mikeatrpi Posted June 9, 2008 Author Share Posted June 9, 2008 Yea, Daeron, you called it! Research on hybridz reveals that spec clutches are bad. Centerforce clutches get mixed reviews. And, ACT gets the best rating... and also costs significantly more than the rest. Sigh. Dave I have no clue how old the clutch is. It came with the car. I ordered new seals for the front and rear. I did notice that the input shaft on the trans has a slight amount of play in it. I need to research what kinds of bearings there are inside, and if I want to attempt to tackle that project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnusx1 Posted June 9, 2008 Share Posted June 9, 2008 Don't worry about a little play on the input shaft. As long as the bearings were quiet you will be OK. Change the seals and gasket since you have them. Transmissions are not super tight tolerance devices. They can work with a little play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted June 12, 2008 Author Share Posted June 12, 2008 Dave, thanks again for the advice. I really appreciate it. So I ordered the SPEC clutch. I did some more reading on all the brands. Decided I couldn't afford an ACT or clutchnet disc, and reviews were 50/50 for spec and centerforce. At any rate, the ebay guy is giving me a nissan throwout bearing, but he says I need a shorter collar for it - when upgrading from 225 to 240mm. I'll probably try to order a collar / bearing combo from napa for just the collar. Unless, of course, anybody has a spare 2+2 collar lying around I will post pictures when I get it installed. As of today, she's still in the mail. I'm also planning to do the rear main seal, oil pan gasket, and a steering rack rebuild. For a ZX that means I'll lift the engine to complete the work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike C Posted June 15, 2008 Share Posted June 15, 2008 I have collar/throwout arm issues in my car. Turns out the T5 uses a different collar and trhowout fork. One of mine is wrong, so I ordered both from Motorsport and just haven't had time to put it in. Short term fix was a slave from a 240sx, which is same diameter as early 240z. You may want to break out the credit card and get both parts for your trans/pressure plate combo. Good luck and keep us updated! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 An update, finally. Over the holiday and today I got the car back on the road. I replaced the rear main, which was really easy. I had trouble with the pilot bushing and rented a puller from the zone. The puller required a little bit of modification to fit. The pack it with grease and pop it out trick didn't work for me. I put new front and rear seals in the transmission, rear main, 240mm flywheel and the spec clutch. I ordered a bearing / sleeve assembly from advance, and replaced the bearing with a nissan throwout bearing. I also replaced the steering rack and drilled the oil pan for my upcoming turbo swap. I need to adjust the pedal, it doesn't quite feel right to me. The friction point is way at the top of the pedal throw. I need to make it closer to the bottom. Pics - trans seal I rigged a clamp to help me hammer the unwanted throwout bearing off the collar, and a clamp to press on the nissan bearing. This is a throwout bearing assembly for a 280zx 2+2 - shorter than the coupe / 225mm clutch assembly. The pilot bushing attached to the puller The clutch installed - there were 9 bolt holes and I old had 6 bolts from my last clutch... hmm? The fork / throwout assembly waiting to be installed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 are the rear main seals and throw-out bearing cups available from napa? I am about to put my tranmission back on when I get my flywheel/clutch that should be here on thursday, but Nissan is soooooo far from me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted July 6, 2008 Author Share Posted July 6, 2008 The rear main I bought is a Felpro brand from Autozone. It comes with two little pieces of metal and rubber (I assume for the cap that holds the crankshaft? I didn't remove mine) plus the big round rear main seal. I pried out the old one with a thin screwdriver - put it between the outer edge of the seal and the block and you can move it little bits at a time. I pressed on the new one with a hammer and block of wood. Then I used a blunt nosed drift to set it down fully. Not sure what a throwout bearing cup is. The bearing itself came with my clutch, which was an ebay purchase. The collar with its BCA brand bearing came from Advance auto. I would however wait for a Nissan throwout bearing even if you have to mail order it. The pieces look very different, and the nissan one definitely seems more sturdy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EvilC Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Mike, the clutch most likely can be used on another car. My clutch can be used on Fords also I believe, reason why there are more bolt holes for different bolt patterns. Glad to hear you got the car back on the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Mike, the clutch most likely can be used on another car. My clutch can be used on Fords also I believe, reason why there are more bolt holes for different bolt patterns. Glad to hear you got the car back on the road! but the actual flywheel has 3 more empty holes as well. might want to fasten those down so the pressure plate doesn't deform, it happens under all that load! as for the "bearing cup", I meant the collar. so you're saying the nissan ones are better? i know that's the common assumption, but that's not always the case. I find that a lot of aftermarket parts like switches and even some sensors are made better by beck-arnley or ac delco. Right now I see that there are BCA National and Timken bearing collars with bearings. you have a BCA national and say the nissan is better.. hmmmmm. should I just keep my nissan bearing assembly and just clean it up?! possibly give the inside a quick 15 second hone too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 I did some more research on the bolts - the 240mm flywheels have 9 holes but the 225mm's have only 6. I upgraded from 225 to 240 - which is why I only had 6 bolts in my bucket. I read that if you take a 240mm flywheel from a nissan truck (forget the model) it works with these cars but only has the 6 holes. I can't find anyone saying that using 6 of 9 bolts caused problems. I guess I'll buy some bolts anyway and shelve 'em for when I have it apart again?! Raff - the BCA bearing is in this picture. The plastic seals holds about 8 ball bearings inside a ring, inside the bearing. I know because I accidentally knocked it into two pieces with my hammer... let me know, I'll happily pry it apart tonight and email you a picture of the insides. The nissan bearing is fully encased in metal, all around. It was heavier than the BCA. I wish I took a picture of them side by side - sorry! I would definitely not reuse the throwout bearing. Its a lot of work to get in there, so I'd change it out while I could. You can definitely reuse the collar - like you said just clean it up. A hone would make it clean but might be overkill - the collar doesn't spin, it just slides forwards and backwards on the input shaft. It does get greased during the assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 ill show you mine if you show me yours! HAHAHA. post up the BCA bearing, and I'll get the pics of the nissan one when i do my clutch (which is crossing the border today) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted July 8, 2008 Author Share Posted July 8, 2008 Here's the BCA bearing. As you can see, its just six little ball bearings suspended in its retainer slathered in thick grease. It was easy to hammer apart. Perhaps I'll try to disassemble my old nissan throwout bearing... however that one is definitely worn out! Link this time, too many photos in here already... LINK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted July 13, 2008 Author Share Posted July 13, 2008 Re the pedal feel - I installed an aftermarket clutch MC too. The push rod is too long on the aftermarket product. I swapped the push-rods this afternoon and the pedal feels much better! Here is a photo of the relevant parts, plus the two rods side by side: My last problem is smoke coming from the bell housing. Its wispy white smoke and definitely smells like clutch. At this point I have much less than a mile on the new clutch. Is it normal during the break in period? I better research that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daeron Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 Don't throw the other push-rod away. You never know when you, or someone you know, might get in a jam by getting a master cylinder that needs a different length push-rod. Ask me how I know this Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikeatrpi Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 Careless, any news? Did you decide to use a nissan bearing, and are you glad you did? PS my white smoke and clutch smell went away after about 100 miles. I'm very happy to be back on the road! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Careless Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 hi mike. i am still having trouble removing the cross over pipe. it looks like i'm going to have to take the passenger side mani off and slide it out and then remove the studs from it and insert the new ones, along with a new cross pipe cause the one i have is showing signs of burn through on the flex joint. as for the throw out bearing, i ordered a collar from nissan and put the new bearing on. the bearing that came with my clutch kit was an actual nissan OEM bearing =) I know because it has the last 5 digits from the part number stamped on the one I took out, and they're numbers matching and it looks 100% the same, all metal. also, I used some fine emery paper to clean the input shaft sleeve, and the nose of the input shaft itself, as I think that was one of the grab spots that the pilot bushing was being wedged against ... both the pilot and the shaft show signs of friction and wear, unlike any wear i've seen on an engine in this area before. definately a cause for concern. Today I welded a nut onto the stud to see if i can remove it... no go. the nut broke off two thread revolutions clean off the head of the stud. so it's going to be pulled, im going to superheat the manifold, and then get that sucker out for sure. I think I may just pull the turbo side off too and just replace the gaskets there, but that side is full of so many damn cluttered wires. I'm wishing this thing was a carb'd race car right about now. no body harness and no engine gadgets. oh well. takes time, but im riding my bike to work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtl260z Posted July 28, 2008 Share Posted July 28, 2008 For the first time in 4 years of ownership, my Z left me stranded. I couldn't put the car into gear, like the clutch wasn't disengaging. The pedal was a little wet at the shaft, so I did a parking lot clutch master cylinder replacement. I bled it and bench bled it several times, no air, clean fluid. The slave "does its thing" and actuates the lever. I adjusted the clutch almost as far out as it would go, at the pedal, excessively far in my opinion... Still, can't get the car into gear. I had the car towed home, 33 miles. So, what's next? What do I check? Car is an 82 280zx NA. I appreciate any advice you all might have! I had the same exact thing happen to me. I checked all the hydraulics, noticed some minor leaking. I change both master and slave...cured nothing. I dropped the tranny and found out that the friction material on the pressure plate side of the clutch disc (centerforce dual friction) was completely gone. I proceeded to buy a new Spec 4 puck race clutch and everything is peachy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jtl260z Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 So I found this on EBay. 2+2 means its got the 240mm flywheel, right? Is "spec" a decent clutch brand? I have been running a Spec 4 puck for a little over a year and I love it. Spec makes a great clutch! They have been building clutches for all sorts of uses for a very long time. Check out their web site; http://www.specclutch.com/. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D1CNAR Posted August 20, 2008 Share Posted August 20, 2008 buy a dakien 900kg clutch simple, invincable its in my race car and it has been in there for two years and i beat it to death and they are cheap and reguire no setup like a centerforce if ya got the money go for a fidanza aluminum flywheel you can find em for 300 bones that will definitly improve performance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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