My old gal left me stranded today...

[Zedyone_kenobi]

Took the Z to work today to show a buddy my new console refurb. Well I went to lunch, it was such a nice day, I ate outside and just admired my Z from my table. After leaving I starter her up and drove up the light to head back to work. The car would no go into gear hardly at all, then I pumped the clutch again and noticed it was VERY light almost no resistance.

A thought ran into my head.. "OH No! Slave cylinder, get this thing off the road, NOW"

I managed to semi force it into gear with what little pressure in the clutch I had left and got it to a nearby strip mall parking lot. From there I knew I was in stuck. THe pedal was completely soft, and upon inspection of my reservoir, I found it was totally dry. I pushed my gal into a nice parking slot and took notice of the large pool of brake fluid on the asphalt. Well from there it was all a Hagerty show of force. I called my road side assistance, and within an hour they were there with an impressive flat bed. They got her on the truck without so much as a nick, and got me home.

So now to the question...

I have a spare clutch master cylinder, and a spare clutch hose that goes from the firewall to the slave. My money is on the hose, as 39 year old rubber is seldom in great shape. I already called up Courtesy Nissan and ordered a new slave cylinder (which was WAAAY more expensive than black dragon, so I am wondering if theirs is OEM and black dragons is more Beck and Arnley type stuff).

So should I do a complete rebuild of the system or just fix what broke? I am a big believer in if it is not broken do not fix it, but also, most of this stuff looks to be orignial equipment. My car just turned 70658 miles.

So what do you guys say... do a whole replace or just the part that is bad?

[peterc]

Seems the only parts that you're missing for a complete rebuild is the slave cylinder and the flex hose. Neither are expensive (relatively), and by replacing the whole system you avoid the dreaded "fix one part only to damage another" syndrome.

Plus, you get the peace of mind that comes with knowing that particular system is new and will remain trouble free for many years.

[steve91tt]

It depends how long you intend to keep the car but my vote is to replace the parts of the system made of rubber. I'm thinking that 39 year old rubber in a hydraulic system is decently probable future point of failure.

Can you get a rebuild kit for the master or slave?

[Zedyone_kenobi]

I intend to keep the car for a VERY long time, unless you know a buy with a 1973 Porsche 911 RS that wants to trade! hahaha

I already ordered a brand new slave cylinder from Courtesy Nissan. I already have the rubber hose and the master cylinder. So I am ready to do a whole rebuild. I need to get pictures of the area. Today before work I ran my hand down and around the rubber hose, and it was dry as a bone, no signs of leaks, I am almost positive the slave died now. The hose actually feels rather smooth and robust. Not dry or fragile at all. I will take a closer look when I get the car in the air.

[JonnyRock]

Same thing happened to me about 1.5 weeks ago. Got my new slave the other day and will install first week of May when I get back from a competition.

[S30Driver]

Good idea to refresh the entire clutch hydraulic system. When the slave fails, the master might not be far behind.

Curious as too why you did not just drive the car home without the clutch? Just have to use care & patience when shifting and of course have a good battery if you get stuck in traffic. Glad the tow worked out well though.

[Zedyone_kenobi]

to be honest, I have free towing through my insurance 3 times year, and I really did not want to use my starter that hard. I have about 15-20 traffic lights between where I was and home, and it just seems too much to put it through.

[Bruce Palmer]

Why do people say you need to go thru everything when you buy one of these 40 year old beasts? Because until you refresh each and every system on the car and you personlly know the condition of each, you have a bunch of questionable old systems, any one of which can leave you standing beside the road.

There really are 3 choices. 1. Buy a car that has had all this done recently. 2. Be prepared to do it all. or 3. Keep your AAA card and cell phone handy.

Case in point.... preheat water thru carb manifolds. Guys ask if they should keep it hooked up. If you have ever seen these hard fittings after they have been eaten out from the inside and thin to the point that'll you know there will be a water drain out the least opportune moment of your driving year. Why not remove all that stuff and send it sailing over the fence into the neighbor's back yard and be done with it? My point exactly.

[Jeff G 78]

I have owned 10 S30s over the past 26+ years. Nearly every single one of them has puked a clutch slave cylinder at one point or another. Not once was I stranded. I was able to drive each one home with no clutch. Start it in gear, match revs to upshift and downshift and pop it into neutral before stopping. Shut it off and repeat the process when the light turns green. Just for the fun of it, I drove an old $500 parts car for a full week without using the clutch just to see if I could do it. The Z transmission shifts beautifully without a clutch as long as you match revs.

Of all those cars that needed slave cylinders, I have never had a clutch master go bad. I did buy my 260 barn find with a corroded and frozen MC, but that's a different issue.

I have also always used Beck Arnley slaves with no issues. Once replaced, I've never had another failure.

[Zs-ondabrain]

The stainless clutch slave line from MSA is only about $17 ? I have one on each Z. It'll never fail in the hose area.

[oldhemi]

Hmmm, I had to think about an opinion for you. You have 2 options:

1. I would replace all three components at once. Bench bleed the M/C.

2. I might just do the the slave cylinder along with the hose for reasons that BP points out and see how it goes. Bleeding a clutch M/C can be a pita sometimes. Having a M/C bled already will allow you to get fluid easier down to your slave and fill the new hose. This will allow you to adjust your slave at this time.

You have the potential problem of brake fluid dripping on your paint at some point . So, do you get geared up and protect EVERY conceivable area that you can get this stuff on once or do you do the prep possibly 2 times?

Why Courtesy? I would like to know what brand of parts you end up getting, maybe pics so that I can compare your factory parts to Beck Arnley and others. I HAVE to be a cheap SOB now and sometimes depending on the kindness of others.

Not to hijack the thread, but is DOT 5 a bad thing for clutch hydraulic systems?

BTW, you did the right thing with your car by flat bedding. Too nice a car to take a chance. That area is rife with stop lights and idiot drivers, you are TOO damn old to act like a no-big-deal, broke kid(with apologies to JeffG, I been there).

[Inf]

Had the same thing happen to me 4 years ago. Got in the car one day and the clutch was as light as the gas pedal. Didn't have facilities for working on it back then, so it was just another of my many experiences getting to know the local AAA contracted tow company.

My AAA+ membership has probably saved me $600+ in towing fees in just the last 5 years, can't imagine going without it. Not to mention the small AAA discount at Napa.

Really looking forward to getting a classic insurer, like Haggerty (it sucks living in perpetual fear of getting screwed over by a regular insurer). Can't get it now, because it's technically my "primary vehicle" even though I drive it all of once a week. We have a pretty decent mass transit system here, and it's free for me.