Thinking of buying but clutch slave cylinder

[bartly]

Hello, I guess this is my first post, pardon if it is being driven by a question. I joined the site about a year ago already eyeing the 370Z as my first real sports car. Well time is closing in and it is still #1 on my list because I have always like the looks of the Z family starting back at the 280.

It's been a bit of shock and awe reading all the CSC failure reports on the Zs manual transmission. It's been eating away at me that I really want a manual, just because I've always had them and like the feel of interacting with the car I suppose. Also was kind of brought up that manuals are simpler and hopefully more robust/trouble free and generally last longer. I know times have changed and I'd guess the manuals can get pretty complex now a'days.

I know the internet is a good place to find horror stories and maybe even things get blown out of perspective. I have a Jeep and follow those forums sometimes and see sometimes that it's the same posters with somewhat of an agenda that hyper accentuate certain subjects, but there are just so many reports of this CSC failure. I have to ask if there might be plenty of 370zs out there that do fine and never experience the failure. Hopefully someone can give me some advice if it is as bad as it appears to be. I love tinkering with my jeep and have already started planning how I'd go about getting a car I don't even own yet up on jackstands to pull the transmission, that's how bad I want the manual transmission. Sorry for the long winded post hope someone followed along and will comment.
Thanks hopefully.

[bartly]

Sorry, couldn't help but say sorry, I'm thinking this is probably one of those topics with already way too many threads on the subject. Wish I would have titled it Who has a stick and never had a CSC go bad.

So far in one hour there has been 117 views, guessing some of you have a stick, wanna tell me how many miles you have on yours and if you had your CSC break. Hope you don't mind a guy that comes across as pesty..lol...

[sx moneypit]

Welcome to the forum!
It is kind of a crap shoot as far as the CSC is concerned.I have about 28000 miles on mine and have no problems.However there have been some folks on this forum with very low miles and have had problems.I wouldn't deter from getting a manual because of this.Z Speed and Z1 Motorsports have solutions to this problem.

[sx moneypit]

Originally Posted by bartly

Sorry, couldn't help but say sorry, I'm thinking this is probably one of those topics with already way too many threads on the subject. Wish I would have titled it Who has a stick and never had a CSC go bad.

So far in one hour there has been 117 views, guessing some of you have a stick, wanna tell me how many miles you have on yours and if you had your CSC break. Hope you don't mind a guy that comes across as pesty..lol...

Check this thread out.
http://www.the370z.com/nissan-370z-g...-failures.html
Lots of good info.

[JDubya]

If you want the manual version of the car for all the right reasons, then buy the manual version of the car. The CSC should not be what deters you, in my opinion. Like you noted with your examples, you can go to probably any car forum and you'll see a common issue pop up. Some are worse than others. I'm sure you know this, but owning a car and exposing yourself to the potential mechanic issues just comes with the territory of car ownership. If you worry about every little issue that each car/brand has, you'll never buy anything you want.

I think bartly said it best when he suggested that maybe there should be a thread for people who haven't had CSC issues. Not a lot of people come on the internet to create threads to say "hey my car hasn't had X issue!." You're only going to see the threads from the pissed off people who have had issues.

Granted, it seems pretty clear that the CSC issue on the Z seems pretty common with respect to the various things that go wrong. However, I'd love to see the actual percentage of CSC failures charted with the mileage during the failure. We'll never get this data, but it would be nice to see, because I bet the failure rates with respect to mileage aren't as frightening as they seem.

With that said, I don't think anyone here is going to deny that the CSC design is complete garbage. If it bothers you that much, there are some fantastic alternatives to the stock CSC from Z1 or ZSpeed.

TL;DR: Buying the manual Z isn't an automatic "my CSC is going to fail in 10k miles!". Plenty of people haven't had any issues, some people do have issues. If it fails, oh well, warranty or buy a proven replacement. You'll just regret not buying the manual Z if it's the car you really want.

[sx moneypit]

Originally Posted by JDubya

If you want the manual version of the car for all the right reasons, then buy the manual version of the car. The CSC should not be what deters you, in my opinion. Like you noted with your examples, you can go to probably any car forum and you'll see a common issue pop up. Some are worse than others. I'm sure you know this, but owning a car and exposing yourself to the potential mechanic issues just comes with the territory of car ownership. If you worry about every little issue that each car/brand has, you'll never buy anything you want.

I think bartly said it best when he suggested that maybe there should be a thread for people who haven't had CSC issues. Not a lot of people come on the internet to create threads to say "hey my car hasn't had X issue!." You're only going to see the threads from the pissed off people who have had issues.

Granted, it seems pretty clear that the CSC issue on the Z seems pretty common with respect to the various things that go wrong. However, I'd love to see the actual percentage of CSC failures charted with the mileage during the failure. We'll never get this data, but it would be nice to see, because I bet the failure rates with respect to mileage aren't as frightening as they seem.

With that said, I don't think anyone here is going to deny that the CSC design is complete garbage. If it bothers you that much, there are some fantastic alternatives to the stock CSC from Z1 or ZSpeed.

TL;DR: Buying the manual Z isn't an automatic "my CSC is going to fail in 10k miles!". Plenty of people haven't had any issues, some people do have issues. If it fails, oh well, warranty or buy a proven replacement. You'll just regret not buying the manual Z if it's the car you really want.

[Z-Girl 12]

50k here and no issue yet. But tomorrow may be a different story

[BamBamZ]

I have now 35k on mine... The CSC went out at 31k miles on the clock but that's about 20k on the transmission (transmission was replaced just under 11k).

I see mine as a ticketing time bomb, not a if it'll go out but when. And this time I'll be more prepared and splurge for an upgraded metal CSC to fix it and put me at ease.

[bartly]

Thanks for all the replies. And I agree I shouldn't let something stop me from buying one just because of this. I did read some about a RJM clutch pedal that supposedly reduces the travel and wear on the CSC seals or something along those lines.
I just got done test driving a new 2016 this morning and it was pretty cool. Even though I drive a stick jeep every day, I stalled it once trying to take off from a stop sign, and was pretty jerky at every take off. It will definitely take some learning on how to drive with the 370 clutch the way it is. I was kind of hoping I could get a feel for 0-60mph takeoff, but quickly realized it was a little embarrassing letting the salesman see my lack of clutch skills.

Thanks again.

[JDubya]

Originally Posted by bartly

Thanks for all the replies. And I agree I shouldn't let something stop me from buying one just because of this. I did read some about a RJM clutch pedal that supposedly reduces the travel and wear on the CSC seals or something along those lines.
I just got done test driving a new 2016 this morning and it was pretty cool. Even though I drive a stick jeep every day, I stalled it once trying to take off from a stop sign, and was pretty jerky at every take off. It will definitely take some learning on how to drive with the 370 clutch the way it is. I was kind of hoping I could get a feel for 0-60mph takeoff, but quickly realized it was a little embarrassing letting the salesman see my lack of clutch skills.

Thanks again.

At least in my opinion, a very finicky clutch on the car. Different from any other manual I've tried driving (harder to drive, again, in my opinion). You'll get used to it though.

[Magic Bus]

14k miles on stock CSC with RJM clutch pedal installed at 1k miles.

[sx moneypit]

Originally Posted by JDubya

At least in my opinion, a very finicky clutch on the car. Different from any other manual I've tried driving (harder to drive, again, in my opinion). You'll get used to it though.

[kidicenj]

55k miles....no CSC issue here....yet....

[mishuko]

i'm at 36000km and still working.

did notice the fluids getting a bit darker and turning a bit orange with a little sediment. I replaced the clutch fluid at 28000km.

every fill-up i check my oil and brake/clutch levels. i've already made a rainy-day fund incase said csc blows up. just hope the clutch plates don't get destroyed in the process =(

[ayrton88]

My previous car was a BMW and they recommended changing the clutch fluid every 2 years. I've been doing that with the Z and, knock wood, so far no CSC problem.