| My clutch has now started to slip. How long can I keep going like this? Can I nurse her for another month without damaging the car? (1/00) |
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It could last quite a while. But you risk damaging the flywheel if it wears more. Try not to create conditions where the clutch slips (after a gear change, especially upward, make sure the clutch is fully engaged before you open the throttle.) Generally use lower gears than normal, and restrict your throttle opening. Check the clutch pedal height and the free play - there should be 0.6 - 3.1 mm if you press the pedal by hand until resistance is felt. This isn't much - less than the usual. It is adjustable if you've got no free play, with a push rod with a locknut, at the top of the pedal. Hire a contortionist for an hour! That might fix it, but if not: - the real advice is - get it done! At your own risk. (1/00) |
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Same as the previous post - get it fixed quick. Can you drive it for a month? - yes probably! You risk damaging the flywheel unless you are very careful. Be especially carefully accelerating. Driving your car like this is no fun at all (I've been there!). You are going to have to spend the money and get it fixed so do it sooner rather than later. You can't beat the stock clutch for normally aspirated engines. It will even hold for mild forced air applications too. So unless you plan going with a turbo or high boost SC - go with the stock one. (1/00) |
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Can I nurse her for another month without damaging the car? Some car designs allow the rivets to damage the flywheel .. some slip way before this .. reface of flywheel is about 50 GBP and an extra day waiting .. if it gets that bad (2/00) |
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Ever since I bought my car it had an occasional judder when setting off in first gear. It only happened every now and again, when under load (hill starts etc) and I never bothered about it. I thought the clutch may have been dicky but ignored it as it didn't seem to get any worse.... Anyway, recently I have noticed that, on occasion, my revs seem wander up and down when I welly it in certain gears. I was out in the glorious sunshine yesterday giving it some over the moors when I noticed it was doing it again. Up a slight hill, about 40/50ish put it into fourth and booted it (accelerating up to decent speed so had been almost redlining it) and the revs rise but the speed doesn't in correlation to the revs, the needle then drops oddly/slowly as the car picks up speed again and the car speed and revs fall back into line (is this description sh!te or what!?!) Is this my clutch going? I can only imagine this is what a slipping clutch does, but I have never experienced it before so am guessing. I did the put it in a high gear while stood still and try set off with the handbrake on thing, and it stalls, as it should. It only seems to happen in third and fourth (I think?) (I had the slave clutch cylinder replaced about 12 months ago). Any ideas anyone? What should I check, replace, fill etc and is this going to be expensive :(((( (3/01) |
| That was my symptoms when I had my clutch replaced and if deffinitely that of a slipping clutch. That said a remanufactured clutch and now a A&P clutch later mine still on occasion has the problem and my original clutch wasn't that worn when examined. So whilst the obvious choice is clutch there may be something else as I'm sure the garage would have done my second clutch correctly as he had to fit it FOC and if it goes within 2 years he'll have to do the labour FOC again and obtain a replacement clutch. Hopefully better brains than mine my have an alternative answer for you (and may cure my fault at the same time). (3/01) |
| Ooops missed the question at the bottom about expense. A&P (Borg and Beck) clutch with a 2 years manufacturers warranty should be around 100 from a factors and fitting is 2-3 hours at any garage you trust. In my case this was 40 for labour at a none VAT registered garage (try and get them to source the clutch for you at cost too as it will avoid any problems later with warranty if you need to claim). Its also an ideal time to renew gear and diff oil which cost me a further 12 for 6 small bottles from a factors. So all told around 150. If you want to risk a remanufactured clutch or are only keeping the car a year then a clutch can be had for around 65 with a 1 year guarantee. (3/01) |
| Sounds like the clutch is on its last legs, they always slip more easily in a higher gear (3rd 4th). To check get to about 40mph in say 4th and accelerate hard, and see what happens. (3/01) |
| That's when it tends to do it, it doesn't happen all the time though. What should I do until I can get it fixed as I use the car every day to go to and from work (slow crawl of traffic usually for 4 miles) (3/01) |
| Take care to change down early and make slower than normal gear changes. Keep the revs down. Make sure the clutch is fully engaged before applying power. Keep out of traffic light GPs. Keep your fingers crossed. It may last some time. Or not. (3/01) |
| Mr Mazda is expensive, but knows what he's doing. It's a major job to do it yourself - I did, but I'd think twice about doing it again. I got a good price on a Mazda clutch (~£125 for the parts - officially about £140), but it turned out to be a Valeo one anyway. Blueprint ones are probably just as good. Be careful with clutch specialists - there are con merchants out there. Ask your usual man if he's done one and knows all the finer points. But there's nothing really that's a major problem. Main d-i-y thing is access - getting the car high enough, and getting at the bolts, etc, and the weight of the gearbox - you need helpers who know what they're doing. (3/01) |
| Would second those comments here. It's a technically simple job, but is hard work and physically demanding. For a start the bolts are *tight*, you will need lots of 1/2 inch drive extensions to get to them (3/8 inch shear, as I found out) and lowering the transmission onto your chest and manoeuvring to the floor in such a confined space is difficult (weighs about 100 lb or so?). You also need to ensure that you draw the transmission back to release the driveshaft without putting perpendicular stress on it (you don't want to bend it, even slightly). The second time I replaced the clutch I had my local Mazda garage do it, they charged 120 labour (I supplied an FM ACT clutch and also a lightened FM flywheel) and I reckoned that it was good value for money. It was also winter (1st fitting was summer) and laying on a cold garage floor (the heater just can't cope) doing the job was the final deciding factor for me. If I was hard up (often am) and really needed to save the money I wouldn't be scared of tackling the job, it's just that when I think of the hassle and balance it against 120 for someone else to do it the 120 seems a steal;-) I would also replace the throw out bearing, rear crank seal and front transmission seal while the job is being done. You don't to pull the transmission twice to replace these a month later. FWIW both my seals were leaking slightly when I pulled my transmission the first time at 60k miles. (3/01) |
| I would also replace the throw out bearing, rear crank seal and front transmission seal while the job is being done..... If thats the Thrust Release Bearing then I forgot to mention that you should replace that too. For a £10 part you don't want to have to pay all the labour again. (3/01) |
| Hi, drive it gently, keep the revs up without a lot of throttle, don't make the torque of the engine pull the car along, BE GENTLE, do the opposite to the way you make it slip, if you know what I mean. Remember when you get it replaced to fit a 3 part kit. (3/01) |
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I have an intermittent clutch (??) problem although today as been the worst it has ever been and happened nearly all day. To backtrack around 6 months or so ago the car began on occasion to have the revs rise but not the speed when accelerating hard (any gear). I assumed clutch had worn out and so had a replacement fitted. As I was planning to only keep the car at this time till summer I bought a refurbished clutch with a 1 yr guarantee. The removed clutch did not seem to be too badly worn but the new clutch was fitted anyway. Within a couple of weeks the problem had happened again several times. I contacted the garage who agreed to change the clutch FOC. They suggested that for the sake of a few quid that I should try a new A&P clutch (2 yr guarantee) to rule out any problems with the remanufacture process. I agreed and the new clutch was fitted. The removed clutch had not worn at all but was sent back as faulty anyway. Again almost immediately the problem occured although more recently it has been rare. Nothing really seems to cause it, one minute it is fine and the next it apears to be slipping like mad (even down hills). Basically it takes all the fun out of the car as I'm never sure if I'll have any power or not when I'm going to hit the loud pedal. Anyone any ideas as to the cause/remedy I'm guessing clutch cable/pedal not adjusted correctly or oil contamination (esp given that I have a tiny oil leak -3 drops in over 4 hours after a run from the plastic tray). Any help appreciated prior to taking the car back to the garage again :( (3/01) |
| When clutch was replaced, did they also renew the cover plate? Sounds odd this, any oil contamination should be visible on the old clutch disc. hydraulics faults I would expect to give problems pressing the clutch, not releasing it. May be worth checking adjustment of master cylinder/pedal? On a mk1 the book says the pedal height should be 175 to 185mm (vertical part of bulkhead to centre of pedal) with 5 - 13mm free play (both adjustable very uncomfortably). If these were wrong it could stop the system resetting itself but this would be noticeable as the clutch biting at the top of the pedal travel, not halfway down. Good luck with it. (3/01) |
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I hope the clutch plate was renewed as the A&P Kit was a full (3 piece?) clutch kit. No oil on either replaced clutch so no contamination then. Biting point is high so perhaps incorrectly adjusted pedals. I had a look yesterday but couldn't work out how to adjust this. (3/01) |
| The adjustment for pedal height is done with the clutch switch, in front of the top of the pedal. Free play is adjusted with a variable length push rod behind the top of the pedal. Quite a lot of garages don't know about the existence of these adjustments. Also check the clutch slave cylinder (although I can't for the life of me see how that can affect the clutch slipping.) (3/01) |
| Might sound silly, but have you investigated the clutch slave cylinder/hydraulic mechanism? I had a slipping clutch sympton on my 92 Roadster (it would generally start to slip after a fast run). A very slightly leaky slave cylinder was diagnosed, and (I'm not sure coincidently) the slipping completely disappeared. (3/01) |
| This is another equally plausable suggestion. What I know for deffinite is that from buying the car in May till MOT'ing in July I may have had no fluid in the clutch cylinder in the engine bay near the brake fluid reservoir. On the day of the MOT it was empty and I topped it up prior to the MOT and it has never moved in nearly a year. I'll have a look later on and report back. In the end I'll probably make a list of all ideas and go back to the garage who did the work for investifgation/remedy. Thanks for the idea. (3/01) |
| Read through some of the replies to this and have a plausible cause. Brake Fluid absorbs water over a period of time and it is recomended that it is changed every 1-2 years. If the fluid in your car was older than this and the level of fluid so low as to let air into the hydraulic system you have the idea conditions for corosion. I have seen a similar problem on an old mini i used to own, where corosion in the clutch slave cylinder is causing the piston to stick when the clutch pedal is released and hence the clutch is held partially free. Well, it's a possibility!! (3/01) |
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1. oil contamination from leaking gearbox seal .. should be visible but it took four official Merc-Benz garages to find out the seal was in back to front on a new Merc ... (and 4 new MB factory clutches :-0 ) 2. More likely the clutch master cylinder is not adjusted correctly so that pressure is being trapped (3/01) |
| After reporting that all was well with my clutch it was slipping again at the weekend :( So not the clutch as I've had 2 replacements and even the original wasn't that worn. Its not the fluid boiling ang being crap as I've had it replaced 2 weeks ago. So its off the garage tommorrow for investigation/rectification and also getting the annoying couple of drops at a time oil leak looked into and sorted at the same time. Might sell it then as I'm fed up of spending money on it (don't mind for mods though) :( Shame really as I really like when its running well. (4/01) |
| Clutches only slip if there is something wrong .. maybe a gearbox oil leak that is not obvious... (4/01) |
| A NW member reported to me that his clutch was slipping, and he got it replaced. It turned out the problem was due to the fact that some previous owner had topped up the fluid with engine oil, and that had destroyed the seals in the master and slave cylinders. (4/01) |
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This is true ...and something is indeed wrong ... I must admit that I'm wondering if the oil leak is not engine oil as I don't seem to use any oil. If this was gearbox oil then this could cause the clutch problem. I'm assuming that the clutch fits between the engine and gearbox and so oil contamination could be gear oil or engine oil ?? Anyways the garage is having the car and its two problems tommorrow morning. So all being well that will be the end to the situation and sadly to me having any cash (and perhaps a '5). Other possibilities (off the top of my head are) :- I'll have to see what is diagnosed. They know better than to bullsh*t me though so it should be fixed. (4/01) |
| Just a guess,,, Worn seals in clutch master cylinder letting a tiny bit of air in to the system over time? (4/01) |
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Todays trip to the garage has proved 2 things. Clutch fault as been diagnosed after checking the clutch, gearbox etc for a hour or so as been absolutley no free play in the clutch pedal. Took him about 30 mins to adjust as he'd not done one before but now my biting point is much lower down the pedal. Can't say if deffinitely fixed it as it plays up more when the car/weather was hot (although the lack of free play would fit this scenario). Cost FOC as should have been done as part of the original clutch install. Oil Leak fault was after an hour of removing the cover and poking around all the bottom of the engine, as it seemed to drip off the tray, found to be that (dare I say this I am sooooo embarassed!!!) I hadn't tightened the oil filter properly when I did the last oil change. Cost £20 for the hour's labour. Not much I suppose but enough to teach me an expensive lesson for the future. (4/01) |
| Started the car yesterday and the clutch bite point had changed (not my imagination, honestly), does the MX5 have a self-adjusting mechanism or is this the sign of problems? The bite point before was very high, now there is quite a bit of free play in the pedal, any ideas? (4/01) |
| It's not self adjusting, but there is an adjustment - variable length push rod high up behind clutch pedal top. Also you can adjust pedal height with the clutch switch (in front of pedal top) Er - the push rod is towards the front of the car, so is technically in front of the pedal, and the switch behind - but you'll see what I mean if you look. This needs investigation. Can't really imagine what has occurred, but something has. (4/01) |
| My car has done the same thing on two occasions and it appears to be related to very cold weather. Because the clutch on the mx5 is hydraulic I suggest you check the fluid level in the reservoir which is just inboard of your brake master cylinder on the firewall/bulkhead, call it what you will. If there is no fluid or sometimes just very little then you will have allowed air into the system and this will need bleeding out as you would bleed a brake system. The air in the system can be compressed and therefore does not move the slave cylinder on the side of the gearbox as much as it would with just fluid (which is incompressible). This causes the biting point to be moved further down and soon you may find that you have no clutch at all (as I did coming off the sliproad of the M3!!) Best thing to do is check the level and if it is low then this is probably a possible cause. Refill the reservoir carefully with normal dot4 brake/clutch fluid; its a pain to get to without a funnel and brake fluid is an effective paint stripper! You will then have to bleed the system of air, checking the fluid level regularly. Easiest way is to take off the offside front wheel with the car on an axle stand and the slave cylinder is straight in front of you on the side of the gearbox. Mine has only done this when left outside the garage in really cold temperatures which makes me think that some of the seals on the slave cylinder drop the fluid when they get really cold. I can back this up by the dropped fluid only appearing at these times. If the slave cylinder is shot then they are about 30 for a new one. (4/01) |