Yeah... these clutch issues aren't fixed in my opinion...

[Vigilante]

So yeah as the thread title suggests, I don't think these clutches are any good in these new D40's. I have a 2012 ST (Spainish built) with ~24,000 km's on the clock and the standard clutch is not working for me.

Right now the engagement point is about 4/5ths of the way out from the floor and gets worse after I go 4WD'ing when muddy water is involved. I have been wheeling about 5 times in the last 6 months and water must be getting up into the bell housing because the shudder on the clutch is absolutely absurd after doing any kind of boghole or water crossing.

The Nissan dealer confirmed to me that there are indeed holes in the bell housing for cooling or drainage purposes - is this fair dinkum? I can see one at the bottom of the bell housing but none anywhere else .... I am not proclaiming to be an expert but why would you make a 4wd with holes in the bell housing? Is this normal? Just seems like a recipe for early clutch failure.

I had a chat with the dealer and explained that I wasn't happy with the clutch operation nor how long it is lasting. I inquired about there being a potential warranty claim coming from me in the near future about it but they fobbed me off saying the clutch is a wear and tear item so would be unlikely to be covered. I rebutted by saying that ~24,000 km's is pretty ordinary clutch life ... the dealer then insinuated that I must drive it like a dickhead for it to wear out like that ...

Anyway I am pretty ****en disappointed at the moment. I have been a Nissan boy my entire life. Grew up with my old man driving Navara's and Patrol's and just love my Nissan. But man, for them to do put together such a piece of shit for my first purchase... I must say I am very sad. I understand that modern clutches are an issue on most (if not all) new 4wd utes so that gives me some solace but yeah, still ****en ordinary imo. Might as well look into after market options ... gonna have to spend the money sooner or later ...

For the record I consider myself to be a good manual driver. I know EVERYONE reckons this but I have a pretty solid track record. My last car was a 2001 VU ute and I sold it recently with the original clutch still going strong after 220,000 km's. And yeah, I gave it shit every now and again without ever having an issue.

 

[4 naving]

The bell housings on most cars have a drain hole in the bottom. this lets out any water that may enter and also lets the oil out if you have a worn rear main seal.

 

[doc]

I can't ever recall a bell housing without drainage holes in it. It's par for the course. Never caused a problem in any 4wd I've ever owned (only 1 was auto, so had plenty of manual trans 4wd time).

I don't argue that the clutches in D40's do not seem to be the best. I don't like how mine does not have a confident bite. That being said, 90K later - a fair bit of that either 4wding or towing my 2.5T van - and it's still holding in there.

Take the clutch issue away, and do you have any other issues with the vehicle? If so, then maybe it's not the right vehicle for you. Is that your fault for choosing the wrong vehicle, or Nissans fault for not building exactly what you wanted?

If there's no other complaints, be one of the owners whose had to bite the bullet and put a HD clutch in it, then had a good vehicle.

It's a tough call either way.

 

[Vigilante]

Fair call about the drain hole

Still can't understand how a clutch can wear out so fast tho ... can you seriously question my choice of vehicle? Its a 4wd ute and I use it as a 4wd and a ute so yeah... it meets my needs. Sick of people on these forums defending manufacturing oversights and defects. The clutch is essentially stuffed after 24,000 km's. That is piss weak and if you think otherwise you needto get your head checked.

Anyway looking forward to replacing my clutch and telling nissan to **** off with their extended warranty. Then I'll just wait for the timing chain to flog out and I'll have completed the trifecta. Should of bought a 4.2 Patrol ute.

 

[kernels]

The obvious response is that if you had the financial option of buying a patrol then you should have. You have bought a fast, comfortable 4wd ute for $40k. It is not in the same off-road class as a patrol.

 

[Vigilante]

The obvious response is that if you had the financial option of buying a patrol then you should have. You have bought a fast, comfortable 4wd ute for $40k. It is not in the same off-road class as a patrol.

Yep it has all the bells and whistles and it is comfortable. Cant fault the feel of the car and how it drives. I just can't wrap my head around replacing a clutch so soon. Sorry for the whinging but it it is not acceptable - no two ways about it. The fact that it cost $40k is irrelevant. A triton only costs $35k and a D22 only costs $31k. A hilux sr goes for $40k these days. These DMF clutches are not good enough and don't hold up well enough to the torque produced by these motors. These issues are systemic across all brands. It is a joke. Just google brandwhatever clutch problem.

Maybe an auto would've been better? Then I'd be at the bowser every 500k's tho!

All good I've had my whine ... just need to go get some cheese and a hd clutch kit. Cheers.

 

[kernels]

I think the problem is that the term off-road is too wide, off-road in the stock D40 sense is dirt roads and river crossings as deep as your wheels once in a while. The 4wd is there for mud on a building site. Used in this way, the clutches do in excess of 150ks (Which actually also is not fantastic, but acceptable)

If you want real hard core off-road window deep in mud, you need to put a lot of money into the D40, converting the clutch would probably be less than $2k all up anyway.

 

[doc]

Fair call about the drain hole

Still can't understand how a clutch can wear out so fast tho ... can you seriously question my choice of vehicle? Its a 4wd ute and I use it as a 4wd and a ute so yeah... it meets my needs. Sick of people on these forums defending manufacturing oversights and defects. The clutch is essentially stuffed after 24,000 km's. That is piss weak and if you think otherwise you needto get your head checked.

Anyway looking forward to replacing my clutch and telling nissan to **** off with their extended warranty. Then I'll just wait for the timing chain to flog out and I'll have completed the trifecta. Should of bought a 4.2 Patrol ute.

Mate, I think you need to clean up your attitude a bit. Try to give you some feedback on experiences, and you say "get your head checked?". And since when was anyone defending your so called manufacturing defects? For my part I was simply pointing out there were ways to work around it.

If you don't want input, don't ask for it. Or make sure to state that you only want opinions that you agree with.

 

[Vigilante]

Mate, I think you need to clean up your attitude a bit. Try to give you some feedback on experiences, and you say "get your head checked?". And since when was anyone defending your so called manufacturing defects? For my part I was simply pointing out there were ways to work around it.

Thanks mate, I won't bother trying to assist you again - you obviously don't appreciate any input you don't agree with.

You're right and I am sorry for having a go - I shouldn't have taken it that far. I hope you can accept my apology, it wasn't my intention to take my frustration out on you. But thanks for pointing out the drain hole as par for the course, it helps me out a lot in actual fact. Mainly because it just makes the Nissan dealer look like an even bigger retard because they explained it as having holes all around the bell housing! The head mechanic even came out and talked to me about it !!

You are right about there being ways around it though and I bought the car with full knowledge that the clutch would wear out quickly... I was always planning on replacing the clutch with a heavy duty unit ... just wasn't expecting it to be the case after 18 months / 24,000 km's. It's just a piss weak effort from the D40 - was expecting at least 75,000 out of it (which is still lackluster but more acceptable from what I read) . Like I said earlier, I don't profess to be an expert but I feel as though I know enough to be dangerous (I've done my fair share of mechanical work on dirt bikes over the years) and this is just shite. I don't think I have too high expectations either. Just disappointed is all.

 

[doc]

Mate, I reckon some of the issues with Navara's are inexcusable. Clutches, timing chain - flip a coin. They suck.

Unfortunately though, no brand or vehicle is immune.

I know you mentioned 4.2 Patrol - but ask anyone who bought one new if they would "upgrade" to a 79 series cruiser and they would think you were mad. The Patrol was made in a different age to a different standard.

Vehicles today just are not made to be kept for long periods.

If you get a good one and are prepared to hang on to it, then all good. But otherwise - they suck.

I'm lucky, my D40 is good one. Many aren't.

You have every right to be disappointed mate, i just figure that with al the reports out there on D40 problems, anyone who bought one over the last few years would have done so knowing the issues exist.

Cheere

 

[Old.Tony]

24,000km for a clutch is woeful. Wait until 40,00km and your disc rotors are also shot - you'll be back here again talking about it, put $$ on that!

The suspension is also crap. It's designed to give you a soft ride and last just until the car's made it out of the yard with you in it. Once you upgrade you'll wonder why you waited as long as you did.

Timing chains are not as much of an issue as we might think. There certainly have been a few people here that have said their timing chains were shot, broken etc, but the number of people that have had problems compared to the number of vehicles on the road - it's really a small proportion. Forums like this are magnets for complaints - people often come here to vent, or to get problems resolved, so the visibility of any particular issue is higher here. However, the timing chain IS a risk - no denying that.

I agree that the Navara has issues - I don't necessarily agree that it's limited to muddy car parks, because I've had mine bonnet-deep in a river and clambering like a goat down a rocky hill - but I don't think it's fair to say that it stands alone and that using the excuse "other manufacturers have problems" is unfair - it is the unvarnished truth, sadly, that NO manufacturer is perfect. Let's look at some examples:

2013 Porsche 911 Carrera - cracked muffler.
2012 Porsche 911 GT3 - rear axle & bearings breaking
2013 Subaru Outback - 'Park' doesn't necessarily hold the vehicle still, it may roll
2012 Range Rover - rear brake calipers come loose (fall off)

I could keep going. Nobody's perfect. With a few changes the D40 is NOT a bad car to take off-road.

I still agree though, that 24,000km for a dead clutch is a first-class bag of shit. It doesn't say in your manual that the clutch needs replacing every second service, does it?

 

[nathand22]

Yep it has all the bells and whistles and it is comfortable. Cant fault the feel of the car and how it drives. I just can't wrap my head around replacing a clutch so soon. Sorry for the whinging but it it is not acceptable - no two ways about it. The fact that it cost $40k is irrelevant. A triton only costs $35k and a D22 only costs $31k. A hilux sr goes for $40k these days. These DMF clutches are not good enough and don't hold up well enough to the torque produced by these motors. These issues are systemic across all brands. It is a joke. Just google brandwhatever clutch problem.

Maybe an auto would've been better? Then I'd be at the bowser every 500k's tho!

All good I've had my whine ... just need to go get some cheese and a hd clutch kit. Cheers.

Yep having a clutch go at 24k isnt good in anyones books.

Having said that my last 2010 ST has now got 120k on it and still has the stock clutch and thats after ALLOT of 4x4 work and it was used as my work truck, i towed camp trailers, work trailers full of sand or roof tiles ect no probs hooked up well and never gave me an issue. For the last 30k it has been towing a big fibreglass boat around and still no probs

My latest D40 2012 ST now has 65k on it and has been used off road every other weekend and on really good steep low 4 trails and same as the other, used for work as well and towing and has done some beach work, aslo has had water well over the bonnet a few times, and guess what NO PROBS.

Just goes to show you cant tar everything and every model with the same brush, yes you have had a shit time, do i believe its the same for EVERY ONE,, Not in my experience so NO i dont.

I will say this, i did have to change how i drove the d40 compared to any of my other diesel 4x4's or ant car for that matter, and i did have to show my brother who bought my old one, after he got in it with the boat on and first go reversing up a steep drive got the clutch stinking.

NOT saying this is you BUT, I do believe due to the clutch and the fact the D40 doesnt have any power under 1700rpm does catch people out.

I am 40yr old and have driven since i was seven in paddock bashers ect and raced dirt bike and all sorts of stuff but this is a wierd ute at first and i did have to adapt especially after hearing how these clutches HATE getting hot, you let it get hot or ride it in any way at any time and they will shit themselves quick sticks.

 

[Passage GT]

i've also got a 2012 spanish built st, now on 46,000km and not a single issue with the clutch, lots of beach work which is hard on it too and a bit of towing too.

 

[Rumpig]

You could try pessurizing the bell housing. http://www.patrol4x4.com/forum/niss...essurising-my-bell-housing-anyone-done-70014/ Don't know how well it would work.

 

[4 naving]

There must be something else going on for it to slip in the water. mines been through heaps of water and the clutch doesn't stip. Make sure you don't depress the clutch in the water as that will make it slip.
it could be an oil leak contaminating it or the dual mass is cactus . all things that could cause problems.
as a rule just water wont worry it, but don't change gears in the water or use the clutch...

 

[Old.Tony]

I'm just thinking that a cup inverted and placed in the water will hold air underneath it and if you seal the bellhousing everywhere except the drain hole (using a gasket sealant) then no water should ever enter it - pressurisation not required. Clutching should then be no different to doing it out of the water.

 

[doc]

Its a good theory Tony, but the problem is sealing around the clutch fork - it sticks out the side of the bell housing and is impossible to seal. It's why they have had drain holes in the bottom of bell housings for as long as they've had clutch forks sticking out the side of them

 

[Old.Tony]

You mean it's not hydraulic and internal? Who designs these things?

 

[4 naving]

Yep its got a big hole in the side. it has a rubber boot so check that is still ok. but depressing the clutch in the water is a big no no. water will get between the friction surfaces and no more go go....just sink sink, stink stink.

 

[siringo]

Back in my day, you could adjust clutches and bleed them. This was what was usually done when the pedal came up too high.

I'm pretty stupid, but can this still be done? If so, maybe this is all that needs doing?