Clutch gone - a long way from home!

[Quicksilver]

Went for a drive yesterday doing a recce for an upcoming club run and to cut a long story short I noticed the clutch needed to be pressed right down to disengage then finally it did nothing at all - she was gone! And we were gone, over 200ks from home!

So we called the RACQ/NRMA and got a tow back to Lismore, we were not far away so not too much drama. The car was dropped of at a Ford dealership (apparently the NRMA standard drop point in Lismore).

So my query is, what do I do from here. It obviously needs to have the clutch replaced. As a tow back to Brisbane would be around $350 it might as well get fixed there. Do I just ask the Ford dealer to fix it and hope for the best? Apparently there is a Mazda dealer there but it would be another tow job to move it. Do I need to specify OEM clutch (its not a competition car, just an old fart's weekend driver) or is there a cheaper equivelant clutch? How much should this cost with fitting?

Of course I still have to figure out how to pick it up afterwards but thats a different issue.

Any advice guys?

Attached photo of an MX-5 where it should never be!

Towtruck 5 small image.jpg

[MX5CHIC]

It is standard practice for mechanics to add a percentage on top of parts supplied for your car, some will charge 25% or more on top of the actual cost, consider purchasing the parts yourself and supply them to the mechanic. I needed a new air conditioning condensor a while back - the mechanics told me it would cost $600 ... I bought it new from mazda for $297!
Although if you have a mechanic you know and trust, stick with them like glue and they will do the right thing by you.

[Steampunk]

Someone who is more knowledgeable will write something here; but from what I discern, only your clutch slave cylinder is dead.
Either that, or there is a leak somewhere and all your clutch fluid is gone.

If so, then simple and cheap fix.

There's someone in Brisbane who has a few clutch slaves at a good price.

[Okibi]

Yeah I was thinking the same, was there clutch fluid? A clutch slave could be bought cheapish and wouldn't be impossible to fit in the carpark.

[Quicksilver]

Yeah I was thinking the same, was there clutch fluid? A clutch slave could be bought cheapish and wouldn't be impossible to fit in the carpark.

Thanks Okibi and 1red5, hopefully that is an easier and cheaper fix than pulling out the clutch. As I said the car is now over 200km away in the hands of strangers (scary!) so I can't look at the fluid level and can't talk to the repairers until Monday. There was no clunking or grinding noises and the clutch was not fading but on the other hand there are no oily deposits in my garage or driveway. I would have expected leaking to occur when I pressed the clutch here at home?

[MX5CHIC]

I had the slave cylinder go 6 months after I bought my car - same symptoms so Okibi and 1red5 are right on the ball there, I did not replace my slave cylinder though, just bought a new piston seal kit (about $20 if I recall) then used 2000 grit wet and dry to smooth out the cylinder - never had a problem since and it's been 3 years.

P.S. I did not see any leaking on the garage floor, but take off the rubber outer cover and likely you will see the leak - it does not take a major leak to lose your clutch actuation. From when I noticed the fade till total loss of clutch took less than a day .....

[Quicksilver]

I had the slave cylinder go 6 months after I bought my car - same symptoms so Okibi and 1red5 are right on the ball there, I did not replace my slave cylinder though, just bought a new piston seal kit (about $20 if I recall) then used 2000 grit wet and dry to smooth out the cylinder - never had a problem since and it's been 3 years.

P.S. I did not see any leaking on the garage floor, but take off the rubber outer cover and likely you will see the leak - it does not take a major leak to lose your clutch actuation. From when I noticed the fade till total loss of clutch took less than a day .....

Ah, that sounds like good news. At least I can now suggest that a cylinder seal kit might do the job and not get hoodwinked into a bigger job than it needs.

I'll have to show this to Mrs Quicksilver to prove spending hours on end reading this forum is not wasting time!

[93_Clubman]

hopefully that is an easier and cheaper fix than pulling out the clutch...
I would have expected leaking to occur when I pressed the clutch here at home?

certainly sounds like slave cylinder - mine went without warning, although it was just driveable long enough to not cause inconvenience. much easier & cheaper to fix than clutch & pressure plate. mine cost about $50 for labour & $50 for the non-oem slave cylinder.

oh, don't be surprised if the dealer is resistent to installing a seal kit as opposed to replacing the cylinder.

btw, you might be in luck to some extent with it being dropped off at a ford dealer as i understand ford & mazda share a spare parts system?

[de Bounce]

Had a similar problem in my NB
I did not replace the slave cylinder in my case.

Mine had a lot of play in the rod between the clutch pedal and the master cylinder.
The pedal needed about 3/4 travel before the slave started to move.
I adjusted most of the play out however the rod has (must have) a little play with the pedal up.

You need a 10 mm spanner for the rod and a 12 mm spanners for the locknut.
Must admit I needed a 14 mm socket to removed the seat so I could get into the footwell.

Could well be the slave is on it's way out as others have suggested, however mine is still working fine after 2000k.

[wun911]

my clutch slave did not die that fast... I had a clutch line (the flexable bit burst on me once)

Im not sure if this is true but I hear you can drive it without a clutch slave for a bit if your house/ mazda dealer isn't far away.

You turn on the car with first gear on and you roll around the corner in first if the mazda dealer/ home is not too far away...

[StanTheMan]

another vote for the slave cylinder.....

[NMX516]

another vote for the slave cylinder.....

And another... Or I suppose it could be a leaking master cylinder or line. Either way though, it's not the clutch!

Phone the guys where the car is on Monday and ask for their diagnosis. If they say clutch, get it taken elsewhere. With labour, expect $150 to $200 for a new slave fitted.

[Garry]

Alternatively if it's as it sounds, just the slave or master cylinder and not a hose failure you could buy a bottle of brake fluid, refill the resevoir and drive it to your prefered repairer or home to fix it yourself if you're on a budget. Just stop every now and then to refill the resevoir. If it's leaking there's a pretty good chance it only leaks when you depress the clutch. So if you are mainly cruising in top gear a resevoir of clutch fluid should last a lot of km.

[Speedyblue]

Im not sure if this is true but I hear you can drive it without a clutch slave for a bit if your house/ mazda dealer isn't far away.

You turn on the car with first gear on and you roll around the corner in first if the mazda dealer/ home is not too far away...

True, you can start your car in first, then to change gears, if you match the engine revs with the gearbox speed, the syncros will do the rest and it will clunk into the next gear quite smoothly. It takes a bit of practice though. You could have dríven home if you were game

[Benny]

Im not sure if this is true but I hear you can drive it without a clutch slave for a bit if your house/ mazda dealer isn't far away.

You turn on the car with first gear on and you roll around the corner in first if the mazda dealer/ home is not too far away...

True, you can start your car in first, then to change gears, if you match the engine revs with the gearbox speed, the syncros will do the rest and it will clunk into the next gear quite smoothly. It takes a bit of practice though. You could have dríven home if you were game

The synchros will NOT take the rest.

Clutchless gear changing can ruin your synchros of the revs aren't matched 100% right.
Synchros can only take the force of the gear shaft, not the entire engine and weight of the car.
They are only small friction rings after all.