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HOW TO: Clutch Damper Bypass


MY1PATH
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I never had this trouble in my 89 but my 93MT Clutch Damper was acting up when I got it. The purpose of the Damper is to slow the release of the clutch to make shifting a little smoother and to reduce Clutch Fork Chatter by maintaining a small amount of pressure against the Fork even when the clutch is fully mating with the Flywheel.

 

Well fork chatter is nonsense, you can't hear it inside a rig like pathy and it doesn't hurt anything. A good driver having their pedal feedback soaked up by a damper is nonsense as well.

 

In the 94's case it was releasing too slow. You could side step 2nd gear at idle and it would pull forward. (This is not a worn clutch because you can still stall it against a curb.)

 

I found someone on NICO that had done this and then I took some pics of my own when I did mine.

th_img3247h.jpg th_img3251a.jpg

http://forums.nicocl...ss-t467425.html

 

As seen above the Damper can be found on the Passenger firewall (LHD models) Below the wiper motor and AC lines into the firewall.

I hit each flare nut with some PB Blaster the day before and again today before putting a wrench on them. First Open the Bleed screw on the slave Cyl and pump as much fluid out as you can so none gets on your firewall or fenderwall, Its bad for your paint. Stuff a rag in there and unscrew the flare nuts. now remove the Damper. It has four M10 bolts but easier yet is to remove the whole bracket which is just two M10 bolts (red arrows)

 

DSCF5448.jpg

 

Now have your bypass ready. You need an M10x1.0 inverted flare coupling if you use anything else your lines will leak. The NICO write up gives a Napa PN 7934A but I got handed the wrong item for $7 and wound up using a $3 Dorman Part from Auto Zone.

Dorman PN 785-438 Just about any Auto store can get you any Dorman part you ask for.

 

DSCF5453.jpg

 

Brake/Clutch hard lines are easy enough to bend but they can be very springy. instead of trying to bend the lower line at the tip use the springiness to your advantage. grab the whole loop and twist it until the two flares nearly touch. Now when it gets springy it will help you put your bypass piece together rather then fight you because you just tried to move the end. Before you move on make sure none of the lines in any of the loops touch, otherwise they will chafe when you are driving.

 

 

th_DSCF5451.jpg <- Two Flares nearly touching

 

DSCF5450.jpg

 

Now to put the Coupling on. Do the bottom first, you can slide a 13mm socket over the coupling and zip it on while holding the lower flare nut with a wrench. When you do the upper you can put a wench on both upper and lower flare nuts (two 10mm open ends) and you can seat both flares equally. The bracket is no longer necessary because there is not enough weight there to do any damage.

 

DSCF5455.jpg

 

Lastly, Refill and bleed the clutch. Since the bleed screw does not point up, I highly recommend running your drain hose over the torsion bar and then loop it higher than the screw after that. This way so the bubbles move up and away from the screw and you can also more clearly see how your bleed is doing.

 

DSCF5456.jpg

 

enjoi

Edited by MY1PATH
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That's awesome! I had thought of doing this a while back when I couldn't get all the air out but didn't think I could find the right fitting. Thanks for doing the home work!

James

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I did something similar on my 94 Hardbody removing the load proportioning brake valve, but it never crossed my mind to take that out of the equation on the Pathfinder. Good write up!

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My kinda mod, single didget dollar range (probaly have some floating around work) and a simple process. Might be doein this when I get to doin a fluid flush/fill. Thanks for the correct part # and the pics :aok:

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I did something similar on my 94 Hardbody removing the load proportioning brake valve, but it never crossed my mind to take that out of the equation on the Pathfinder. Good write up!

Yeah Bypassing the LSV is a good way to go especially on a lifted truck. Makes things allot simpler. Edited by MY1PATH
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Yeah Bypassing the LSV is a good way to go especially on a lifted truck. Makes things allot simpler.

 

Uh...what? LSV is a Load Sensing Valve that's on the pickups to adjust rear brake bias when the pickup is hauling a heavy load.

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Uh...what? LSV is a Load Sensing Valve that's on the pickups to adjust rear brake bias when the pickup is hauling a heavy load.

Yeah but it works best for street use as a stock pickup truck. It reduces braking force to the rear wheels when the truck is empty so they don't lock up on an ass light truck and spin around.

If you lift it you have to extend the linkage or it will never activate under load. And when wheeling its pretty much useless.

 

With it bypassed; Just don't brake like a moron and you'll be fine.

Edited by MY1PATH
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I did something similar on my 94 Hardbody removing the load proportioning brake valve, but it never crossed my mind to take that out of the equation on the Pathfinder. Good write up!

Yeah Bypassing the LSV is a good way to go especially on a lifted truck. Makes things allot simpler.

Yeah but it works best for street use as a stock pickup truck. It reduces braking force to the rear wheels when the truck is empty so they don't lock up on an ass light truck and spin around.

If you lift it you have to extend the linkage or it will never activate under load. And when wheeling its pretty much useless.

 

With it bypassed; Just don't brake like a moron and you'll be fine.

 

My bad, I missed the original post about trogdor bypassing the LSV in his hardbody, and probably because you quoted the wrong post ;)

 

though, trogdor, the LSV and Clutch Dampener serve totally different uses. honestly I would leave the LSV in if your pickup does not have, at least, R-ABS... Just for safeties sake if you ever need to do one of those panic stops that you never think you'll have to.

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I actually removed it because I had airbags on it (it was a 2WD) so technically I think it always thought there was a heavy load in the bed. It had no rear ABS. The brakes worked 100 times better after I got rid of that damn thing. Not saying its not useful for stock height trucks actually hauling heavy loads though.

 

Oh, I know they serve different purposes. It just never occured to me that you could even ditch the clutch dampener. I replaced one on a Pathfinder I worked on (it started leaking at the bleeder valve) and with the lack of Pathfinders in the local JY's lately it was hard to source one. It would of been wayyyy easier to just chuck it and call it a day.

Edited by Trogdor636
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I actually liked the feel of the clutch in my first WD21 after I replaced it with OEM parts at 135k. Plenty of feel, good hook up but not grabby. If I have another manual Pathy, I'll leave the system alone.

 

B

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I actually liked the feel of the clutch in my first WD21 after I replaced it with OEM parts at 135k. Plenty of feel, good hook up but not grabby. If I have another manual Pathy, I'll leave the system alone.

 

B

Yeah the one in my 89 feels like its not even there but I will probably do it just for the hell of it. I'm due for a full bleed and this just simplifies things.

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I hate ABS....I've got to bypass it on my Tacoma but want to figure out how to trick the wiring so I don't get theABS light on all the time...I learned how to drive without ABS and ABS has almost fskced me several times...when I did the 95 swap the rear ABS module was left off intentionally...if u know how to drive u can actually stop faster without ABS than with it. Especially on wet or snowy roads

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Yeah the one in my 89 feels like its not even there but I will probably do it just for the hell of it. I'm due for a full bleed and this just simplifies things.

This much is true.

 

Should we go ahead and move this into the How To since it is a complete write up?

 

B

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  • 3 years later...

While doing this mod it's also a good time to replace the Rubber hose that goes to the slave and inspect the slave and master for wear. My slave had a lot of rust in the bore from wheeling and it was picking away at the seal. More info on those components here:
http://www.nissanpathfinders.net/forum/topic/40310-braided-stainless-clutch-line/

Edited by MY1PATH
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  • 1 year later...

I just did this today and replaced the master and slave. The Napa part is correct for the 1989 model. Couldn't find the Dorman part anywhere but got a similar one different brand and the thread was wrong. If anyone reads this and is unsure of which fitting will work, the line from master to the valve is super easy to remove and take into the store to guarantee a fit, thats what I did the second time around. I used a $7 hand oiler to pump the fluid from the slave bleeder, filled it and no air got in.

Edited by Backpacker
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  • 11 months later...
  • 5 years later...

What Year is this

2023

 

I FINALLY bypassed the Clutch Dampener - that was leaking off and on - even after tightening the 4 side plate bolts

 

and getting tired of adding fluid

 

And after one day - when I realized my Clutch line fluid was draining fast - almost got back home - had to push it 1/4 mile and into the driveway

 

I put in the Union Piece - although It leaked a lot more

 

I had to bend the bottom line so it would line-up more straight so it wouldnt leak

 

Hopefully it doesn't leak

 

It seems to work just fine

 

94 4x4 SE

 

New Engine

9-2022

Decked Block

Cut Heads down a little more then usual

Edited by PathinTX
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