My clutch pedal went down about 3/4 of the way before it engaged then you could hardly shift at all. I got out and checked the fluid and it was empty, kinda strange since it drove fine the day before. I have also been hearing a sound when it's idling and the shifter is in neutral. The sound is like a scraping sound and no doudt it's spinning, it stops when you press the clutch. The sound is coming from the shifter area. I filled it up with fluid and drove it home it worked ok and improved as I drove. But, I don't know why the fluid was empty I saw no signs of a leak on the garage floor. 1993 300zx convertible 58,000 miles.
Thanks.

 

clutch fluid is the same as brake fluid isn't it? if it is...and you leave it overnight im pretty sure it wont leave much if any of a puddle. Check your gasket around the piston on your slave cylinder located under the car mounted on the tranny its the piston that actually makes the clutch ingauge, its probably leaking pretty badly. I say this is probably leaking cause its a rubber gasket and where its situated makes it prone to damage, its also the lowest point in the system so if its going to drain to nothing...usually its from there.

 

"...scraping sound and no doudt it's spinning, it stops when you press the clutch..."


Sounds like a throw out bearing but something is very seriously wrong and you should get your car into a shop. Luckily a MT is lighter than the AT and there is a lot less to remove to get it out. Have you ever heard of critical mass? It will teach you the hard way if you don't get into a shop ASAP and get the issue fixed. A repair is cheaper than the whole rebuild if you really mess something up. Point being something is terribly wrong when you hear metal on metal and you should not wonder anything. Get it fixed.

 

The slave cylinder commonly goes bad on the Z32. It's $28 and will solve the pedal pressure issue (by the way, while you're down there, I HIGHLY recommend Coz's stainless steel clutch line... makes a huge difference in pedal feel).

As for the sound, listen to japanz

 

Confirm that it's the slave cylinder that's leaking.If there's no puddle but you're still leaking clutch fluid, it's the clutch master cylinder not the slave. The missing fluid is probably leaking into your car rather than outside to the floor. In that case the seal of the master cylinder is gone. You'll either hafta rebuild it with a reuild kit or just replace it altogether.

 

That stainless steel clutch line does make a difference, its great, i noticed it after the car is warmed up the pedal feel never changes unlike stock rubber (even in warm weather).

 

Agreed, steel braided clutch line is the ****. However, CoZ's 10" steel braided clutch line wont give you much difference. you still have the clutch booster/assist that softens the pedal. That was nice about doing auto=>5spd convertion...I removed the useless stuff like HICAS, EGR (shh!), A/C...

 

As in you push down and can't get it in gear, or you let out and it won't go anywhere? Was it working before or did you have slippage and now this? Any burning sounds, clunking, anything like that?

Be descriptive as you can please.

 

Uh... What exactly does a burn sound like?

Rod.

 

you know....like the sound of hotness....opposite of coldness sound...duh?

 

Could be a number of things but i would try to readjust the clutch pedal using these steps.

http://www.specialtyz.com/clutchadj.htm