YouKnow

okay so my clutch started squeaking a while ago so i got good ol wd40 and spared the spring/bearing/anything else under the dash to stop the squeak lol and it did stop the squeak ... until the next morning when i started driving the car i noticed the clutch just felt soft.. and not only did it feel soft but it would not come back up all the way. It would come back up until the biting point then i would have to "flip" the rest of the way with my foot.. however it only does not come back up after a couple of shifts.. the rest of the shifts would have it come back up properly but soft and weakish.. any ideas what this could be?

gwilliams6

Could be a clutch pedal failure. The stock clutch pedal is prone to weaken and even break at the bracket. There was an extended Mazda warranty on the bracket of 8yrs/100,000 miles from original date of sale of car.

https://www.rx8club.com/race-roots-1...recall-194975/

BHR and others make a strengthened replacement pedal and bracket assembly out of a stock one. You can get this and swap it out. I got the BHR one for my RX8 as a precaution at 69k miles.

http://black-halo-racing.myshopify.c...d-clutch-pedal

YouKnow

i keep reading that it is weak as well lol, is there any way i can keep the stock pedal? just the pedal with the holes though and switch it with the new bearing? for the one in the link which isnt that bad of a price

gwilliams6

the BHR one is a stock pedal assembly with very thick and strong welding of critical areas. It comes as a complete package. @ $175 with free US shipping.

The Race Roots one is the strengthening brackets alone, that you add to your existing bracket.
Clutch Pedal Reinforcement Bracket @$100

If your pedal assembly is already weakened or broken, the brackets alone might not be enough to keep it together. I recommend the BHR one. Charles of BHR is fastidious with testing and will only sell proven products. And he stands behind his products with legendary customer service. Any pedal pad that you presently have (like the metal one w/holes I had from my 40th Anniversary edition) will just pop off the old pedal and snap onto the new pedal, no problem.

FYI there may also be others on the market that are available. Not saying these are the only ones at all.

YouKnow

nice i might as well get the whole thing for 175.. how long is the shipping? i live in Los Angeles, California

gwilliams6

Charles gets orders out the same day ordered. You should have it in a couple of days, no problem. I live in New Jersey, much further away from BHR than you, as they are in your neighboring Arizona. I get stuff from them in a couple of days.

BTW I was born in LA. Still visit and still have relatives there.

YouKnow

nice i will definatley look at some DIY for the bracket.. but lets say the bracket does not fix the problem ( not saying it isnt ) is there any other possibilities on what it could be? LA is the place to be at!! haha lots of fun in that city

YouKnow

the man himself!!! i will most likely order tommorrow if not saturday

YouKnow

i took it to the mechanic and there telling me that there is a part behind the slave cylinder that is the problem and that i need a full clutch kit since they have to take out the transmission.. these guys bullshiting me or is this a real possibility?

gwilliams6

bs, looking to soak you. Yes you could have a slave cylinder problem, but would never need to take out the tranny to replace it, and it is not an expensive part.

http://www.partsgeek.com/gbproducts/...ad=47433967812

While they were "diagnosing" you , did they inspect your clutch pedal assembly ?

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-tec...linder-213209/

YouKnow

holy **** that is cheap... they drove the car and pretty much told me that is what is wrong. Didnt exactly take a look at the clutch

YouKnow

did she have the same symptoms as me? where the clutch wont fully come up? only to the biting point and felt weak? Because now that i think about it , it is fishy that they did not look at the clutch system.. i will look for DIY's on the pedal

gwilliams6

Charles is right. Get that clutch pedal assembly if you are keeping the car. I did, and I have peace of mind that I won't have that problem that could strand me on the road, who knows where. Over many years I have owned seven rotary cars for street and track, and it always pays to be proactive with their care, especially the RX8.

YouKnow

i was planning too but last week i left my car at the mechanics since they only gave me a quote for $360 on labor for taking out the transmission and all that.. they come and tell me its 1200 for the fix ($800 clutch kit).. i threw the idea of not going through removing the transmission and just replacing the pedal/ignition coil... they then tell me the transmission has already been removed after they said "ok" to the new idea and did not even give me any specification about the kit... they took out my transmission and would charge me to put it back, they have already picked the kit without the approval of the kit by me and already have it in possession. So i wish i could have gone with this because it would have saved me a ton of money but i cant go back or i will lose more money. So thank you guys for the help!!!

YouKnow

i went to check it out by the way.. there where a bunch of scratches on the discs as well as a dusty transmission...

gwilliams6

They have ripped you big time, and you are going to let them get away with that !

I don't know where you live, but that is fraud on their part. If you did not approve it (in writing) they can't make you do it and pay for it, and they would have to put it back together on their own costs.

You need to get legal advise ASAP ! What are you thinking ?

YouKnow

i did sign paperwork that is why i cant go back on the idea, i wanted a cheaper clutch kit at least but they already got it, so more money and time if i didn't go through with it... im just happy i am getting it today because this is the last time i officially go to a mechanic!!! lol i will go throught this forum and fix my rx8 from now on

YouKnow

my car feels amazing

New Yorker

Should I consider this replacement as preemptive maintenance if my clutch pedal shows no signs of problems? My 11-year old 8 has about 39K miles. I don't autocross anymore, nor race, and I'm only 140 lbs, so my theory is I don't put much strain on the pedal, and that it's folks who drive competitively and/or stomp often and hard that tend to experience the clutch problem.

Perhaps I should hold off until there are early signs of pedal failure?

gwilliams6

New Yorker you could wait, but if your pedal assembly breaks you can't drive the car because you cant shift the tranmission, and you could be stuck out on a road a long way from a tow truck to take you home or to a dealer. For the price of the reinforced pedal, such as BHR sells, i believe it is worth the piece of mind. I know I personally feel better having replaced mine with the BHR one.

But it is always your call. The old saying , "an once of prevention , is worth a pound of cure". Is it worth the risk and hassle of a breakdown on the road, when you least expect it, and dealing with the wait ,with your car down, while you order something other than the same OEM part ?

It is not just the mileage, or the weight of your foot on the pedal. It is also eleven years of age on a poor design with some autocrossing in its history.

Maybe the compromise is to buy the pedal assembly and just throw it in your trunk, so you at least have it.

Charles of BHR can correct me if i got the story details wrong, but I remember him telling me that years ago he had a pedal assembly in his trunk and when his stock one broke on a trip from Arizona to California , he just pulled off the road and changed it himself and saved his trip.

New Yorker

Thanks, I like your thinking and will probably order one. I've had replacement sun visors waiting in the trunk for over a year now. FYI, I wasn't clear; no autocross on the RX-8; that was my Miata.

gwilliams6

Thanks Charles for correcting my memory of your fuel pump story. You are right, your clutch pedal story is even better !

Good idea New Yorker to order one and have it !

KrisRX

Charles, does you're company ship to Europe? Amsterdam more specifically.
Especially now since Trump is claiming to shut down international trading.

I was looking at both Coil and Clutch assembly.