Do you think my clutch is shot???

[LarryS]

I have a 03.5 P5 with 31800 miles and within the past week have noticed something odd. My clutch engages the second you let off the pedal and doesnt disengage until the pedal is less than an inch from the floor. It has done this since I bought the car new this past January, however now it is also sometimes fighting me to go in 1st gear and reverse(something it has never done). I mentioned it to my dealer last Wednesday and they said it would cost over $900 to replace the clutch, and wanted $85 just to inspect it to see if it needed replacing :mad: .

I haven't detected any slippage and the car will light up the tires just fine, but between the funny engagement/disengagement and now the resisting going into gears I am worried. It doesn't help that now parts shop I have checked ever carries parts for my car yet, claiming it is to new. So even though I could change the clutch myself(with my fathers help since this would be first clutch job)I can't find the parts to do it. Is the clutch even adjustable in this car, I have asked the dealer but never get an answer.

Except for a broken seat frame and a few minor quibbles this car has been excellent to me. But now I am wondering if I may have just encountered my first major repair with my baby. I have mentioned this many times to my dealer but they always claim its normal, but everyone I know who drives sticks claim its not.

Any help is highly appreciated
Thanks
LarryS

 

[Dimitrios]

s***, 31.8k in a year.....

The clutch itself isn't adjustable. The pedal is though...

Find another dealer - they might be willing to look aside from the fact that you're at 31.8k (yet still within 12 months).

However, it not getting into gear may not necessarily be the clutch. Are you getting grinding or is it just not letting you slip it into gear?

If you do end up replacing the clutch out of pocket, go aftermarket (that's what I'm going to do). Mazda OEM clutches can blow me.....www.specclutch.com: Stage II

I'm about $650 out the door at a local shop to buy, replace, and reface the flywheel. If you do the labor yourself, it might be worth the $85 just to have them take a look....

 

[LarryS]

Yep 31.8k in less than 12 months and that doesn't include all the idling this car has done with my job, I figure the car is at 31.8k miles but the engine probly is closer to atleast 50k in wear terms. She has been a great vehicle so far, this is my first Mazda and I'm hooked on them now.

Yes it does very occasionally grind going into first and roughly once a day grinds when shifting from first to second. Could maybe adjusting the clutch pedal help??? I just took her to the store for cigs and she popped out of second while driving, I think I may have to go to the dealer in the morning, and I will try going to another dealership.

Thanks for the replies
LarryS

P.S. thanx for the link gonna check it out.

 

[Dimitrios]

Popping out of gear and grinding is more of a tranny issue than a clutch issue.

I'd have the dealer check it out.

 

[shumax]

Why on earth would you pay to have it inspected? It has a 36k warranty. Just tell them it's shifting funny, grab a tech to ride with you and see what they have to say.

Sometimes feeding them too much information is just as bad as not enough---i.e., if you try to diagnose the problem for them, they are likely to find a way to not pay for it.

Again, go in to another dealer and tell them it's not shifting smoothly. See what happens from there....

 

[Dimitrios]

shumax..yah, well the dealer is saying to pay for it because it's the clutch and technically it's a wear item....it'd be like saying the brakes aren't grabbing and charging you for them taking a look.

warranty is 4 years/50k btw (as of 03+ models)

 

[shumax]

shumax..yah, well the dealer is saying to pay for it because it's the clutch and technically it's a wear item....it'd be like saying the brakes aren't grabbing and charging you for them taking a look.

warranty is 4 years/50k btw (as of 03+ models)

Ummm....ok. So take it to another dealer. Clearly you're still in the warranty. Just tell them it grinds when you shift. See what they say.

Or, just pay the $85 and move on.

 

[MsProtege]

Your still within your warrenty (You should of brought her in right away if you say the problem was from the start "My clutch engages the second you let off the pedal and doesnt disengage until the pedal is less than an inch from the floor. It has done this since I bought the car new this past January," and they would of fixed it right away) It should be acting like that, and reguardless the car is still under warenty untill you pass the warenty expiration date or maximum allowed mileage, (And your covered if its 100 miles under the limit or 5 miles under, bring it in and get them to fix it, they are required to. (And if the dealer gives you trouble or attempts to over price you file a complaint with the parent company (Mazda) they have quality control for that kind of s***.) I had a muffler shop rip me off fro a install, they made a whole fuss of stuff needed during the estimate, and didnt need to do any of that elabourot stuff, but still charged me for it. I contacted the parent company and got there Quality control agent to come out and inspect the vehicle and the work and the price!

 

[LarryS]

Well I found the problem, I took it to another dealer yesterday and it turns out the rear engine mount and the tranny mount are broken. The tech road tested the vehicle and noticed the popping out of gear and he could not get it to go into first gear on 2 different attempts. They had to order the new mounts and told me to change the tranny fluid. They claim to have done an inspection on the clutch and say its fine and that I should have another 15k or so out of it. They even are going to replace my brakes(front and rear) and a brake proportioning valve, because they claim my rear brakes should not be more worn than the fronts. The tech told me the driveline is binding causing the vehicle to not want to go into gear and is also causing the car to pop out of gear, this all being caused by the broken mounts. i am gonna order a stage 1 clutch kit from the link that Dimitrios posted in the next month or so and then I shouldnt have to worry about any clutch probs.

Thanks again for the link Dimitrios, and I thank all of you for the replies. And I'll keep everyone posted on if the 2 mounts and fluid change remedy this problem.
LarryS

 

[shumax]

Well I found the problem, I took it to another dealer yesterday and it turns out the rear engine mount and the tranny mount are broken. The tech road tested the vehicle and noticed the popping out of gear and he could not get it to go into first gear on 2 different attempts. They had to order the new mounts and told me to change the tranny fluid. They claim to have done an inspection on the clutch and say its fine and that I should have another 15k or so out of it. They even are going to replace my brakes(front and rear) and a brake proportioning valve, because they claim my rear brakes should not be more worn than the fronts. The tech told me the driveline is binding causing the vehicle to not want to go into gear and is also causing the car to pop out of gear, this all being caused by the broken mounts. i am gonna order a stage 1 clutch kit from the link that Dimitrios posted in the next month or so and then I shouldnt have to worry about any clutch probs.

Thanks again for the link Dimitrios, and I thank all of you for the replies. And I'll keep everyone posted on if the 2 mounts and fluid change remedy this problem.
LarryS

Glad it's resolved for you. I think the prior owner couldn't drive stick---there's no reason to see less than 50k out of a clutch. Of course, if they were drag racing all the time, that might explain it. Regardless, I'm glad it's taken care of for you.

 

[+ friction]

Jesus...a new clutch is $900?!

 

[Dimitrios]

Larry, if you get a SPEC clutch from online, get it from Beau @ Mental Addiction: www.**************************.com. He's a great vendor on the site and very supportive. Give Beau a call if you don't see a particular item on his site. Else, you can do a search for local shops on SPEC's site.

+ friction: yeah, go do a dealer - I've been quoted $600 just in labor for the install - obviously not including clutch itself and flywheel resurfacing.

 

[+ friction]

Damn...lucky I've never replaced one before. I generally trade in before a clutch goes.

Time to start looking at a new car

 

[LarryS]

Actually I am the only owner of this car, bought brand new on 1-9-04 with 124 miles as an 03 model year end clearance vehicle. I have been told by 2 dealers that the average P5 clutch life span in Phoenix is between 50k to 70k miles(maybe our Hellish summers help limit clutch life), two different dealers told me this. I am very hard on this car I'll admit it, I don't drag race this car much but I do spin the tires regularly(on average 1-2 times daily). So really it is no surprise that the clutch is gonna need replacing soon, I just haven't owned a manual tranny vehicle long enough to kill the clutch to know what the symptoms of one going out were. This being my first Mazda I'll admit I dont know much about this car but I am learning, and will continue to learn since I have no plans of getting rid of this car.

Actually between the amount of miles I have put on this car in less than 12 months combined with my driving style, I consider it a miracle I might see 45k out of the clutch.

I thank you again for the help, and hopefully this new dealer is alot more helpful than my original one.

Can you tell I drive like its always the Indy 500?
LarryS

PS I found another shop that would do my clutch for $777.42(+$40 for flywheel resurfacing) but I am gonna just do it myself still, no greater time to learn how to do a clutch job.

 

[Brian MP5T]

How did it go?

 

[LarryS]

Well the dealer replaced both mounts and partially fixed my braking issues(they replaced the valve but wouldn't replace the pads, so I had to do the pads), along with having to replace my fuel filler neck due to rust. But about 2 weeks afterwards I noticed the same issues resurface, I took her back to the dealer and they found another broken mount. The dealer replaced all four mounts together, and I havent had any issues since. And my dad is gonna help me with the clutch once it goes, since I have never done a clutch job before. But I am gonna get new tires first then the clutch. So more learning in the near future.

I just got her back on Friday, shes been in the body shop for over 2 weeks now. I got hit in a parking lot, I opened my driver's door and got out then reached back in to get my phone and bam a lady pulls in next to me and takes my door all the way forward. And to top it off I had to put it against my insurance to get her repaired, but thankfully the shop did a fairly good job. I did have to take her back there yesterday to have some overspray I found removed, but the hardest part is gonna be waiting 60 days before I can wax her But atleast the damage wasn't to severe, total bill came to only a little over $3,300.

LarryS

BTW she is up to 36,752 miles now lol.

 

[Douggie]

Why do engine mounts and tranny mounts break that easily?

 

[Brian MP5T]

Because of Platform ROCK!

 

[toucci]

Why do engine mounts and tranny mounts break that easily?

because he "spins the tires" and has probably experienced unholy wheel hop