Noise from clutch/gearbox on 313 model

[megatombomb]

Hi guys,

 

I am buying a 57 plate 313 Zed with 40000 miles on the clock. Its with a dealer and Ive actually put a deposit down on the car as i like it soo much and at £12k the price was right but this purchase was subject to fixing a problem.

 

There is a very audible clicking (almost knocking) from the engine bay at any revs. The noise disappears when depressing the clutch pedal and returns and stays constant when the pedal is 'up'.

 

On the test drive i found the clutch action to generally feel very good with only maybe a slight graunch at the bottom of the pedal travel but there didint seem to be any slippage and the gearbox was a joy to use and seemed mechanically fine. I noticed 1st and 2nd abit tight initially but i guessed probably fair enough given its been stood around and the car was 'cold'.

 

Anyway both myself and the service manager guessed it would be the clutch thrust/release bearing and they have since replaced it however i was surprised as they called me today to say the noise hasnt gone and that they are going to send the car to a Nissan main agent to be looked at.

 

I am starting to get abit worried about this purchase now having gone through my admittedly limited knowledge of car mechanics and coming to the conclusion that the only moving part that could be making this sound would be perhaps the input shaft bearing in the gearbox which i also gues would cost £££'s or ££££'s to fix

 

I would be interested to hear from any tech heads that might be able to advise me on this one! I also started wondering if nissan would warrant a problem when the car is less than 4yrs old still?

 

Any help greatly appreciated!!

 

Thanks in adv!

[ZMANALEX]

Clutch bearings, Idler gear and Flywheel can all be noisy.

 

Remember that this model has the concentric slave.

 

Alex.

[Dom187]

Clutch bearings, Idler gear and Flywheel can all be noisy.

 

Remember that this model has the concentric slave.

 

Alex.

 

Forgive me Alex, but what does a concentric slave mean?

[megatombomb]

Thanks Alex.

 

They have replaced the release bearing and therefore eliminated this potential problem which sadly hasnt cured it though.

 

I understand the fly is dual mass having read through various other threads now which could indeed be the problem.

 

However having spent the last 2hrs trawling the various 350Z forums its looking more as though its the g/box input shaft bearing. The symptom for buggered clutch release bearing seem to be the noise occurs when the clutch pedal is down/disengaged and that if the noise occurs while the pedal is up then its the input bearing that is screwed. The following video is almost exactly the sound that i am hearing although i am sure the noise is totally gone when the pedal is down (rather than just quieter).

 

 

Reading back through this particular forums pages it seems alot of people seem to think these noises are just a characteristic of these cars! I wonder do they make this sound when they were new... i suspect not!

 

So any other opnions!?

[megatombomb]

Update...

 

I'm now told that the car has had a complete clutch and wasnt fixed.

 

The Nissan dealer has said that the 'lay shaft bearing has failed'. The nice people ive bought the car from are going to repair it for me.

 

Cant help being somewhat amused as i thought my old Alfa Romeo's were meant to be troublesome but having read sooo much about the various dual mass flywheel and main shaft bearing problems with these cars (even late models with as little as 4500 miles on the clock!) i'd say that there is obviously a serious flaw thats never really been sorted by Nissan

 

Whats especially scary is that if the main shaft bearing completely fails then the rear wheels are going to lock up. Imagine that in the middle of you're favourite corner

 

It wont put me off my car as i know it will be sorted but i will not take for granted any of these so called normal sounds from a 350z clutch/gearbox.

 

I should finally say its much thanks to this and other 350Z forums that i have the info needed to know whats going on with my car

[Greekman]

Get yourself an exedy clutch and a fidanza flywheel and you ll have peace of mind forever. As for the bearings and that they all make noise and rarely go wrong. Get used to it. However due to the frenchness of this engine the slave cylinder goes wrong very often. Make sure you always have a spare one with you as they are cheap. Having it fitted means that the gearbox needs to be dropped down by a bit. Very quick and easy job for an experienced mechanic....about 15 bolts later job done.

Good thing about the slave cylinder is that it will give you indications like a sticky clutch pedal. If you keep an eye on the clutch fluid Levels you ve got plenty of time to take it to the garage.....usually

Apart from that they are very bullet proof mate...I can promise you that

[evilscorp]

Ahh, sometimes I wish I still had my prelude . What do most people replace when the get a new clutch? flywheel,bearings????everything?

Thanks Alex.

 

They have replaced the release bearing and therefore eliminated this potential problem which sadly hasnt cured it though.

 

I understand the fly is dual mass having read through various other threads now which could indeed be the problem.

 

However having spent the last 2hrs trawling the various 350Z forums its looking more as though its the g/box input shaft bearing. The symptom for buggered clutch release bearing seem to be the noise occurs when the clutch pedal is down/disengaged and that if the noise occurs while the pedal is up then its the input bearing that is screwed. The following video is almost exactly the sound that i am hearing although i am sure the noise is totally gone when the pedal is down (rather than just quieter).

 

 

Reading back through this particular forums pages it seems alot of people seem to think these noises are just a characteristic of these cars! I wonder do they make this sound when they were new... i suspect not!

 

So any other opnions!?