AzureChris Posted March 30, 2014 Share Posted March 30, 2014 Hey guys, although I did do some searching I couldn't really find EXACTLY what my problem was so here it goes. Yesterday night I started my car up (77 280z) and put it in reverse to get out of my driveway, upon putting it into first the car continued to move backward as if still in reverse, So I went ahead and turned her off, started he back up, and drove. Earlier this afternoon I was driving the girlfriend to work down the freeway in 4th gear, as I make the switch to 5th nothing...The gear wouldn't catch...tried going back into 4th...still nothing, I ended up being pulled over to the side and towed to the next exit. I popped the hood and found that my slave cylinder was leaking fluid, So I walked down the street to a mom and pop shop and picked up some hydraulic fluid, filled her up, and drove her back home. I did my research around here and found that my slave cylinder needed replacing, so I went to the nearest autozone and picked one up, installed it, and now we're here. After installing the part and bleeding it and doing all that fun stuff I went ahead and tried starting her up. I immediately felt my clutch was extreeeemely loose, so loose I couldn't "feel" it catch but I started her up anyway, in neutral. She INSTANTLY jolted forward as if she was in first and almost hopped as I was turning her on. I noticed that I couldn't change gears while she's on (from neutral to any other gear) and can only change gears when she's off. I've considered that the master clutch cylinder might be busted which I'm gonna replace tomorrow but otherwise I'm not sure what it could be. It's a brand new clutch so I'm instantly ruling that out and I just replaced my slave cylinder. My searching around here says it's my master cylinder but other than that I feel she might have other issues...All in all I don't really know what else to do. This is my first car and my first Z so I've kinda been playing everything by ear and learning as I go along. I feel that even though I've followed everything I've found she still won't run or run right, SO any help would be appreciated. Just a recap on what's wrong 1) Car "stays" in gear even after neutra; 2) Car won't change gears 3)Clutch feels loose and engaged at all times 4) Car "hopping" forward when started in first or backward when going from reverse to any gear. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRC17 Posted March 31, 2014 Share Posted March 31, 2014 The issues you are talking about are the same issues I had. There isn't enough pressure being built up in the clutch system so the clutch isn't fully disengaging, which is why it jumps when you start it in gear. As long as you are positive the system has been bled I would say the issue is your clutch master cylinder. I do have a few tips if you decide to change it. 1) Don't buy one from AutoZone. I bought two of them and they don't fit on the car. The first one I bought online and the holes to bolt it to the firewall didn't line up. I took it to a store and they gave me one with the right holes, but the rod that the clutch pedal attaches to wasn't long enough. You are better off spending a bit extra and buying it at a place that specializes in Z parts. 2) When you hook up the master cylinder to the pedal, make sure there is enough pedal travel to allow the master cylinder to build up enough pressure. I made this mistake and I had a really hard time shifting when I first installed my master cylinder. I adjusted the pedal travel and it made all the difference. I hope this helps! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzureChris Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 (edited) Wellllll I actually did buy from Autozone just because I needed a quick fix as she's my DD, I replaced both the Master and Slave cylinder, the master cylinder actually went perfectly in, I was able to get it in with no issues, the issue I'm currently having now is that the clutch fork wont move my slave cylinder, before (with the old slave cylinder) it pumped perfectly, although the old cylinder was broken it moved it and you could see it moving from the top of the engine bay, but now the slave cylinder doesnt move at all, I've bled it three times so the fluid is being pumped from my master to slave, but the slave isn't being pumped by the fork or vise versa (not really sure how it all works beyond the fluid being pumped). So now my syptoms are as follows... 1) Clutch is too loose, no amount of bleeding or pumping will stiffin it. 2) The slave cylinder is not being pumped by the clutch fork when it was before 3) And essentially all of my prior issues because my clutch still isnt getting into gear while on. Edited April 1, 2014 by AzureChris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WRC17 Posted April 1, 2014 Share Posted April 1, 2014 Do you know if there is a difference in the length of the master cylinder rod of the new and old one? The issue with the second master cylinder I got from Autozone was that the rod wasn't long enough so it wasn't building up enough pressure in the system. One of the first things I noticed was that the pedal travel wasn't nearly as long as it used to be. I replaced it with one I bought online (I think from The Z Store) and the rod was much longer, which allowed for more pedal travel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AzureChris Posted April 1, 2014 Author Share Posted April 1, 2014 The one I bought from autozone was slightly smaller like literally maybe a 1/4 inch. I went ahead and adjusted it to the same length as the old master cylinder but still no dice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted April 6, 2014 Share Posted April 6, 2014 1. Clutch and shift lever on the transmission are not connected other than to the transmission so , if you put the shift lever in neutral, you should be in neutral no matter what the clutch does. If the car still moves with the transmission in neutral then you have more problems than the clutch system. 2. Have you had someone work the clutch while you observe the action of the slave cylinder? If not - you need to do that. The hydraulic system that actuates your clutch is not a complex system. If the master and slave cylinders are the proper units and are mounted correctly with the hydraulic fluid properly bled then it should work fine.j If it doesn't then one of the previous things is incorrect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elishallen Posted June 6, 2014 Share Posted June 6, 2014 Maybe a bent clutch fork is the culprit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phantom Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 So did you ever solve the problem? If so, please let us know what it was and what you did to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
logr Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Just because it's a new clutch is no reason to rule it out. Would like to hear the solution. My guess is the clutch but Phantom is right, if the trans is in neutral but not in neutral, you have more issues. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NewZed Posted June 10, 2014 Share Posted June 10, 2014 Yesterday night I started my car up (77 280z) and put it in reverse to get out of my driveway, upon putting it into first the car continued to move backward as if still in reverse, Earlier this afternoon I was driving the girlfriend to work down the freeway in 4th gear, as I make the switch to 5th nothing...The gear wouldn't catch...tried going back into 4th...still nothing I immediately felt my clutch was extreeeemely loose, so loose I couldn't "feel" it catch but I started her up anyway, in neutral. She INSTANTLY jolted forward Looks like two separate problems, as implied in Post #6. Shift linkage, or shaft misalignment, inside the transmission, and bad or un-bled clutch hydraulics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Silly question that I dont expect to solve the situation, but might be one of a few other problems-Did you bench bleed the master? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sideways Posted June 15, 2014 Share Posted June 15, 2014 Silly question that I dont expect to solve the situation, but might be one of a few other problems-Did you bench bleed the master? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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