1995 Nissan 240 SX Clutch Or Transmission Problem

Reader Question Once again I turn to you because you always help me find the problem when I have something wrong. The other night I was driving down the highway and for some reason I decided to downshift.

I don’t even know why I did it but now that I think about it, it was a dumb move. As I shifted down and let the clutch out it just went straight to the floor and I could hear a noise coming from the transmission area. The noise sounds like pieces of metal or something being tossed around.

The pedal didn’t come back up and I could shift without engaging the clutch but when I stepped on the gas the rpm just went up with no acceleration. Now it doesn’t even go into gear at all. Please help me. I’ve had suggestions that it may be a broken pressure plate or the slave cylinder. I should have a mechanic come check it out this weekend. Thanks in advance!!!!!!

1995
Nissan
240sx

Hey there,

Have you opened the hood and looked under the vehicle to see if there is anything hanging loose or blatantly broken off?

My first thought is the clutch fork (the part that actually moves the pressure plate inside the transmission) or part of the clutch linkage has broken off, this could be something external from the transmission and not require removal of the transmission itself. Since you said the clutch pedal did not return its normal position lets hope there is a linkage problem.

Get someone to work the clutch pedal inside the vehicle up and down as you look under the hood and under the vehicle.

If you don’t see anything broken or loose externally unfortunately you will need to remove the transmission and look inside.

Something with the transmission could have broken or the clutch could have come apart and it’s time for a new clutch assembly. If this is the original clutch, it was probably just due for replacement and not really anything you did in particular.

When replacing the clutch it is a good idea to replace the following

1. Clutch disc
2. Clutch pressure plate
3. Clutch release bearing
4. Pilot bearing
5. Resurface the flywheel

Blessings,
Austin Davis