Clutch issue on Mazda.

BellaBlades

BellaBlades

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Jul 12, 2013
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Hope this is the best area to post this. Long story short.
Sharing my wifes vehicle lately.
2006 Mazda 6 5 speed 4 cyl/2.3L.
Did the pads and rotors a week and a half ago and some other work. Unrelated I am sure.
Yesterday I was driving back from work after picking up some parts. All of the sudden the clutch drops to the floor. No signs of grinding or not going into gear before this. I would say is was 50%+ worn. Still had some life left for sure. Or so I think. I thought I was stranded with my daughter. Luckily I just turned the key in second let go of the brake and it popped and drove to my boss's to take a truck. I was happy. One thing is for sure, you cannot pop start these new cars if it dies. I tried when the battery went last month lol.
$1,000+ for a new clutch if that is the problem. The price is the real problem. Really need to save the money to put toward another car with great gas mileage in a month or two.
Any idea would be great. I have not had a chance to look at it yet since this occurred yesterday.
I have been very lucky and I have done all the work on our vehicles up to now. But never had a clutch issue before.

-Fluids seem fine
-No visible leaking
-No signs of a worn clutch before this
-No resistance from clutch at all. The pedal just flops back and forth
My best guess is I blew a seal or the fluid is low. I am guessing that would be located under the car near the tranny. I can probably start with that.

I have looked every where on the net and it I cannot find any information. I cannot see much where the clutch leads to. Maybe after I push it onto the ramps tomm.
Thank you for any ideas.:confused::D
Matt
 
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Check the master cylinder located on the clutch pedal/attached at firewall. See if it is functioning correctly. Second, check to see if it utilizes a slave on the fork or an internal hydraulic throw out bearing. You may have a bad slave. Is the clutch fluid black? You may not have an external leak...you may have an internal leak in the hydraulic system. Meaning that fluid isn't being transferred to the slave, instead the piston is just stroking back and forth in the master cylinder bore without any fluid transfer. Typically an easy repair. PM me if this doesn't help and I can walk you through some more steps. Beyond that you shouldn't need a new clutch...if you do contact me as I can get you one for significantly less money.
 
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Sounds to me like you are low on fluid. probably have a leak in the flex hose that leads into the slave cylinder. Check fluid level first. I am actually a Mazda technician and I have seen this before. They are also known to have the clutch pedal assembly break and cause a half engagement and awkward clutch pedal feel.
 
The slave cylinder is on the front of the transmission near the front of the car you can see it with the hood propped and a good flashlight. It is just right of the engine about halfway down
 
Thank you both very much. If I look to check the fluid level, is there a seperate reservoir for the clutch fluid or is it a slave cylinder off of the brake fluid. I did not need to bleed the front brakes when I did them, but I dont think that affected this. Everything operated as it did before that repair and has been fine for almost two weeks. I think the clutch fluid was low to begin with.
I am looking at the posts again and trying to make sure I have a handle on it before I go check it out at 6AM.
Matt
 
Got both of your PM's.
Looks like I have some investigating to do tomm. Talk to you guys later.
Matt
 
The brake and clutch systems use the same reservoir, but the clutch might pull fluid from a higher point in the tank. The best way to see the fluid is with a flashlight. put the flashlight behind the tank and let it illuminate the fluid It should be a light amber color against the white tank. Old fluid that has absorbed water will have a green color. If it is black then there are internal seals coming apart as 1SHOT1KILL explained, but this is not a common problem on newer cars.
 
My first instinct was throw-out bearing, but that's just what happened to a friend of mine on a completely unrelated car. (1995 Ford Taurus SHO MTX).

And Kudos to your lady-wife for driving a 5-speed! They're rare!
 
Turned out to be the line from the slave to master as frasier B told me. Had some issues. The guy threw it in for 100$ in 24 hours. Very happy here for sure.
 
I've done a few clutches and most recently (1000 miles ago) put a stage 1 and new flywheel on my civic.

I've been driving a manual for many years and have experienced most of the common problems. My first thought was throw out bearing or slave cylinder. In any event you will need to have some clutch work performed, if you are not doing the work yourself I would recommend you visit a trusted mechanic. Expect a several hundred dollar bill.
 
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