Hi.
Some of you may recall my reporting a clutch failure on my 4.8 lt. 2002 GU at 67,000k, a failure which in fact I had been reporting since the 5000k service.
As a retired mechnaical engineer
well experience in things automotive, I refused to accepting Nissan
Melbourne's simplistic assessment that the failure was the result of fair wear and tear.
Well after Nissan did every thing they could to stall and put me off, Nissan and I had our day in court. They Lost
I was able to prove that the dual mass flywheel now used by many manufacturer's was of insufficient mass to act as an effective heatsink. This consiquently lead to over heating which then went on to...... and then.....
Other key points that I was also able to prove in court were;
a. The flywheel hand only been partially ground leaving the bulk of
the contact surface in the rough machine state of 6.4 mirons.
The specs called for 1.2 -2.2 microns.
b. The flywheel had not been checked for runout when installed.
The run out of 0.2mm caused a worned step on the flywheel face.
c. The clutch plate has been impacted during assembly badly dishing
it. This resulted in the clutch plate hub hitting the end face of the
crankshaft and so limiting pressure plate clamping loads.
d. Heat, in excess of 400 deg C did the rest.
The moral of all of this is simply -
Don't go bagging the vehicle - other than the clutch my Patrol it's great.
Don't argue your case on emotion - stick to the facts.
Don't set out to trying to "prove" you are right - let the physical speek for itself.
Finally if you have facts that support your claim, "don't let the bastards wear you down." - Hang in there - you can win.
Safe motoring
John Ess