On my way to autox, couldn't get it in any gear!

[oregonmon]

I almost got stranded today, luckily just a few blocks from my house. At a stop sign, I tried to shift back into first with clutch in and I couldn't. Would go into to any gear. I turned the car off, got in into 2nd and limped home.
Also, when I was taking it back home, with the clutch depressed the car still kind of acted like it was in gear.
Anyhow, I autox with our G35 anyway and watched a great group of cars on PIR track afterwards.
What should I check.

[gduke]

Prob. time to replace your clutch. I just replaced mine. Same symptoms.

[Zeke]

I would say your pin in the pedal cluster is about to shear. That, or the clutch cable is on its last strand and is going to break. Both inexpensive to replace, so I'd start there.

[oregonmon]

Someone else said clutch cable too. Anyone have any instructions or thread on that.
Thanks.

[dentist90]

Sounds like your clutch is working fine, just won't release. Pedal cluster, stretched/fraying cable, damaged TO fork. TO bearing itself may have let go.

[Zeke]

Originally posted by oregonmon
Someone else said clutch cable too. Anyone have any instructions or thread on that.
Thanks.

Pelican has an excellent tech section. Just go to the home page and look on the left of the screen.

Or search.

[jwernquist]

I had the same thing and it was a my clutch cable..... It's not too bad to replace either just a little patience.

[Hugh R]

Check the easy stuff first. Check the clutch adjustment. Mine went to crap a few years ago and the clutch adjustment had slipped. Same symptom.

[HarryD]

When I had these same symptoms, it was a broken clutch cable. Check that out before you spend some real dollars. Even if it is ok, having a spare for when it does break will be good insurance.

BTW, I presume you were the Infiniti that ran this morning at our AX. Looking at the results, you showed real good improvement. The course was quite technical with a dose of speed added for good measure. Tough one for a newbie. Hopefully we will see you out there again!

[oregonmon]

Thanks Harry,
Which car were you in? I definately will be out there again, but with the 911. I had a fun time with the G35 after my 2 DNF's, I started improving. The best part was turning of the TCS and letting the tail hang out on some of the tight turns. Seems like a great group and WOW the cars on the DE afterwards were fantastic.

[HarryD]

I ran in the first run group in Car #6. This is me and my son from a few years ago:

[oregonmon]

Well John at Autowerks has been checking out the car and he is leaning towards a full clutch assembly replacement.
We were talking about the original setup with the rubber disc thingy instead of the spring disc thingy.
Would this be the replacement kit? 915-116-911-00-M38
Or would the replacement with upgrade be this? 911CP-2003BN
Ouch this could be expensive. Anyone pay a shop to do this, and how much do it run you?

[HarryD]

Do you currently have the rubber centered clutch or is he proposing you go back to that design?

How did he rule out a bad cable?

Clutch replacement will be something like parts plus labor to R&R engine plus a bit of time to install the parts. Parts should include the throw out bearing, clutch disk, pressure plate and replace rear engine seal. You may need to replace or resurface the flywheel as well.

edited to remove the words "infamous exploding"

[dentist90]

I was under the impression that the rubber-centered clutches were superceded by the conventional spring type (?).
You can get a Sachs clutch kit (pressure plate, friction disc and TO bearing) for $300-$400 if you shop for it.
It still sounds like the problem is more related to the clutch not releasing. How does the pedal feel when you push down on it? If it still feels firm and linear you might try adjusting the cable at the throwout lever. Turn the adjusting nuts a few turns to tighten the cable and see if the clutch releases. If it is a fraying cable or weakened roll pin in the pedal cluster you will know when it goes!

[oregonmon]

Do you currently have the infamous exploding rubber centered clutch

That's what John the mechanic is proposing. From what he says the cable was good. Don't know more than that.
I was wondering about the flywheel too, and wondering if I should go with a upgraded lightweight version.

t still sounds like the problem is more related to the clutch not releasing. How does the pedal feel when you push down on it?

The pedal is firm if not heavy, unless that's common. He drove it briefly today and said it wasn't giving him the same problems it gave me. Then I told him it has taken a few blocks of driving for it to become hard or impossible to get in gear again. Which tells John that it could be broken pieces of rubber disc moving around in there or there may be a little oil on the clutch. If it was a cable or adjustment, the problem would be there always. That theory makes some logical sense to me at least.

[HarryD]

Unless you are racing, why deal with the hassel of lightweight flywheel?

If you trust him, I guess you should proceed. Sounds like a bad clutch or a leaking rear seal.

[oregonmon]

I wasn't aware of much hassel with lightened flywheel, please school me.
Driveability issues?

[HarryD]

The flywheel helps the engine keep it's momentum when you engage the clutch. For a race car, the ligher fly wheel means you need to accelerate less mass, and gives you a slighly better rate of acceleration as your power goes to the wheels instead of overcoming the inertia of the mass in the flywheel. Also, the lighter flywheel, since it has less inertia, means it is easier to stall when you first start moving the car from a dead stop.

[oregonmon]

Aaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!! $1000 for clutch assembly replacement. That's parts and labor. Ugh. Oh well I guess the way I should look at it is I got the car for a good deal.
He recommends replacing a couple of $10 parts and seals while in there too.
What is the clutch kit part number here so I can see what the price is retail?

[HarryD]

Just check our hosts web pages....