# 96 pickup new clutch problems



## supernaut (Oct 9, 2011)

Hey I just put a new clutch in my truck and the darn thing doesn't seem to work. It is a '96 nissan pickup, 4 cylinder engine, 2wd, extended cab, 5 speed manual transmission. I bought the clutch parts at carquest, the part number on the box is 06-059. I just got the transmission back in and bolted up and I haven't put anything else back in yet, except for the clutch slave cylinder. I jumped in and hit the clutch pedal and whammo it goes straight to the floor with almost no resistance and stays there. you have to reach down and pull on the clutch pedal to get it to the point in pedal travel where the pedal return spring brings it back up to normal position. So i tried gravity bleeding clutch and that didn't help. I tried the normal pump it up and keep it down while someone else cracks the bleeder screw open and that didn't help. 

I thought well, I might have the wrong part. But, the parts seemed like a pretty good match when I compared the new to the old. I might have put the throw out bearing retaining clips back wrong. I wasn't sure about the orientation of the longish clip that is retained in the length of the shift fork. I may have bent some of the spring steel fingers on the clutch assembly...some of the trans weight rested on them via the input shaft while I was trying to get it lined up. Maybe the clutch master or slave cylinder went mysteriously kaput over the last two days while I got it torn down? The throw out bearing didn't mate as tightly as I thought it would to the assembly that you hammer it on to. But it wasn't falling off from gravity either. 

Any ideas? (sorry for the monster post)

Oh and the old clutch was just worn out - slipping. And the throw out bearing was making noise. Clutch pedal operation was just fine.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

I like to install a new clutch master and slave when I do a clutch, but it's not usually necessary. What you need to do is have one person look at the travel of the clutch slave pin as someone moves the clutch pedal up and down. If you see very limited movement, you have an issue with the clutch hydraulic system, not the clutch. If you see proper travel, then you have an issue with the clutch or clutch fork and you'll need to remove the trans, again.


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## coupeute (Dec 16, 2009)

I have the same problem with my 86.5. I just changed the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and surfaced the fly wheel. The slave cylinder push rod appears to not have enough travel. I did notice when installing the pressure plate that the " fingers " did seem to compress more than what I thought would be normal. After two days of crawling undernearth and using muscles that I didn't know that I had, I decided to wait until tomorrow to have a friend work the clutch pedal so that I can crawl under and check the slave cylinder. All in all, what a b*tch of a job.


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## supernaut (Oct 9, 2011)

Boy I hear you there man. It has been quite a pain. I'm going to get one of my friends to work the clutch pedal for me today or tomorrow. I'll probably replace the slave and master just to be safe, as SMJ999SMJ suggested.


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

are you sure the clutch disc was istalled correctly? didnt go in backwards?
double check the pivot ball (for the clutch fork), make sure it didnt snap off


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## coupeute (Dec 16, 2009)

I took step by step pictures just to make sure that if I did have a problem, I could refer back to the pictures. The clutch disc is in the right way. I'm not sure but I think it would be difficult to put in backwards based on the shape of the flywheel. Naturally the disc is thicker than the old one which would compress the fingers more. I bought the clutch set at NAPA but when I openned the package, I discovered the parts were made in China. I'm really tired of buying Chinese crap.


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## smj999smj (Jan 1, 2006)

I use the Nissan "Key Value" clutch kits. They are reasonably priced and offer the same performance as original equipment.


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## coupeute (Dec 16, 2009)

Well we solved the problem. After bleeding the slave cylinder, we got some pedal, not enough though to my liking so we bled the dampner on the fire wall but only a few drops of fluid came out. After repeated pumping of the clutch and bleeding, we lost the pedal pressure again. I removed the bleed nipple and discovered that it was blocked with crud. Cleared it with carb cleaner and a small drill bit. Installed it and bled the dampner again and now we have a good strong pedal and the clutch works fine. I guess some fluid drained from the slave cylinder over night which created the mystery of not enough travel on the slave push rod. I hope this info helps.


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## SPEEDO (Jun 9, 2003)

glad it worked out....


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