Boiled clutch fluid at the track!

atropine · 09-26-2011, 10:59 AM

At least that's what I think happened. Doing long (30-40) minute track sessions at Miller Motorsports Park last Fri. Toward the end of session 3 I pushed the clutch pedal in and it stayed on the floor. I was able to lift it back up but it did it again so I came in to the pits. Within 30 seconds pedal was back to feeling normal. Inspected everywhere, no evidence of clutch leak. Car was getting very hot and I actually spewed just a bit of coolant out the expansion tank. Oil temp maxed out around 240, but I think maybe the extra heat dissipated by my huge AE oil cooler in front of the radiator led to increased coolant temps. Miller is a very fast track and with the way my car is geared, it is best suited to just leaving it in 3rd for most of the track with some occ. shifts into 4th. I wasn't shifting much, but I was running extended periods of high rpms (6000-7500). Can I flush my clutch with some higher-temp fluid to prevent this in the future? BTW, ambient temp was mid-80s. I drove the car to work this morning and it feels totally normal.

cossie1600 · 09-26-2011, 11:04 AM

yeah i change mine 3x a year. the reservoir is tiny

ChrisSlicks · 09-26-2011, 11:13 AM

Just go to ATE or RBF-600 for the clutch fluid and you should be fine. It is pretty easy to bleed. The exhaust is in pretty close proximity to the clutch line, parts of it are insulated but continuous high heat will boil the stock fluid.

cossie1600 · 09-26-2011, 11:15 AM

since you most likely boiled yours, definitely go for a full bleed. i just suck old fluid out and dump in new ones the first week i got the car, it seems to be okay at 14k miles

atropine · 09-26-2011, 11:24 AM

thx guys. is there a bleeder screw at the bottom somewhere, or do i just suck the reservoir empty and dump in new fluid, let it mix a while, then repeat several times? ATE or RBF-600 is compatible with the clutch system for sure? Does it need to be replaced more frequently?

ChrisSlicks · 09-26-2011, 11:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atropine

thx guys. is there a bleeder screw at the bottom somewhere, or do i just suck the reservoir empty and dump in new fluid, let it mix a while, then repeat several times? ATE or RBF-600 is compatible with the clutch system for sure? Does it need to be replaced more frequently?

There is a bleed screw on the transmission on the drivers side. You will probably have to lift the car a little to reach it. It will take 2 people to bleed.

I swap the fluid out once a year, no compatibility issues.

cossie1600 · 09-26-2011, 12:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atropine

thx guys. is there a bleeder screw at the bottom somewhere, or do i just suck the reservoir empty and dump in new fluid, let it mix a while, then repeat several times? ATE or RBF-600 is compatible with the clutch system for sure? Does it need to be replaced more frequently?

I would do it right and bleed it since you already boiled it. I sucked and replaced as I did it when the car was brand new

atropine · 09-26-2011, 01:33 PM

Cool, thx guys. That is on my soon-to-do list now. Any idea how much fluid it will take to do a good flush/bleed?

BTW, any ideas on how to keep my water temps down? (other than alter my driving)

ChrisSlicks · 09-26-2011, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by atropine

Cool, thx guys. That is on my soon-to-do list now. Any idea how much fluid it will take to do a good flush/bleed?

BTW, any ideas on how to keep my water temps down? (other than alter my driving)

It doesn't hold much fluid overall. I used maybe a 1/4 to 1/2 of a 500ml bottle.

09-26-2011, 10:59 AM	#1 (permalink)
atropine Base Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Logandale, NV Posts: 39 Drives: 09 6MT Sport/Tour/Nv Rep Power: 14	Boiled clutch fluid at the track! At least that's what I think happened. Doing long (30-40) minute track sessions at Miller Motorsports Park last Fri. Toward the end of session 3 I pushed the clutch pedal in and it stayed on the floor. I was able to lift it back up but it did it again so I came in to the pits. Within 30 seconds pedal was back to feeling normal. Inspected everywhere, no evidence of clutch leak. Car was getting very hot and I actually spewed just a bit of coolant out the expansion tank. Oil temp maxed out around 240, but I think maybe the extra heat dissipated by my huge AE oil cooler in front of the radiator led to increased coolant temps. Miller is a very fast track and with the way my car is geared, it is best suited to just leaving it in 3rd for most of the track with some occ. shifts into 4th. I wasn't shifting much, but I was running extended periods of high rpms (6000-7500). Can I flush my clutch with some higher-temp fluid to prevent this in the future? BTW, ambient temp was mid-80s. I drove the car to work this morning and it feels totally normal.

09-26-2011, 11:13 AM	#3 (permalink)
ChrisSlicks A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: North East Posts: 6,203 Drives: 09 370Z Sport M6 Rep Power: 653	Just go to ATE or RBF-600 for the clutch fluid and you should be fine. It is pretty easy to bleed. The exhaust is in pretty close proximity to the clutch line, parts of it are insulated but continuous high heat will boil the stock fluid. __________________ Hotchkis ARB \| Stillen CAI \| Art Pipes \| Berk CBE \| Stillen AP Racing Brakes \| AE Performance Oil Cooler \| BC Racing ER Coilovers \| Doran Control Arms

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09-26-2011, 11:04 AM	#2 (permalink)
cossie1600 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: californee way Posts: 5,380 Drives: 370, Leaf Rep Power: 29	yeah i change mine 3x a year. the reservoir is tiny

09-26-2011, 11:15 AM	#4 (permalink)
cossie1600 A True Z Fanatic Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: californee way Posts: 5,380 Drives: 370, Leaf Rep Power: 29	since you most likely boiled yours, definitely go for a full bleed. i just suck old fluid out and dump in new ones the first week i got the car, it seems to be okay at 14k miles

09-26-2011, 11:24 AM	#5 (permalink)
atropine Base Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Logandale, NV Posts: 39 Drives: 09 6MT Sport/Tour/Nv Rep Power: 14	thx guys. is there a bleeder screw at the bottom somewhere, or do i just suck the reservoir empty and dump in new fluid, let it mix a while, then repeat several times? ATE or RBF-600 is compatible with the clutch system for sure? Does it need to be replaced more frequently?

09-26-2011, 01:33 PM	#8 (permalink)
atropine Base Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Logandale, NV Posts: 39 Drives: 09 6MT Sport/Tour/Nv Rep Power: 14	Cool, thx guys. That is on my soon-to-do list now. Any idea how much fluid it will take to do a good flush/bleed? BTW, any ideas on how to keep my water temps down? (other than alter my driving)