I took the car to work this morning. Wish I hadn't. Got half way there and the clutch would not disengage properly. Couldn't get in or or out of gear. Nearly got squashed at a set of lights by a lorry - not a good. Whatever the problem is it is getting worse.
What I did find out though was that the clutch was dragging at times when it was like this - with the peddle fully down, so the engagement point had dropped. Pumping the peddle made no difference - just seems that it randomly does not disengage, which makes me think it isn't hydraulics given the checks I have made on the free play and that I have replaced the master and slave cylinders. I'll adjust the peddle height again tomorrow, but I'm not hopeful and am stumped as to what could be causing these odd symptons. Steve. www.slowmx5.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Bill Cardell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Larry Alster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; Steve Willington <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 5 April, 2008 3:02:22 AM Subject: RE: Clutch problems _filtered { font-family:Cambria Math; } _filtered { font-family:Calibri; } _filtered { font-family:Tahoma; } _filtered {margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;} P.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE:12pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;FONT-FAMILY:"Times New Roman", "serif";} LI.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE:12pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;FONT-FAMILY:"Times New Roman", "serif";} DIV.MsoNormal { FONT-SIZE:12pt;MARGIN:0in 0in 0pt;FONT-FAMILY:"Times New Roman", "serif";} A:link { COLOR:blue;TEXT-DECORATION:underline;} SPAN.MsoHyperlink { COLOR:blue;TEXT-DECORATION:underline;} A:visited { COLOR:purple;TEXT-DECORATION:underline;} SPAN.MsoHyperlinkFollowed { COLOR:purple;TEXT-DECORATION:underline;} P { FONT-SIZE:12pt;MARGIN-LEFT:0in;MARGIN-RIGHT:0in;FONT-FAMILY:"Times New Roman", "serif";} SPAN.EmailStyle18 { COLOR:black;FONT-FAMILY:"Calibri", "sans-serif";} SPAN.EmailStyle19 { COLOR:black;FONT-FAMILY:"Calibri", "sans-serif";} SPAN.EmailStyle20 { COLOR:black;FONT-FAMILY:"Calibri", "sans-serif";} .MsoChpDefault { FONT-SIZE:10pt;} DIV.Section1 { } It never would have worked in the first place, I'm betting. Bill Cardell TurboDog's Dad www.flyinmiata.com www.fmwestfield.com orders 1-800-FLY-MX5S tech support 970-464-5600 Don't miss Flyin' Miata's Open House! Aug 14-17, 2008 From: Larry Alster [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 6:48 PM To: Bill Cardell; 'Steve Willington'; [email protected] Subject: RE: Clutch problems And if it’s not on the fork correctly? Larry White Knight 1991 Crystal White #99 CSP Silver Bullet 1992 Silverstone #17 SM2 FM I+ Turbo Honey B 1992 Sunburst Yellow #99 SM2L JR Supercharger Whooosh 2004 Titanium Mazdaspeed MX-5 LowCountry Miata http://www.lowcountrymiataclub.net Masters Miata RAGS 074 From: Bill Cardell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 8:48 PM To: Larry Alster; Steve Willington; [email protected] Subject: RE: Clutch problems The only reason the engagement point has changed is because Steve has made adjustments. Either way, a bad throw-out bearing won't affect engagement unless it actually falls apart. Make noise, yes. Bill Cardell TurboDog's Dad www.flyinmiata.com 1-800-FLY-MX5S (sales) 970-242-3800 (tech) 2008 FM Open House: August 14-17 From: Larry Alster [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 6:42 PM To: Bill Cardell; 'Steve Willington'; [email protected] Subject: RE: Clutch problems Actually I meant throwout bearing as I have seen bad pilot bearing but never so quickly and not acting like this. I didn’t see the pilot bearing affecting the engagement point also. Larry White Knight 1991 Crystal White #99 CSP Silver Bullet 1992 Silverstone #17 SM2 FM I+ Turbo Honey B 1992 Sunburst Yellow #99 SM2L JR Supercharger Whooosh 2004 Titanium Mazdaspeed MX-5 LowCountry Miata http://www.lowcountrymiataclub.net Masters Miata RAGS 074 From: Bill Cardell [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 7:24 PM To: Larry Alster; Steve Willington; [email protected] Subject: RE: Clutch problems I'm guessing you and Tim mean pilot bearing. Bill Cardell TurboDog's Dad www.flyinmiata.com 1-800-FLY-MX5S (sales) 970-242-3800 (tech) 2008 FM Open House: August 14-17 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Larry Alster Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 3:43 PM To: 'Steve Willington'; [email protected] Subject: RE: Clutch problems See as you mention it’s been like this since you did the clutch I think something is wrong inside the housing. Fork pivot ball Throwout bearing placement Fork itself Pretty much sounds like you need to take it down and look it over. Larry White Knight 1991 Crystal White #99 CSP Silver Bullet 1992 Silverstone #17 SM2 FM I+ Turbo Honey B 1992 Sunburst Yellow #99 SM2L JR Supercharger Whooosh 2004 Titanium Mazdaspeed MX-5 LowCountry Miata http://www.lowcountrymiataclub.net Masters Miata RAGS 074 From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Steve Willington Sent: Friday, April 04, 2008 4:41 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Clutch problems Update on this - and request for ideas. Finally managed to get a day free and spent an hour or so having a go at solving this. To date I've now replaced the slave and master cylinders. I've also tried setting the peddle engagement and height twice, once just engaging off the floor and now engaging about an inch off the floor. The peddle push rod has some slack in it when the peddle is raised and I can also push the slave cylinder push rod in by hand, again when the peddle is up. No notable change - still refuses to occasionally go into gear, most often when cold. I'll try setting the engagement somewhere in between on Sunday - say 1/2" off the ground, but I am not hopeful. It's been suggested it may be a failed pilot bearing (although this was new when the clutch/flywheel went in about 1000 - 1500 miles ago), so the next step I guess will be to pull the tranny and take a look inside, but in the mean time I would be grateful of any suggestions/ideas as to what it may be or where to look. Steve. www.slowmx5.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Ray Ayala <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Steve Willington <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [email protected] Sent: Sunday, 30 March, 2008 2:59:11 AM Subject: Re: Clutch problems With my prototype ACT clutch I had to reduce the free play to about 1/32 inch and even then it engaged with the pedal 1/2 inch off the floor. ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Willington To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 3:00 PM Subject: Re: Clutch problems OK, had a look at the clutch free play - about 1/3 of an inch. Should be OK - might even have a little more there to play with? The other thing I have discovered, among the grease, is a small amount of hydraulic fluid below the push rod. At least it has the consistency of hydraulic fluid and not grease. Now it has not been enough to notice any loss at the reservoir but given my very, very low engagement point it could be enough????? New master cylinder? Steve. www.slowmx5.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Steve Willington <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Ray Ayala <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 29 March, 2008 9:38:52 PM Subject: Re: Clutch problems I guess I should check this again. The peddle should have a small amount of free play indicating that there is slack between the push rod and master cylinder, yes? Steve. www.slowmx5.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Ray Ayala <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Steve Willington <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 29 March, 2008 9:05:31 PM Subject: Re: Clutch problems Perhaps you've already adjusted your pedal pushrod too far and the master isn't refilling properly when you let the pedal up. There should be a small but greater-than-zero gap between the pedal pushrod and the master cyl when the pedal is all the way up ... at all temperatures. ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Willington To: Ray Ayala ; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 12:54 PM Subject: Re: Clutch problems I sorta guessed that and is the reason I went with the shorter new rod. Still was hoping it might be a quick fix to give me more peddle travel. How much adjustment is there in the MX5 hydraulic system? How will I know when I have adjusted it too far? BTW could there be anything mechanically wrong to give me these issues? Perhaps I am concentrating on the hydraulic system and should be looking elsewhere? Steve. www.slowmx5.com ----- Original Message ---- From: Ray Ayala <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Steve Willington <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; [email protected] Sent: Saturday, 29 March, 2008 5:15:24 PM Subject: Re: Clutch problems Push rod length is immaterial unless there is a gap at the end of the push rod when at rest. A slightly smaller bore in the slave or a slightly larger bore in the master will improve the situation. Note that new cylinders tend to have a smaller bore and rebuilt ones tend to have a larger bore. You might want to take your master cylinder to a shop to have the bore enlarged but if you over-do it the slave piston may extend too much and possibly even eject from its bore. ----- Original Message ----- From: Steve Willington To: [email protected] Sent: Saturday, March 29, 2008 7:10 AM Subject: Clutch problems All, Looking for ideas on a clutch problem I'm having. I installed a new clutch assembly and flywheel a wheel a few months back. Initially it would not disengage properly at all but after breaking it in it got a lot better - but it still dis-engages just off the floor (lower than my ACT xtreme). Just recently it has occasionally refused to let me put the car into gear at all, especially when cold. It also seems to get a little worse the longer the clutch is down (although it bits practically on the floor so any change is noticeable). I changed the slave cylinder today to see if this would help - and it has made no difference, if anything, made things a little worse. On installing I noticed that the new slave cylinder 'push rod' is a little shorter than the original, by about 3 or 4mm (i.e. the distance between contacting the slave cylinders piston and the point the rod contacts the clutch release fork). Would installing the slightly longer rod give me more peddle travel/adjustment? Would replacing the master cylinder help at all? Anything else I can try? The peddle has been adjusted as far as it can be. Steve. www.slowmx5.com _______________________________________________ Miatapower mailing list [email protected] http://list.miatapower.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/miatapower -----Inline Attachment Follows----- _______________________________________________ Miatapower mailing list [email protected] http://list.miatapower.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/miatapower _______________________________________________ Miatapower mailing list [email protected] http://list.miatapower.net/cgi-bin/mailman/listinfo/miatapower
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