The Stage 1 HD Southbend + South Bend steel flywheel + HD slave will drive better than OEM. When you get rid of the dual mass flywheel all the Lurching/Bouncing when you take off from a stop making you look like a rookie driver goes away ;)

Great, thank you for the reply. I was looking at Southbend for a long time after my query from that day. I dont think I will ever go FI, I think I will stay NA since I do not track the car or drive it alot, so the Stage 1 HD would be fine.

Yes, I was looking at the black steel DXD south bend flywheel on your site.
ZSpeed Performance South Bend Clutch DXD Black Nissan Infiniti Flywheel

South Bend Clutch Stage 1 HD Clutch Kit (VQ37VHR) - $347
+ HD Slave KIT - $325.00
South Bend DXD Black Steel Flywheel - $450.00

Should I opt for the stage 2 daily clutch?


Another question, I would say for everyone on the forum...
Anyone ever install or drive a 370Z with this clutch/flywheel kit installed from Speciality Z?

https://specialtyz.com/shop/sz-flywh...4-and-v36.html

"...this time we incorporated the use of a Tilton racing slave"

Im just curious about the SZ one.. I did some searching on the forum here but nothing in regards to a full blown review on it.

Thanks everyone :)

Replacement under warranty does not hurt the wallet at all. :tup:

Sounds like a lot of extra $$ out of pocket when most are still covered under warranty. True if you wanted a tougher bullet built one, then go for aftermarket, other than that its a lot of unnecessary dough...imo

And a clutch helper spring for about $20 will help with the rookie launches.

Stage 1 will work fine for you, Stage 2 has a slightly higher clamp load is all. If you really beat on the car I would step to the stage 2, Its only a few dollars more.

We can do the whole Stage 2 package for $1075 shipped ground until end of the year.

Joe, last question here:

What about this:
ZSpeed Performance South Bend 370Z G37 TZR Clutch Kit

I already have the RJM Performance clutch pedal in my car, it feels better/firmer than the OE one. Would the TZR with the DXD Flywheel be overkill? I just like the idea that the clutch disk surface is Kevlar.

Been a long time since i posted, and wish I had paid more attention to this thread a couple years ago.

2009 370Z touring/sport, just over 25000 miles. In service for 44 months.

Few years ago when it'd get really cold in LA, I'd sometimes get soft clutch issues. I searched here at the time, but obviously there wasn't much info on it. I took it to the dealership a few times and they'd always never find anything and I'd waste a bunch of time. I had the mechanic that does my oil changes look at it but he never saw anything wrong.

Anyways, as it got cold it was doing it again... tonight it fully gave out. I limped to a stop at a light, managed to get in gear to the next light, and then was stuck. Pedal completely limp, to the floor, no rebound at all. I finally was calling my insurance for a tow when I managed to coax a little life out of the clutch and got moving. Ignoring stop signs and rev-matching, I made it to the front of my apartment.

Clutch it totally dead now, there is liquid on the ground that looks fresh and I'm assuming is my clutch fluid.

Having it towed to my mechanic in the morning. I'm assuming there are no service bulletins that'd allow me to get this under the powertrain warranty?

sigh

Towed it to the Nissan dealership. Was going to go to my mechanic, but he's a former Nissan mechanic and recommended that with my low mileage, I take it to the dealership and demand they fix / or pay for part of it via the factory and/or Nissan Consumer Affairs.

The dealership I bought from wasn't helpful on the phone, but got the service director at the dealer closer to my mechanic and he was really helpful. Had the car towed there and everyone was nice and said they'd do whatever they can.

Called back a bit ago and it's the clutch master cylinder. They said they had seen a lot of these failures. Nissan is closed but they are calling monday to get direction and see what they can do.

So we'll see. Worst case scenario I tow to my mechanic and he fixes it for the price. Best case is the dealership does better than that.

Of course, out the car this whole time.

Nice job with the clutch hydraulics, Nissan. :mad:

Shoud be covered under warranty with only 25k miles.

Same happened to mine, read my posts a few pages back. Have the clutch pedal assembly replaced..It probably failed first causing the master clutch assembly to fail. Check for the quacking sound when you press in the clutch pedal when you get the car back.

The sound of the plunger at the master?

The compressor shock that the helper spring is housed around, just behind the pedal. There is the normal sound, sorta of a whoosh, then the failed -blown seal sound like a quack sound.

Yeah, but I'm past 3 years... in service for 3 years and 8 months. Got the car in May 2009.

They called back yesterday, quoting me parts and labor of $2800 to replace the whole assembly (master cylinder, slave, lines, clutch cover). They also had contacted Nissan, who offered to pay up and brought the cost to me down to $820.

I took it, my mechanic figured it'd be 700-800, and I assume he wasn't going to replace the whole thing (plus re-towing etc).

Should hopefully have her back by tomorrow.

thats BS. those parts are much less wear and tear items than the clutch or centric slave cylinder.

for the master cylinder to go at 25k miles you either beat the sh1t outa it (which will be evident when they take the clutch off), or its defective. im leaning towards the latter...

Cant tell these days buying a used car, never know what the original owner did or did not do. Good thing NNA stepped up and cut the price for you. A tip for when you get the car back is to flush the brake fluid and keep an eye (ear) out for the quack sound. g/l and I am sure the dealer will do a good job, it's pretty much straight forward replacement. :tiphat: Might as well swap out ALL the fluids, its about time. Transmission fluid, gear oil, coolant.

Someone has a blue one at Miller Nissan in Van nuys for CSC repairs... is that anyone in here?

That was mine that I picked up last night - though they told me they had another 370z in the shop as well for the same issue.

I bought it new, I've owned the car the whole time. I baby it too. About the hardest driving is a canyon run here or then, and fully warmed speed-ups onto the freeway. But no launches etc.

I didn't beat the **** out of it at all (which they noticed the clutch was fine) --- the worst thing I did to the clutch was probably trying to get it the last 8 blocks home when the hydraulics failed (in terms of trying to restart the car with partial clutch / get into gear).

It was definitely defective, and I guess when the CSC goes it can take the rest... and/or they've been burned so many times replacing just one part that they think it's better to redo the whole thing while they are in there.

Anyways, car is back now and it's running fine. Shitty to blow 800 bucks on it, but better than the alternative, and as noted, I was out of warranty by years.

jstevenson, they replaced the clutch friction disk too??

Fly wheel?

no, just the cylinders, hoses, and connectors and clutch cover

Strange. Clutch cover meaning pressure plate? Wonder why it would need replacing if the friction disk is not replaced... Got your RO handy, what does it list for the parts?

jstevenson, yeah I stopped by there and saw your car, I have the same issue and tranny shifts very rough, grinds 5th, locks out gears etc. Who was ur service advisor's name? Maybe I just call him and make an appointment with him. They told me 1 week, problem is I'm not sure if my car will fit on their lifts...

Julio was my guy. Though I also worked with the service director Steve.

I'm sure they can fit and work on your car.They had mine in parts within a day or two, but then were waiting on replacement parts to come in.

I'll check when I get back to the car.

Just checked it out, they did replace the disc.

Parts:

CYL ASMY
Tube
Hose
Cylinder
ASMY
Cover ASMY-Clut
Brake Fluid

Description was Clutch Salve Cylinder leaking, found pedal stuck to floor, clutch reservoir empty, CSC operating cylinder leaking. Techline recommended CSC operating cylinder, clutch tube, clutch hose and msster cylinder. Upon inspection found clutch disc and cover contaminated with clutch fluid. Performed replacement of disc, cover, csc operating cylinder, clutch tube, clutch hose and master cylinder. Bled clutch. Re-inspected and performed road test. Ok.

Good deal. Makes sense though. If leaking CSC damaged the friction disk, then its replacement should be warrantied.

My bad, thought I read you got the car used. Freak of nature I guess...oh wait I am reallly missing your previous threads, thought you had the same part failed as mine and NOT the CSC....CSC...MSC...all get me confused in this acronym world.

Mine was the simplier fail and fix,yours full blown. Glad you got it back. Time for a blood transfusion on all body parts. :tiphat:

add me to the list fellas... pulled in to my driveway today and that was it... pedal fell to the floor couldnt get it in anygear at all except when i put it in gear prior to starting it and thats how i got to park her.... ill check my fluid tomoro but looks like ill be getting a slave.... i felt it coming a fews months back but was optimistic that it would last till next year...

I can't wait for the availability of the master cylinder for our cars like the one Joe offers for the 350Z. My clutch pedal action has been a bit on the mushy, slightly noisy, an inconsistent side. This is a brand new master for the past year.

BTW... 15k views and no sticky yet? :(

at least the CSC is better.... thats the one thats a pain in the *** to change.... i hope the new master comes out sometime soon.... i already talked to joe about getting a kit.... :tup:

Miller Nissan took care of my car but now there is slight grinding sometimes up shifting into 2nd or 3rd that I never had

Hoping you guys can help me troubleshoot my clutch. Seems to be slightly different than some of the problems reported here, but not 100%. If this should be in a separate thread, let me know. 2009 z with 47k miles.

The top 50% of my clutch pedal has entirely no resistance to it, especially when I first start the car. After pushing the pedal down, it will come back up to the point where resistance begins, but not all the way back up. Pumping the pedal a few times seems to give more resistance to the pedal. I have bled the clutch about once a week recently, and each time I get a boatload of air from the line. After bleeding the clutch, it will improve significantly (almost back to 100%), but then will become steadily worse day-by-day, to the point of not being able to get it in gear after about a week (at which point i bleed the clutch again). I replaced the master cylinder about 2 months ago, but the problems persisted. The fluid resovoir is at the same level every time I check it, although I have seen some fluid under the transmission in my garage (this could be air replacing the leaking fluid, to maintain the level?)

It seems like most people who have had a slave cylinder failure report that their clutch pedal will actually stick to the floor when it goes bad, whereas mine will come back up about 30-50% of the way.

I brought it to the dealership (even though I am out of warranty), and they wanted to replace the slave cylinder, pressure plate, and flywheel at a cost of about $3000. My research has me thinking that it is simply the slave cylinder going bad (and sucking in air somewhere), and the dealership is trying to screw me. Any thoughts?

^^My bet is still on a failing CSC. It hasn't failed entirely in that it's able to build up some pressure, but after a while that bleeds down and you have to pump it up again.

I think your dealer's diagnosis is correct, albeit you can get it done at a better price. I'd go with the aftermarket zspeed csc which is metal, not plastic, and should last the remainder of the car's life.

To replace the CSC, the trans has to be dropped. The design on these cars is not like the older ones where the slave was externally mounted. If you're in there to do a CSC, then it makes sense to replace the rest of the clutch parts. Everything is open and right there.

Unless you've messed with the lines and have failure elsewhere, my guess is on the air entering through the failed csc seal.

In part, this was one of those things that prompted me to get the extended warranty. Nissan's powertrain coverage is a joke in context of MT's. The CSC is not a wear item, it's a part like a syncro or a gear that requires no maintenance, and should be covered. Yet it's not.

Good luck. Let us know how it turns out. Also, who ever does the work, make sure they save your old parts. It should be evident if the csc has indeed failed or not by the pics.

I would buy an upgraded CSC from Joe@Zspeed. Also, there is a specific way to bleed the clutch system for our Z's, which can be a major pain to get all the air out. PM Joe and he will give you the details.

Well since you asked for an update, here it is. I replaced the CSC with the heavy duty one from ZSpeed, and also installed a new South Bend clutch kit and flywheel with it. Took myself and a buddy about 10 hours total (without a lift. That was fun!). It has only been a day since I did this, but considering that I have now replaced every part of the clutch system except the fluid reservoir and parts of the master -> CSC line, I can't imagine any problems will still exist. Thanks for the help guys!

^^Check your clutch fluid reservoir level. I got 6700 miles on mine, been running the spring since day 7. Either you have a leak, or csc is failed/failing.

Yes

OK an update and fyi for those that only have the master fail. Car # 2 had the master replaced three times due to a popping sound when releasing the clutch pedal sorta like your knee popping (very annoying). After the third master was replaced, they took my advise based on Car #1 and found indeed the clutch pedal assembly failed (the shock absorber behind the pedal).

There you have it, if the master fails, then most likely the pedal assembly also failed, have both replaced. :tiphat:

Sitting at Nissan with a clutch problem.... Yesterday the pedal dropped to half way vs top, about freaked me out. I was about 20 miles from home. During the trip home, it alternated between full, top position and almost to the floor. Got home ok, no fluid loss at all... Wasn't a hot day or long trip (boil over), so kind of odd.
Made an appointment on-line for 7:15 this morning (mechanics get here at 8, jokes on me). Watching tv, everybody nice. Will update with results. 2010, 370z, 20,500 miles.

Clutch Slave Cylinder - Typical Problem. Good Luck. :ugh2: