Alex Lee Huff

Even once the car is warmed up it takes about half a second before I can upshift from one gear to the next. It comes out of gear just fine but the shifter needs to be held up against the next gate for about half a second before it will go in. Fast shifting is impossible. Any ideas? Car has 26,675 miles on it so it's definitely not old....

MicVelo

I would hazard an educated guess that it's clutch related, most likely a failing concentric slave cylinder. These are known to die prematurely and even with low mileage, the car is going on 10 years old.

Alex Lee Huff

Most people have reported their clutch pedal sticking and not returning to the top of it's travel when it's a slave cylinder issue. The clutch feels good. If it is that then I guess I'll at least be happy that I've found the issue. I figured it wasn't synchros since those aren't known to go bad on the cd009 and I can't see every single synchro being bad. Could it be the clutch itself? Maybe the pressure plate?

dkmura

iTrader: (64)

Syncros won't cause the gearshift to hang up, they'll just grind. As Mic has said, it could be a defective CSC not fully transferring hydraulic pressure to release, or (as you speculate) a pressure plate not releasing. Either way, you'll need to drop the tranny to figure it out.

MicVelo

^^^ This.

Another thing to consider is shifter alignment. Have you worked on or had any work done that required shifter removal either underneath or in cabin? Even if you hadn't, shifters can come out of alignment for many reasons. This could cause non-engagement as well.

There are tons of thread here on that issue as well. Use google to separate them.

But I'm still going to go with clutch issue (or both)...

Alex Lee Huff

Thanks for the replies. I didn't think about it being a shifter alignment issue. Btw I forgot to mention that the clutch grabs at the very very top of it's travel. I just bought the car yesterday and today found out it has a wilwood master.

MicVelo

Typical HR clutch/slave behavior. Soft and high engagement. Hated that about mine. Next owner had to R&R the clutch and CSC not too long after I sold it to him at roughly 34k low miles (sorry Serg!!) but it really wasn't anyone's fault, it's just the OE Nissan HR setup.

Your having a Wilwood master makes me wonder "WHY?" unless PO was chasing the same issue you're having. Good luck!

Alex Lee Huff

Well damn. Well I'm going to flush the fluids in the trans as well as the clutch fluids and adjust my shifter plate while I'm at it. If that doesn't work I'll replace the clutch and slave. One of those things should fix it regardless.

MicVelo

Good start.... one tip here... Use either the factory 75W-85 GL-4 fluid or Redline MT-85. These fluids are the only ones that have the proper friction additives suitable for the Nissan transmission. (Not too slick like others lacking such additives.)

Normally, conventional wisdom would say "change the clutch while you're in there tearing apart the CSC" but.... before doing so, you might want to inspect the clutch for wear first. At 26k miles, you should have plenty of life left. Just make sure you have a RETURNABLE clutch on hand while doing so in case you don't need it.

Alex Lee Huff

Alright so I adjusted the shifter plate. It was so far off I could go into reverse without pressing down on the shifter. Greatly improved but still nptchy. Now it only takes a split second to go into the next gear but it's still longer than I'd like. Why would it have been so far off unless there has been transmission work?

Alex Lee Huff

I got under the car and saw this. ... What?

travlee

iTrader: (8)

that is the bleeder valve for the zspeed hd slave setup. so if it has the wilwood master, they system has been replaced

Alex Lee Huff

Could the aftermarket slave be going bad? I'll be changing the trans fluid to mt-85 tomorrow as well as bleeding the clutch system. Just hoping it's not something serious. Transmission could have shifted internally for all I know.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

possible, yes.... but not likely. i would have flushed and bleed first, then adjusted the gate, and you can also adjust the rod and cleavis on the master. if you call Joe at zspeed, he can tell you how to do it. he is very helpful, when i had to adjust mine he stayed on the phone with me as i did it

Alex Lee Huff

I'll talk to him. I also just found out that there's a Z Speed shop 2 minutes from my house.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i think that is the only one.... so lucky for you

Alex Lee Huff

I found an instructional on how to adjust it. What should I be adjusting for? Apparently it controls clutch stroke and engagement.

travlee

iTrader: (8)

i would think stroke, but talk to joe first

Alex Lee Huff

Took the car to z speed. Was told it could either be fluids or clutch. If those two don't fix it then idk what would. Fluids will be changed Wednesday. Will keep everyone posted. I hate threads where someone has a problem and they never post how they solved it.

Alex Lee Huff

Well I changed the fluid to mt-85, bled the clutch lines and made a final adjustment to the shifter plate. All this made the car much easier to drive. The gears are still pretty notchy but nothing like before. I can live with this. After i get my weighted shift **** it should be decently mint. I will probably drive it like this until a synchro fails at which point ill just put a 370z transmission in it. Car also has a SPEC stage 3 + clutch which is adding to the difficulty. Take that for what its worth. Thanks for all the help everyone!