Hello everyone, I have just bought my first car, a 1981 Nissan/Datsun 280ZX coupe and it's in great condition having been winter stored and only driven 92,000km. I love driving this car a lot.

I have minimal experience with mechanical repairs. The only problem I have noticed is that suddenly the clutch lever lost all resistance (like the hydraulic system lost all pressure). So, I could not disengage the clutch and put the car into gear.

After scouring some online forums, I found that bleeding the clutch system might solve the problem, as air can get trapped inside and cause the clutch to feel spongy. This was an easy job and there are plenty of good instructions available on how to do this. At first, this seemed to help, but I noticed while I was under the car that a rubber part had been damaged.

There was suddenly a significant leak that would appear when the clutch was disengaged (clutch lever pushed down). After reading about it, thinking it was the operating/slave cylinder, I ordered the part. When it arrived I realized that it was a different rubber piece that had been damaged than the one that was part of the operating/slaved cylinder assembly.

It seems that the Factory Service Manual's diagram doesn't show this rubber piece. It should be covering the connection between the push rod on the operating/slave cylinder and the withdrawal lever that is mounted on the clutch cover in the bell housing.

I'm hoping somebody has had experience with this and can tell me if there is a specific part that I need and if it will be easy enough for a newbie to replace. I can't see why damage to this part would cause brake fluid to leak out of the clutch system, but then again it is difficult for me to see the exact origin of the leak.

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for your time.

 

Welcome to ZDriver!

How about posting a pic of this "rubber part" ?

 

Here are a few pictures I took of -- what is left of -- the "rubber part":

 

You are asking about the fork seal? That doesn't do anything but keep dust / dirt out of the transmission. It's the seal on the slave that is leaking:

http://nissan4u.com/parts/280zx/el_s..._train/clutch/

Cup kit-clutch operating cylinder 1 0.02 kg / 0.044 lb

Nissan part#
30620 S0125
alternate: 30622 J2025

30622 J2025
alternate: 30622 16E25

 

So I have the replacement slave cylinder. Is it easy enough for a newbie to replace this part? I bought a flare nut wrench set, but it doesn't seem to have the right size. I think it's something between a 10mm and 11mm because the 10mm is too small and 11mm is too big. Does that mean it uses imperial measurements? What size would I need to disconnect the clutch hose from the clutch tube?

 

It should be 10mm. It may be rounded off a bit so try using vise grips. The cluch also uses brake fluid dot 3 or 4. Read the manual for bleeding procedures

 

Thanks NismoPick and SHADY280, I successfully replaced the slave cylinder and bled the system. The clutch works great now. I'm sure I will be back next time I have to repair something. This is a great site!

 

Congrats on your new car and good on you for diving in. There isn't much you won't be able to fix on your car now

 

Thanks FricFrac! I've really been enjoying driving it this summer. It gets a lot attention... People love this car, and for good reason, too. It's just a sexy machine.

I've just started hearing/feeling a clicking in the clutch lever mechanism. I'm guessing I should dismantle it and grease it up. Hopefully I won't have to replace it entirely!