Navara clutch issues?

[wanderer]

Problem I find is the flat spot on take on take also means you need more revs and slip the clutch a little if you want to jump into traffic.

Im at 100K's and this is the the 3rd clutch. Next one will be solid.

I too am curious how it's going to tow as I'm looking for a camper..... my mechanic said should have got an auto.... now I regret that.

 

[TEZ]

Hey fellers. Have you thought about lowering the diff ratios? Ive been thinking about looking into this for my d40

 

[makofisho]

Clutch dramas continued

My clutch has just started to slip at 19500 km's so the dealer will be hearing from me first thing tomorrow. Now I read a lot of comments about some blaming the drivers but I operate this vehicle the same as every other I have ever owned and never had a problem before and I defy anyone to get a D40 moving without slipping the clutch at least a bit, that flat spot is an absolute shocker and I don't believe it to be due to turbo lag. You should not have to rev the engine hard enough to get the turbo working to take off and the problem is really bad if you are on a slope to boot. I have gotten into the habit of engaging L4 when retreiving the boat off the ramp but why? if you don't you have to rev the ring off it to get it moving. I think the flat spot issue is in the CPU programming personally and maybe if Nissan did a bit of work there the clutch issue may not be quite so bad. I hope they have got decent clutches now because if that's the best they can do I am not wearing it.

 

[nathand22]

. I operate this vehicle the same as every other I have ever owned .

I believe that is the problem.

I have owned a few navs now and travelled over 180'000km in my two D40's and i got over 370,000km out of my D22 none of them had a problem with the clutch.

BUT i had to drive the yd2.5 engine totally different to the ZD30 D22.

Due to when the power is produced from the tiny little 4cyl engine is why you need to pick up the revs A LITTLE before even thinking about letting your foot off the clutch, if you do that then just let your foot off the clutch as normal it will hook up just fine with NO slipping required.

I also own an old 2.8lt LN106 Hilux and that thing is like the good old utes always were and you could do anything you wanted to and got the thing off the line, let your foot all the way off the clutch with no go peddle at all then once the clutch is out stand on the gas or as the clutch is half way out start increasing the input from the go peddle, if you try and do that in the D40 it will either stall or leave the line with so little power the automatic thing to do is slip the clutch a little to help get it moving, BUT that results in not really going anywhere that much faster and putting load and heat through the DUAL MASS FLYWHEEL clutch set up and the "DMF" absolutely HATE even the smallest amount of heat, and its the heat that kills these things.

I noticed you said "I defy anyone to get a D40 moving without slipping the clutch" but it is 100% possible and i am willing to prove to anyone that will let me drive their ute that it can be done.

Dont get me wrong im not saying you cant drive, its more that the D40 has be driven different to any car that i have driven in the last 30yrs of driving, it does seem odd but give it a go.

Dont rev the shit out of it just pick up the revs BEFORE you even move your foot a mm then once the revs are up a tad let your foot off as normal, im sure you will be suprised by how well it hooks up, and if your at an intersection and need to get a quick turn in, try picking the revs up a tad higher again, then let the foot off the clutch as normal and it will shoot off like its in the power band.

 

[makofisho]

clutch issues

Yes I have tried every which way including that and all I do is look like a dick when it stalls or just bogs down. I have had a lot of diesels both manual and auto, turbo and non turbo and never ever had to rev them to get off the mark even with the van on the back and never had to slip the clutch. I guess they could always fit a 15 speed road ranger, lost faith in auto's years ago so no way I will ever have another one. Rang the stealership this morning and I think I am in for a bunfight, as usual tried to blame clutch use then claimed to have never heard of an issue with D40 clutches then it was I will talk to the boss and get back to you. Yep still waiting, I did tell him that I refuse to have another dual mass fitted as a replacement period.

 

[nathand22]

Yes I have tried every which way including that and all I do is look like a dick when it stalls or just bogs down. I have had a lot of diesels both manual and auto, turbo and non turbo and never ever had to rev them to get off the mark even with the van on the back and never had to slip the clutch. I guess they could always fit a 15 speed road ranger, lost faith in auto's years ago so no way I will ever have another one. Rang the stealership this morning and I think I am in for a bunfight, as usual tried to blame clutch use then claimed to have never heard of an issue with D40 clutches then it was I will talk to the boss and get back to you. Yep still waiting, I did tell him that I refuse to have another dual mass fitted as a replacement period.

If it "Stalls or bogs down" you cant being doing it they way i drove mine, the only time that happened to me is when i didnt drive it like i suggested or when someone else was driving.
Like i said you cant compare apples and eggs, the d40 with the engine and its tune along with the DMF is a totally different kettle of fish and if you are trying to driver it like all the other diesels you have owned then there lies your trouble.

 

[makofisho]

I refuse to believe that 2 or 3 seconds of slippage at low RPM and load could generate the type of heat required to cause damage to the clutch, I have an engineering background and years of experience rebuilding engines and gearboxes as well as customising cars and 4X4's etc. I purchased this vehicle with the prime purpose being towing a van and the Nav has an advertised rating of 3 Tonne, seems though that best advice is not to tow at all because the clutch will not handle it. As I said earlier the heaviest thing I have towed to date is my boat which fully loaded with camping gear etc would top out the scales at around 600 to 700 kgs.

 

[feralnavara]

82,000km 2011 d40. Severely flogged daily, it is also used on our property to pull down and pull out trees and generally anything bloody heavy on the property. I'm not kind to cars which makes me wonder how some people have done so many clutches not towing. Mine is still original.

 

[nathand22]

clutch, I have an engineering background and years of experience rebuilding engines and gearboxes as well as customising cars and 4X4's etc.

Congratulations on that.

I still believe that 99.9% of the problems people have had with the clutch is driver error, BUT you could be the 0.1% that copped a dud especially considering your engineering background
Hey can i ask if when you do engineering is it apart of the course to learn how to slip "Im an engineer ...... ....... ........" or "ive come from an engineering ........ ......." into every conversation

 

[OneMofo]

I disagree (though not totally) Nath, im sure there are a few drivers (probably more) who have no idea out there about driving a 4X4 or driving it like a car, but there cant be that many, i would have thought that it being a 4X4 which usally indicates that they are used for exactly that, towing, carrying heavy loads and farm wortk etc etc that the clutches would have been a strong point in the vehicles construction, i mean look at the old gluxes, the old man has an 97 model (i think) it has 430,000K`s on it with the original clutch and that has been used for EVERYTHING, given it is on the way out now but thats a good innings and i think its the way it should be for all 4X4`s, that`s what i would expect from them.

Just saying you pay X amount for a vehicle with an expectation that it should do what its designed, there has been a lot of compplaints about this single issue, it all cant be driver error.

 

[makofisho]

I don't ride the clutch period never have never will, but surely if a different driving style is required then they would tell you or at least make mention of it in the owners manual. In nearly 40 years of driving the only clutches I have ever replaced have been for other people never had an issue with them myself. Defend them as much as you like but they are an issue world wide not just in Aus the facts are they are crap and Nissan needs to adress this and sooner rather than later.