In article >,
LoadHawg > wrote:

> '92 Nissan 240SX 140K mi, 4 cyl, put new Beck Arnley clutch in including
> disk, bearing and pressure plate about 2 years
> ago. Also put new master cyl in about that time.
>
> Couple weeks ago it went to the floor and sat there. I can flick the pedal
> with my foot and it comes up. Then it works
> fine about 20 times and might intermittently 'stick' again.


> I've also observed the behavior from underneath with someone
> operating from inside. Sure enough the slave cylinder activates the clutch
> and it stays down

Clarification request:
Does this mean the clutch *IS* activating at the times the pedal
"sticks", and *REMAINING* activated until the pedal is kicked loose?

If so, my first suspicion would be the throwout bearing binding up on
whatever it rides on in a Nissan. On my Mazda, my first move would be to
pop the throwout fork boot and try to verify free, smooth motion of the
throwout bearing on the "tube" it rides on through the hole in the side
of the bell-housing. Dunno if that's functional for your Nissan,
though...

> (indicating there isn't likely a problem with the hydraulics?).
> Clutch feels fine and engages sharply - no sponginess or difference
> in 'feel'.

Could also be something got jiggled into position to block the pedal's
return travel, I imagine.

> I've never run into this kind of problem before. Possibilities? Weak spring
> on clutch plate?

I'd think that would cause the problem to be more repeatable, not to
mention changing the "feel" of the clutch.

> Something wrong internally?

Here's hoping not...

> 'sticky' hydraulics?

Hmmm... that makes me think of something that happened with my Mazda a
few months after I first got it. Clutch got "flakey" - It just wasn't
feeling right, then started intermittently "going away" completely.
Looked at the MC, and the reservoir was full, but I didn't have any
clutch. Got back in and I had clutch. Next stoplight, clutch wouldn't
come back up to get rolling. Kicked the pedal, up it came, and off I
went. Next light I had to stall it to stop - No clutch. Pumped it a
couple of times, and got clutch back. Pulled into a gas station, and had
to stall it again. WTF?!?!?!?

Took me chasing problems that turned out to be not problems to begin
with, and finally, after half a day of "pull this piece off and check it
- Nope, seems fine, put it back on - On second thought, while I've got
it off, and I have the rebuild kit on the shelf waiting for an excuse,
rebuild it first" before getting to the MC. Started pulling it off for
an inspect/prophylactic rebuild (which forced me to empty the reservoir)
before I found the true problem: A ball of what I can only assume was
off the top of a brake-fluid bottle, not much bigger that the head of a
pin, had gotten into the reservoir - more specifically, into the
bottleneck at the bottom that lets the fluid into the MC proper - and
depending on how it jiggled and wedged, it was acting as a one-way
valve, sometimes in the MC --> slave direction, sometimes in the slave
--> MC direction, sometimes just a partial obstruction, and sometimes
being "blown clear" so that everything worked exactly as it should.

Don't ask me how the seal got in there in the first place! If the bottle
doesn't have the "easy pull off" type seal, I've always used the tip of
my knife to cut the entire thing free of the bottle and get rid of it.
Specifically to avoid that sort of mishap! My best guess is that the
previous owner wasn't as careful about how he dealt with the seal when
he wanted to put fluid in the beast.

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