Transmission/Engine problems.

[Eric P]

I was in 1st low going down the steep 1st part on Red Cone. They guy behind me was catching up near the bottom, so pushed in the clutch to let it roll to the end. I was free wheeling for about 25-30 ft, then the clutch grabbed and I skidded to a stop stalling the engine. I had the clutch pedal pushed in when the clutch regrabbed. I restarted the engine & let it roll to the bottom in neutral. To restart the engine I had to use the CIBS even with the clutch pedal floored.

I could change gears while the engine was off & the T-case would shift.

The clutch pedal was floored on its own & there was a clicking/racheting noise coming from the engine bay. The noise went away eventually.

Since I couldn't put it in 1st gear while the engine was running, I started it in gear & drove the rest of the way down Red Cone to Webster Pass.

No burnt clutch smell.

Turned the engine off then put it in 2 high Started in 2nd with gravity assist to drive down to Montezuma. During the time getting off the trail, I was able to shift by blipping the throttle. No gear grinding. Up & down the gears. Every gear worked.

I drove it home on I-70 that way, up to 70 mph. The check engine light turned on ~ 300 ft from my garage. The engine felts very rough at the lower RPMs <1500. but had plenty of power. Going up Floyd Hill I got cut off half way up & lost momentum in 5th. Instead of risking a down shift, I made the xterra struggle up the rest finishing at ~40 mph. The clutch held tight, up Loveland Pass & Floyd Hill, with no slipage.

At idle the engine is very rough. The engine definetly redlined on Red Cone when the failure happened.

There is no fluid leaking on my garage floor nor is there any visible fluid on the drive train. I have since started it in the garage & it does not blow smoke. It will start with the clutch pedal pressed now, but the pedal has no effect on the clutch.

It seems like something broke between the clutch pedal & the clutch. There is zero resistance in the pedal untill the floor.

Any suggestions?

I am saving up to have it fixed at Tynans this winter. They gave me an estimate of $300 to $4000+ depending on what broke. I hope it is the lesser but am preparing for the worst. What sucks is this happened 2 weeks after I sent in the last payment.

Allen; is Tynans still the place to go or would you recommend going to another shop?

[JeffW]

I was in 1st low going down the steep 1st part on Red Cone.....

Ouch!

I hope it's minor.

Good luck.

[Allen Cox]

Wow, that doesn't sound good. Sounds like something did tear loose, possibly a throw-out bearing or clutch fork issue. I wonder if a piece didn't break away and hit your crank sensor, causing the light to come on. Otherwise, there is nothing in there to cause the light to come on or even make it run rough.

Tynan's would still be a good place to go. I'd suggest bringing it to me, but we don't have the trans jack adapter for any tranny type stuff. We tried to do a clutch on a PowerStroke (friend of the Store Manager) and was freakin' hairy! So a no go on that work at 4 Wheel Parts! Later on I might build an adapter to take care of Nissans there, but haven't done so yet.

If Elway is close enough to you, without having a clutch, then it might be a good deal to go there. But I know Tynan's will give you a discount on the labor and parts, so it's up to you. But either way, it doesn't sound good.

[Eric P]

Is there anything I should do for long term storage? The oil is close to 5 months old with ~500 miles. I added the gas treatment for storage, it only had ~1/8th of a tank.

I want to bring it to Tynans this month. Can anyone give me a tow?

[Allen Cox]

Being towed from Highlands Ranch? It'd be much easier just to get a tow truck to do it.

As for storage, are you putting it in a lot, or just storing it at the house?

How long is storage going to be? 3-4 months? If that's all, then I'd change the oil (it'd be almost 9 months old by the time you went to restart it) and you already treated the fuel. Make sure the coolant is good and you don't have any straight water anywhere (like the washer fluid). Should be good to go.

[Eric P]

The Xterra has been stored in my garage since the weekend before Labor Day & will stay in there until it gets fixed. The radiator fluid is new since i had to remove the radiator to drill out the alternator bolts.

The garage is attached but not heated. It doesn't get below 40F.

I wasn't talking about tow-strap towing it to Tynans, but picking up a car dolly at u-haul. Is there anything to worry about towing it like that?

[Packman5280]

why not a slave cyl? sounds like you lost hydro fluid, which is corrosive and could cause problems with the electrical system if it were to leak on, say, the fuse box. happened to my roommates jeep, the hydro fluid ate away most of the box and fuse bodies. check the fluid level in the clutch reservoir, if it is full then it isn't the slave.

[Ditchfinder]

Garage storage should be fine, watch out for field mice the little bastards eat everything, I left my crx in the garage and found a nest in my air box and one under the seat, A car dolly is also fine. U haul does rent the flat beds for almost the same cost I would price around. My question to you is why are you not doing your own clutch? I have a garage transmission jack you could use I think you could find some help here.

[Ditchfinder]

whats up packman make it back from HI?

[Allen Cox]

You'll be OK then Eric. I would leave the trans in Neutral, leave the t-case in 2HI, and you'll be OK for a short trip to Tynan's.

If you want though, we might be able to work something out for a clutch job.

The wife is quitting her $60k+ a year job to persue something that won't give her ulcers or kill somebody if she gives the wrong chemo. So side jobs are back in full swing, Saturdays only. They won't let me stay late to work on vehicles at night (due to not wanting to give out the alarm code to non-managers).

I could come over to your place and we could look at it and decide on the best course of action, if you want to. No charge for diag. :D

[Eric P]

That would be great if you could come over & look it over. Then you can figure if you want to tackle it or not.

If you do decide to do it, could I help?

[CurleyMan]

I'm going with the clutch slave cyl as well. Mine just went out in my car and well it acted the same. Depending on where it is placed inside/outside the bellhousing it is usually a really cheap fix.

[Lance T]

The slave went on my old Desert Runner and acted the same also. I got a slave from Autozone. It was a quick and inexpensive fix and still is running 100k later. It's super easy on the 3.0s...can't imagine the 3.3's being any harder.

Allen is on it now so it is as good as fixed. I may have some work for him too.

[Allen Cox]

It definately sounds like a slave, that's why I figured we'd take a gander at it and see what's up.

I'm hoping that the clutch won't have to come out, as I'd probably have to get some help and whatnot.

I just got a second job, and unfortunately, they want me to work all weekends. So we'll see for now.

When do you want to take a look at it Eric? I have Sunday free for now. I don't start the other job until the 13th.

[Eric P]

Sunday will work.

What time will work for you?

[Allen Cox]

Any time, the wife is working that day. Around noonish? We can grab some lunch afterwards. Cool? I need to get your addy, I don't know where your place is.

[Eric P]

8590-E Gold Peak Drive
Highlands Ranch, CO 80130

[Eric P]

So, Allen says I need a new clutch, possible flywheel. Everywhere I look, they only have clutches for non-sc Xterras.

On some Nissan part stores they have different stock numbers for SC & non-SC, while others have the same stock numbers.

I can't imagine why a non-s/c aftermarket clutch wouldn't work. Someone with knowledge on this, tell me either way.

I am looking at getting the Centerforce Dual Friction Clutch on Calmini's site, unless someone knows a better source. (Please don't start a bash Calmini thing. I have had nothing but luck with them)

[Eric P]

This was what was wrong. pieces of the clutch:
http://www.pbase.com/sms/image/75140373.jpg

What it did to the tranny case:
http://www.pbase.com/sms/image/75140400.jpg

The clutch was not installed. See XOC STORY (http://www.xterraownersclub.com/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=4;t=004585)

[Alpine Spirit]

Damn Dude!!!!

[CurleyMan]

that's pretty cool... So i assume all you needed was a new clutch, pressure plate, and throwout bearing right. With having your flywheel turned and all the parts and labor do you mind sharing your total bill. When i first got my hardbody I sent the truck to my diesel mechanic they charged me an ungodly 1,500 for the clutch job. I think it was overpriced by 800 bucks but I was curiouse as to what you got hit for..

[Allen Cox]

I'm treating him right. He's a repeat customer, so he get's a discount! :D

His flywheel survived remarkably well, with the friction material that was pinned up against it actually saving it! For all the wheeling that was done to it, even his original pressure plate still had the factory machining marks! He treated his clutch well, even though it exploded!

I charge $500 for a clutch job. He's getting his own parts, otherwise I charge an additional 10% for getting them through me. Any machining costs just get passed through, no markup.

[Eric P]

~$380 for the clutch kit
~$30.00 for the crankshaft position sensor
~$25.00 for the realease bearing & pilot bearing.

On the clutch, They have 2 diameters with the same part number. The place I bought it from is refunding me the whole cost & they will send me the other size if I choose to. I have an email into Centerforce to verify that the other size clutch is meant for the SC tranny. If they say no or don't respond then a Nissan OEM one will be put in so that Allen can get my truck out the so called "cursed stall". The Nissan disc & preasure plate are ~$230 + shipping from Colorado Springs.

[Eric P]

I'm treating him right. He's a repeat customer, so he get's a discount! :D
I charge $500 for a clutch job.

Looking at what Allen had to pull & will put back on, I can see why it costs so much to have these replaced.

btw Allen, the bumper for M.M. is in the hatch. We didn't grab it this afternoon.

[Ryan Gee]

I have this to look forward to on the Pathy. Going to use an ACT clutch setup (http://www.advancedclutch.com/products/index.asp). May as well replace the carpet (http://www.auto-interior.com/moldedvinyl.htm) while the seats are out too...

The V6 D/WD21's run a 250mm clutch. Probably the same unit.

[CurleyMan]

Wow that's a smokin deal Allen gave you...

[tmorgan4]

I charge $500 for a clutch job. He's getting his own parts, otherwise I charge an additional 10% for getting them through me. Any machining costs just get passed through, no markup.

Anyone who is getting a clutch replaced and can't do it themselves should take Allen up on that. Getting mine replaced at the dealer cost more than 2x that on for labor. :eek:

[Eric P]

FYI;

I got a call from Centerforce today. They said they do not make a clutch kit for the supercharged models of the 99-04 Xterra/Frontier despite what some vendors are stating on their websites. They have no plans on making them. They have such a low volume on the non-sc models, that they cannot justify spending the costs for R&D.

Hopefully the OEM will arrive at Woodmen Nissan Friday so I can pick it up & bring it to Allen.

[tmorgan4]

Shouldn't the both SC and NA models all use the same one?