Time for a new clutch?

[Ga Mtn Man]

This has nothing to do with forestry or sawmilling other than that I use my truck to pull a sawmill.  I'm hoping some of you experienced mechanical types can offer some advise.  I drive a 2006 Nissan Frontier SE 4x4 with 6 spd manual, 104k miles.  Recently I've noticed the RPM's briefly (lasts about 1 sec) increasing by about 200 RPM when going up hill or pulling a load.  It doesn't seem to matter what gear.  Could this be anything other than the clutch going out on me?  It may or may not be relevant that the entire rear end was replaced about three months ago after an accident but I only started noticing this problem very recently.

[yukon cornelius]

my guess would be the clutch. you could test it by holding the brake while in gear and let out on the clutch slowly to see if its slipping. or hook to a heavy load and see if its slipping. that is a way I have checked in the past. one other thing to check is oil near your bell housing from a leak causing slippage. I generally replace trans seal and rear main seal when replacing a clutch since your in there to possibly save a fix later.

[sandhills]

I agree with Yukon, but I've had trouble with the clutch in my old '83 Ford (totally different animal, I know) but it just had a bunch of gunk caked up on the shaft the throw out bearing slid on, wouldn't fully back off and allow the clutch to engage.  Might check that also  ???, good luck.

[Dave Shepard]

That sounds like a clutch on the way out. If your rpms are going up disproportionately to your mph, that is slippage, either clutch or tires. :D

[celliott]

Sounds like it's slipping but not bad. They don't go up more than 200rpm even if you floor it?
I had a Nissan sentra with a 2.0 SR20 engine. The clutch was fine around town, normal driving, apply brakes and let clutch out and it would stall or drag the rear tires with the E-brake on. But if you got the RPM's up high, or accelerated hard, it would slip over 4k RPM, bad. Almost like free-revving. Was fine to drive for awhile but needed to be replaced. Clutch disk was worn almost to the rivets...

[POSTON WIDEHEAD]

Roughly whats a new clutch cost these days?

[clww]

At least $300.

[drobertson]

Yea, especially if you smell any thing that resembles a smoking clutch.  That's a lot of miles for never changing, if the truck has pulled most of the time.

[Ga Mtn Man]

Sounds like it's slipping but not bad. They don't go up more than 200rpm even if you floor it?
I had a Nissan sentra with a 2.0 SR20 engine. The clutch was fine around town, normal driving, apply brakes and let clutch out and it would stall or drag the rear tires with the E-brake on. But if you got the RPM's up high, or accelerated hard, it would slip over 4k RPM, bad. Almost like free-revving. Was fine to drive for awhile but needed to be replaced. Clutch disk was worn almost to the rivets...

Under heavy load maybe 250 RPM and may pulse 2-3 times in a row before "catching".

The dealer service guy said it is most likely a worn clutch but suggested it could be a hydraulics issue.  They want $1500 to do the job.  Local shops are $650-$850.  Apparently the clutch on this truck is "a real son-of-a-DanG to get to", as one guy put it.

Yea, especially if you smell any thing that resembles a smoking clutch.  That's a lot of miles for never changing, if the truck has pulled most of the time.

I am quite familiar with that smell.  Everything is up hill both ways here in N. Ga. :-\ 

 

[21incher]

Dealers usually charge more because they use all new factory parts where a local guy will most likely use rebuilt parts and turn the flywheel. You cant miss that smell.

[julio]

I would check slave cyl. and fluid . That one has torque bar under it , they are a son of gun

[celliott]

I think I paid around $350 for the clutch kit for my sentra. Pressure plate, disk, throwout bearing. Labor is the real killer. Local transmission shop quoted me $700 labor, with my parts. A mechanic friend did it (I helped) and charged me $300 I think. FWD cars are a pain to change the clutch in too...