# how to?- throwout bearing



## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

I used the search button and found some inconsistent information. My clutch is stiff as hell. I've triple checked the routing of it, and have greased the cable and pedal assembly with white lithium spray, with no real results. It usually loosens up a bit after it's driven a while, but still too stiff. The clutch has about 30k unabused miles. It started out getting really creaky and sticky, so I changed the cable and ever since then it's been stiff.

I know, it's gotta be the throwout bearing, right? What I want to know is how to get at it in a 93 GA16? Do you have to pull the clutch, tranny, and/or motor? Should I just regrease it, or replace it?

I don't have the means to do it myself at college, so I guess my ultimate question is how many hours of labor should it take a decent mechanic to do?


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## nismo18 (Jan 9, 2003)

Ya your gonna have to pull out the motor mount on the trans side and drop your suspension. Basically you have to pull everything thats in the way of your tranny and drop it below. Throwout bearings arent that expensive(30 bucks).

P.S. It took me awhile to get into my clutch(10 hours) to take part and put the new clutch in but i didnt know much about my car at the time and my friend knew alot about cars.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

So it'd probably be a couple hundred bucks in labor to pay a pro to do it? If it comes to that I'll definitely toss in a couple more and replace the bearing.

I know this is gonna sound ghetto as hell, but is there a way to get enough clearance into the clutch housing to stick in the little red tube from a white lithium spray can and just hose the shit down? I know it's not an appropriate fix, but it could put it off long enough to save the money and get an ACT heavy duty street clutch put in while I'm paying for all that labor anyways.


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## se-r-57 (May 1, 2002)

The tranny has to come outta the car. I usually charge $250 or so to do it. It takes 4 hours or so if ya know what your doin.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Thanks guys. That's everything I needed to know. Conclusion? I'm gonna live with it as is till shit starts breakin, then do whatever has to be done to fix it properly when it's absolutely necessary.


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

BikerFry said:


> *So it'd probably be a couple hundred bucks in labor to pay a pro to do it? If it comes to that I'll definitely toss in a couple more and replace the bearing.
> 
> I know this is gonna sound ghetto as hell, but is there a way to get enough clearance into the clutch housing to stick in the little red tube from a white lithium spray can and just hose the shit down? I know it's not an appropriate fix, but it could put it off long enough to save the money and get an ACT heavy duty street clutch put in while I'm paying for all that labor anyways. *


you'll lube up your whole clutch assymbly if you do that. bad idea. if it's your throw out bearing it's cause its not sliding on the input shaft properly... No way to lube it w/ o the tranny off the car. I would just check and double check your clutch cable... maybe have it diagnosed by a mechanic you trust. then you won't have to spend the money to drop the tranny if indeed is some cable, pedal related problem.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Yeah, I'll do that next week... Cuz now that I think about it some more, although it does seem like a problem with the throwout bearing... It wasn't very stiff before I changed the cable but it was stiff immediately afterwards and ever since. Dah, what could it be?... I mean, I've checked it looks to be routed the only way that seems possible, but then again I am the dumbass who fried his ECM installing a Tach, so maybe there's something I don't know enough to see. I lubed the cable up with white lithium grease a couple weeks ago and it seemed to make a big difference initially, but now it's reeeaaally stiff every morning. Is white lithium too heavy to lube a cable?

Thanks for the advice about not hosin down my clutch assembly. It seemed like a shady idea, but when it comes to fixin things (be it my computer, my car, whatever) I'm wreckless at best.  Gets to be expensive sometimes (i.e. my 945 dollar tach :balls: ) but it sure is fun! 

If it is somethin between my left foot and clutch housing, do you have any ideas where I could have gone wrong? Thanks a million! I don't like takin her to a mechanic and lettin another man touch her under the hood! Plus it's fun to work on.


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

Sounds like your clutch cable. If you lube it and it fixes your problem temporarily then the TOB is working properly, no? Try to find someone with a sentra and look how the clutch cable is routed to make sure yours is correct. If it is, replace it, again and make sure to route it properly. See how it goes. I don't know that a TOB could cause that kind of problem with the pedal anyway. Keep in mind that the pressure you feel is the pressure plate. The friction cause by a TOB on the input shaft is probably next to nothing even if it isn't lubed compared to the pressure supplied by the pressure plate. I think really your biggest concern w/ a throwout bearing is the bearing itself, when you hear a noise when it engages or sorta feel vibrations when you put the clutch in due to a dead bearing. Just some 3:00am thoughts.


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

That makes sense. Thanks for the info about the throwout bearing/pressure plate. You must be right that a bearing couldn't cause this much resistance.

I was talkin to a guy on friday who won the super chevy's 2 years in a row in cars he fabricated himself a while back (he had a 500ci blown nitrous injected 8.2 second street legal chevy for a while) so I asked him about it since he obviously knows his shit. He pretty much just smacked me and told me the obvious: "Just go with good old logic. If the only thing you changed was the clutch cable then the problem has to be the clutch cable." Haha I love it when I'm thinking too hard to see the really blatantly obvious...

So... Who makes a good clutch cable and/or where can I get one?


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

Nissan, call your dealer, and then let me know how much they are


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

$55.81 plus tax

My one from Autozone that sucks was like 20 bucks. I remember reading in somebody's post a while back: "Cheap parts in your car = a cheap ass car..."


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

Sorry to bring back an old post, but just in case someone has the same trouble as me...

I had to move my cable out of the way last night to fix a leak, so while I had it out I sprayed some liquid wrench into the cable and then put everything back together. It was cold this morning so I came out to my car expecting to have to kick it to the floor like I always do when it's cold and I damn near put my foot through the firewall.  The liquid wrench loosened it up.

Lesson learned: When you get a new cable, lubricate it with a penetrating oil. A non-spray oil will be easiest to work all the way through through the cable, but an aerosol can worked for me too. White lithium, even in an aerosol can, is too heavy to lubricate a cable.


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## NATURAL81 (May 11, 2003)

a bad throwout bearing would make a noise not make you clutch pedal hard. if you can feel it when the engine is off im going to guesss its the clutch cable. 95% sure


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## StevenLK (Jul 15, 2002)

i have an '93 auto, E-type and idle'n / or whever u can here it over the exhaust has a constant pingggg))) pinggg)))) . ever few secs. could that be a throwout bearing?


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

StevenLK said:


> *i have an '93 auto, E-type and idle'n / or whever u can here it over the exhaust has a constant pingggg))) pinggg)))) . ever few secs. could that be a throwout bearing? *


Now... I've never ever done any work w/ an auto tranny but I'm pretty sure they don't have throw out bearings... seeing as how that is what disengages the *clutch* which an auto doesn't have. So my guess is no, it's not your throwout bearing.

My car goes Pingggg pingggg... when the door is "ajar"... and I've seriously wanted to kick the crap out of my car when I hear that.


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## StevenLK (Jul 15, 2002)

oh' haha, well im dont kno what that is. and sum firends of mine sed it must be a thrown out bearing or rod or sum shht. i just wasnt sure.... but it still runs' it has 109189mi' amazing!!


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## PAIN (Apr 21, 2003)

just my .02 it could be a throwou bearing causing the stiff pedal speaking from my own prob 92 sentra e broke 3 clutch cables asked a friend who works at a tranny shop told me to check the tob sure enuff it was dry as a bone and makin no noise just a stiff pedal
I tried lubing my cables thinkin they were binding it was a temp fix until it broke in rush hour traffic so I would have it checked anyway


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## BikerFry (Jul 31, 2003)

I think my TOB probably still needs lube or replacement cuz my pedal's kinda sticky still, but the stiffness is definitely the cable. It was stiff as soon as I put the cable in and it goes away right away when I lubricate the cable. But I the stiffness is gone now and the stickyness ain't too bad, so I'm just gonna drive it as is through the winter and then next summer I'll probably replace the clutch with an ACT when I gotta drop the weekend or 250 bucks to get at the bearing anyways.

As for the pinging... Checked your timing lately? Are you running shitty gas?


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## James (Apr 29, 2002)

2SR20DE said:


> *Now... I've never ever done any work w/ an auto tranny but I'm pretty sure they don't have throw out bearings... seeing as how that is what disengages the *clutch* which an auto doesn't have. So my guess is no, it's not your throwout bearing.
> 
> My car goes Pingggg pingggg... when the door is "ajar"... and I've seriously wanted to kick the crap out of my car when I hear that. *


autos have a clutch, they have like 15 of them! 

(No TOB though. Lots of springs do that...)


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## 2SR20DE (May 17, 2003)

James said:


> *autos have a clutch, they have like 15 of them!
> 
> (No TOB though. Lots of springs do that...) *


You know what I'm talking about punk!!!


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