# 03 clutch issues



## Spec Vader (Nov 7, 2004)

yes i know...i have read thru many topics about the clutch issues....but i havent seem to read any about the problem i seem to be having... hard to explain but ill do my best 

well, most of the time when im shifting gears.. the second i start pushing in the clutch pedal i can feel pressure all the way down to the floor (per say)... but off and on when i start to push the clutch pedal there would be a few inches of free play before i start feeling the pressure again like it normaly would...

has anybody had a similar issue or does anyone maybe not understand what im trying to say?? prty please help...

thanks


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## IanH (Feb 11, 2003)

Spec Vader said:


> yes i know...i have read thru many topics about the clutch issues....but i havent seem to read any about the problem i seem to be having... hard to explain but ill do my best
> 
> well, most of the time when im shifting gears.. the second i start pushing in the clutch pedal i can feel pressure all the way down to the floor (per say)... but off and on when i start to push the clutch pedal there would be a few inches of free play before i start feeling the pressure again like it normaly would...
> 
> ...


I am surprised nobody has replied to your question. 
It sounds to me like the pressure plate or release bearing is sticking and not coming all the way back when you lift off. Can you detect this when you are shifting and the pressure goes down before the normal free play? 
Have you found out anything else yet? 
Good Luck....


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## Ukraine Train (Dec 30, 2005)

I think I'm having a similar problem with my '02. Every now and then when I push on the clutch pedal there is very little resistance and I cannot shift gears, it's like there is no hydraulic pressure, and I have to pull the pedal off the floor with the top of my foot and pump it a few times. Also, today I was making a pretty hard stop and the clutch pedal just went to the floor and my foot wasn't even on it lol. It's weird, though, because 95% of the time it's fine but now and then it does this. Do these cars use a hydraulic throwout bearing or is there an actual slave cylinder that pushes on a clutch fork?


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## el eloy (Aug 14, 2005)

Spec Vader said:


> yes i know...i have read thru many topics about the clutch issues....but i havent seem to read any about the problem i seem to be having... hard to explain but ill do my best
> 
> well, most of the time when im shifting gears.. the second i start pushing in the clutch pedal i can feel pressure all the way down to the floor (per say)... but off and on when i start to push the clutch pedal there would be a few inches of free play before i start feeling the pressure again like it normaly would...
> 
> ...


dude HONESTLY !!!!!!!!!!!!!!! you worry too much all cluthes have some play unless its a clutch designed for the strip.


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## Hellisan (Jan 3, 2006)

Ukraine Train said:


> I think I'm having a similar problem with my '02. Every now and then when I push on the clutch pedal there is very little resistance and I cannot shift gears, it's like there is no hydraulic pressure, and I have to pull the pedal off the floor with the top of my foot and pump it a few times. Also, today I was making a pretty hard stop and the clutch pedal just went to the floor and my foot wasn't even on it lol. It's weird, though, because 95% of the time it's fine but now and then it does this. Do these cars use a hydraulic throwout bearing or is there an actual slave cylinder that pushes on a clutch fork?



Try this... .Make a quick right turn and then see if it's doing it after the hard right. I'm having the same exact problem as you, and I've pinpointed it to happening after I make a hard right turn. I apologize in advance because I'm NOT a gearhead or engine-inclined, I'm basically signed up here as part of an effort to start learning how to work on my car. 

But in any case, I took it to the Nissan dealership and they replaced all of the hydraulic portions (or so they say) and it didn't fix it. I haven't had the time to take it back.

I've noticed that if I hold the clutch down around a right turn, it avoids the problem.


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## ittamaticstatic (Nov 5, 2003)

theres air in the system if it's not giving any pressure. All clutches should have about 1in of free play before you feel pressure and push it all the way down.


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## Ukraine Train (Dec 30, 2005)

Hellisan said:


> Try this... .Make a quick right turn and then see if it's doing it after the hard right. I'm having the same exact problem as you, and I've pinpointed it to happening after I make a hard right turn. I apologize in advance because I'm NOT a gearhead or engine-inclined, I'm basically signed up here as part of an effort to start learning how to work on my car.
> 
> But in any case, I took it to the Nissan dealership and they replaced all of the hydraulic portions (or so they say) and it didn't fix it. I haven't had the time to take it back.
> 
> I've noticed that if I hold the clutch down around a right turn, it avoids the problem.


I went out to a parking lot today and did some fast turns to the right and then sure enough, when I pushed in the clutch it just went to the floor. When I did it to the left it was fine. The dealer told me that clutch hydraulics are not covered under the 6/60k warranty and my 3/36k is up. From your experience, though, it sounds like the hydraulics aren't the problem, as long as the dealer didn't BS you. Do you think you can give me the work order # or get a scan of the work order?


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## Hellisan (Jan 3, 2006)

Ukraine Train said:


> I went out to a parking lot today and did some fast turns to the right and then sure enough, when I pushed in the clutch it just went to the floor. When I did it to the left it was fine. The dealer told me that clutch hydraulics are not covered under the 6/60k warranty and my 3/36k is up. From your experience, though, it sounds like the hydraulics aren't the problem, as long as the dealer didn't BS you. Do you think you can give me the work order # or get a scan of the work order?



Yep. I'll get it to you one way or the other. Feel free to PM me a fax number if you have one, that'd be easiest, but I could also hook up my scanner. It's just really outdated though..


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## Ukraine Train (Dec 30, 2005)

You have a PM. Thanks.


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## Hellisan (Jan 3, 2006)

Did you get the fax?

If so, did you find anything out? Thanks man


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## Ukraine Train (Dec 30, 2005)

Yes, I got the fax. I will be calling the dealer this week to set up an appointment. Thanks again.

I noticed on the work order that they did not do anything with the slave cylinder, only the master. I wonder if that's possibly the source of the problem. And as far as them saying that the clutch being worn would cause that problem.... total BS! If they honestly believed that and weren't just trying to sell a clutch job then they need some new mechanics.


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## Hellisan (Jan 3, 2006)

Ukraine Train said:


> Yes, I got the fax. I will be calling the dealer this week to set up an appointment. Thanks again.
> 
> I noticed on the work order that they did not do anything with the slave cylinder, only the master. I wonder if that's possibly the source of the problem. And as far as them saying that the clutch being worn would cause that problem.... total BS! If they honestly believed that and weren't just trying to sell a clutch job then they need some new mechanics.



I agree wholeheartedly. Thanks again, and let me know what you find. Maybe iit has something to do with the slave cylinder.


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## Hellisan (Jan 3, 2006)

Welp.... It's a couple months later, but if anybody is still having this problem, I can tell you what's causing it. (This is the problem described above with hard right turns). Your thrust bearing is broken. Mine was found in the bottom of my oil pan in pieces *AFTER* I'd installed my Wolf Technology clutch and flywheel. (yep, that was a painful bill to pay) What happens is when you make a hard right turn the crankshaft is displaced and causes loss of contact or whatever with the clutch. (I'm not a mechanic, as you can tell.)

Anyway... guess this is my "goodbye" post, as I ended up trading in my '02 Spec V (thrust bearing problem and all) in on an '04 WRX STI.

Only reason they actually FOUND the problem is because they were about to install my balancer shaft removal kit, and voila....

PS, if anybody is interested in purchasing a balancer shaft removal kit and pop charger from JWT, go ahead and PM me. I'd rather sell it to somebody for a good deal than drive back and try to return it.


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## Ukraine Train (Dec 30, 2005)

Wow that's pretty serious. I'm actually going in tomorrow to have them check my oil level since I started an oil usage test. My clutch is still having the same problem and I'll be bringing it up. I was pretty convinced it was a hydraulic problem because I found a very slight leak in my clutch master cylinder. I think tomorrow at work I'll have someone check the travel on the clutch fork before and after a hard right turn. I suppose that if the fork moves just as much even when the pedal just drops then I'm having a thrust bearing problem as well. Is the thrust bearing in the engine or trans? I thought you meant throwout bearing at first. Thanks for the update.


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## Ukraine Train (Dec 30, 2005)

So here's what I did today. Pushed the clutch in and had my buddy mark on the trans case how far the fork moved. Then started the car and let the clutch out til it started to grab and made another mark at this position. Then we drove around and I got the clutch pedal to drop, not as bad as it does sometimes but still bad. My friend marked this position and it was way past the point of engagement, just about at the same mark as when the clutch is behaving normally. So it looks like I'm having the same issue as Hellisan... now to convince the dealer.


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