do in my garage with the help of 1-2 people in a weekend or is it worth getting it to someone with a full-fledged lift? I've dropped the tranny out of my '67 Mustang several times with no problems but that car was a tad less complex than the Z.

I bought this car when it had ~51,000 miles on it and the owner replaced the clutch/flywheel as part of the purchase, so I'm wondering if they may have mis-torqued something or not installed something properly. After taking a look at the service manual (CL-13....See attachment), I'm guessing the "Holder Spring" or "Snap Spring" may have come loose / off. Any other suggestions? As I mentioned the clutch pedal and hydraulic system now seem tight and functioning properly. I've tested the Slave Cylinder and it is definitely depressing/releasing the fork.

 

Now that this discussion kind of switched up from a Regional Question to a Technical one, is there a way to have this post moved to the general Tech Questions forum?

 

You pm a mod. I think AcidJake may be able to do it. Im pretty sure he is the tech mod.

 

Take it to Tidewater Z in Poquoson. Its not that convenient from VB, but always worth the drive IMO.

 

problem is he cant drive... I think he is trying to save on the tow bill lol

 

op, ask your question in vadriven. I always get local help that way. tidewaterz is a good recommendation also. you might want to try custom car care in yorktown also. .. that is if you can get your car to York co. I only know of a good BMW dude in your area...

 

ive worked with Cotterman transmision before, they treated me pretty good, they are off holland and rosemont....

 

Thanks for the input. After all was said and done 2 things happened....

1. I found out what the problem was:

Long story short. Unknown to me, a short time before I bought the car (~18,000 miles ago @ 51,000 miles) the clutch/flywheel was apparently replaced & whoever did it didn't loktite & torque the flywheel bolts correctly. 1 of them ended up unscrewing itself & spending a few months rolling around in my bell-housing, tearing up everything in sight until it finally got caught & stopped it in its track. Hello new clutch, flywheel & throwout bearing.

2. I found out the cost for a Nissan dealership to replace all of those items was A LOT!!! lol...

I ended up taking it to Hall Nissan on Bonnie Road (~.5 miles from my house) because I had a 3rd party extended warranty and figured there was a good chance that would cover the damage. Although I ended up shelling out a pretty penny for the repair because of that nice hidden clutch/flywheel replacement, I do have to say I was pleasantly surprised with how well I was treated there. My tech kept me up to date every step of the way, went to bat for me with the warranty company & made sure every part that was replaced was kept for me after the repair just in case I wanted to take it further with the insurance company. I know most people would rather do the work themselves than go to "the stealership", but they weren't 1/2 bad.

BOTTOM LINE: picked up the Z Friday & after crying as they swiped my CC, I finally understand why everyone loves theirs...the clutch/tranny feels WAY different and I keep finding reasons why I have to go for a drive...

 

welcome back