Hey guys. So far the Z has been great except for today. I've searched and searched, but I'm still not sure what the problem could be. Anyway here it goes, I was driving along slowly getting the temps up to normal as usual. By the way, I just moved to Arizona last year. So now that it is summer, I have noticed the temps are getting quite hot here around 100-110. So far the car has been driving great, but today I always notice that the clutch always gets soft. I had that problem once before and I said I would see what was up. At nights it is cool here so shifting isn't a too much of problem just notchiness in 1-2 and butter the rest of the way. Today though went for a half throttle pull after everything was warmed up completely then I push in the clutch ALL the way down and go into second at around 3500-4000rpm's and bam grinding going into second. Not sure if that did any major damage to my transmission, but all I can say that was a scary first feeling. I never had that issue before. So in my perspective, I think the problem is the clutch fluid is getting too hot under the hood because I've been noticing the clutch is way too SOFT when driving in this hot weather. I really hated to hear and feel that grind, but it happened so I can't do anything about that. So what are your opinions? Could be the tranny itself, a simple fluid change(the fluid still looks really clear yellow), or maybe the synchro from 1-2 is bad. The car has 4591 miles on it. Thanks guys....

 

make sure u use 75-85 or 75-90 WITH GL4! gl5 is in most common in gear oils sold at store and will destroy brass synchros. i made this mistake when i first bought the car, ran it for 10K miles, til i got into this stuff 4 yrs ago and ive drain n filled my tranny with correct fluid 4x since. peace of mind lol cars a 04 with 70k

 

I haven't changed the fluid since. I just got the car last year around January.

 

I just took the car out for a drive night-time and did not get any grinding from half to WOT from 1st to 2nd gear. I'm guessing it's fluid related I think. Any suggestions?

 

I'm stomped to what your issue might be...especially with such low miles...

Have you or are you thinking about taking it to a dealer?

 

If I was you I'd call Nissan USA and ask customer service about the clutch slave Cylinder issue. I think there was a recall. This may not be your problem, but If your car is effected by the recall, it would get you some new fluid in the line for free.

 

That is kind of weird Kevin, I would try getting some better fluids in there asap, and a stainless steel clutch line would never hurt. If you get better fluid, maybe it will resist the heat better. (May want to add that you live in AZ, where it is over 100degrees all the time...)

If that doesn't work, take it to the dealer while its still under warranty.

 

That is weird. Like I said it went away at night. I did the same thing and even shifted faster than usual to test for the grind. It didn't do it last night. During the day the clutch got soft, but last night it felt like it had resistance like on first start up.

 

Any more suggestions guys? I don't feel like bringing it to the dealerships because who knows what can go wrong if some tech screws up something.

 

Well, if they screw something up, they would have to fix/replace whatever they screwed up, so I wouldn't worry too much! I felt the same way as you and I just got my transmission replaced under warranty. After the work I took my car home and jacked it up to take a look. Everything was perfect and I could not even tell any work had been done. Just be aware of the work they do and inspect things when you get the vehicle back.

Oh, and my transmission was replaced at 30K miles because I was grinding when shifting from 6th to 5th when the transmission was cold.

 

What year is your Nismo? Also, do you mean cold like just start and drive off because I usually give my engine a minute or two to get the oil circulated. I have an 08 with 4500 miles on it and that was the first time I experienced the grind in 1-2 gear. I never noticed anything hen I was in ga, but here in Az the temps get so hot that I think I would need a fluid change for some high temp fluid. I'm not ure if mine grinds, but it is notchy at times and smooth at times also.

 

Make an appointment to have our guys look at it. In all likelyhood, just a clutch line, new Motul fluid, and some carefully bleeding is all that will be required to firm up that pedal. Proper stroke and a firm pedal should sold the issues with grinding. It's grinding because the clutch isn't fully releasing before due to the soft pedal/lack of disengagement.

edit, realized you moved to AZ.

 

/thread

 

that happen to me when i try to quick shift in to second gear.
My easy fix was to bleed the clutch fluid.

 

your slave is likely going. I'd suggest having it looked at before it leaves you stranded, as they are prone to do. It's a well known issue

air doesn't just get into the clutch line by accident, as it's a sealed system, so bleeding may offer only temporary relief

the temps where you live now have really nothing to do with needing a high performance fluid - sure, it won't hurt, but the clutch system takes a very, very small amount of fluid. The only way it will boil is if the fluid has tons of moisture (water drops the boiling threshold). But since the clutch and brake use the same fluid, your brakes would likely exhibit the same scenario. Remember, they sold NISMO's new in AZ too, and they didn't come with any special fluids from the factory

 

^^^I doubt if its the slave...could be but why would he ONLY be having the issue when its hot if its the slave? It has to be something temperature/fluid/clutch line related. I could be wrong though.

 

yeah my problem start after a track day, so i believe the heat is the main issue.

 

I only experienced it once after one year of ownership. It never happened in Ga, but here it did. I did notice the clutch getting soft, but not as soft as I experienced when I moved out here to Az. I'm thinking it could be the heat. Still not sure though, I talked to a GT-R tech and he said it's most likely the fluid could be boiling. I didn't even experience it at night time when it was a bit cooler. No issues what so ever. Maybe fast-shifting caused it.

 

So again, I took my car out for a drive and 1-2 upon start up is really smooth. It just goes right in gear. Everything went well, but I have encountered smoothy and notchy shifting. I don't think that's a problem. Sometimes the gears are smooth when downshifting or notchy. Is that normal? Also, I haven't experienced any grinding noises from 1-2, just the usual notchiness, but sometimes it is a little bit hard to get in gear at half throttle. What do you all think? Happy 4th to everyone!

 

Compared to my 335I the NISMO is always "notchy"