Psychofox

I've searched and could not find similar problems so please bear with me.

My rx8 is 4yr old and have 36k miles on it.
The problem i am having is that, my clutch pedal will become soft like there's less pressure on it after the car has been sitting for a while, and i have to step on the pedals several times(around 10~20 taps) then it will regain its normal stiffness. While the clutch pedal is soft, i can not **** into any gears. It feels like the clutch needs to be constantly stepped on to maintain its stiffness or pressure.

Anybody know what 's causing this problem?
Any advice would be appreciated. thanks

skrubol

iTrader: (1)

I'm sure someone else will have a better answer, but it's a hydraulics problem. I would check your brake fluid and make sure you aren't losing any (I assume the clutch pulls from the brake fluid on this car.) If you are losing fluid it's probably just a simple leak.
It's probably the master cylinder or the slave cylinder though (probably wouldn't be losing fluid.) Slave cylinders are usually pretty easy to replace, master cylinders not so much.

TeamRX8

iTrader: (25)

you likely have the sticking slave plunger issue, there's a TSB for it

nycgps

iTrader: (1)

they can replace the ethanol base thing with an *updated* material.

I had it replaced, altho I never had a problem b4.

Also, check and see if there are bubbles in your Clutch/Brake system. Change your fluids.

Psychofox

thanks for all the inputs
I changed the fluid couple months ago, and the brakes are performing fine. I do not see any bubbles in my clutch/brake system. Well the clutch is getting worse now.I have to adjust the rod on the clutch pedal further into the firewall so i can reach the engage/disengage point. Anyways, i just bought the clutch cylinder. Do you guys think this is a DIYable fix? Thanks

chetrickerman

i would think so, brake boosters and master cylinders are easy as hell

Psychofox

ok, i've had the slave cylinder replaced and after a week the pedal lost pressure again. I checked for leaks, and there's none. I bled the clutch and its still the same.
My car is not drivable now since i cant shift into gears no matter what i try. One more thing, now when i depress the clutch pedal, there's a squeak sound coming from outside of the car. Someone please help .

nmarz77

Did you replace the clutch master cylinder? Also be casreful when adjusting the clutch master rod as if you adjust it too far forward you will damage the forward seal. Another thing to note is that with it adjusted too far forward you can cause a condition where the fluid is not allowed back in or out of the cylincer when the clutch pedal is released. So if the seal is leaking on top of it, then you will lose fluid through the leak and have trouble getting fluid back into the cylinder. Note that I am talking about an INTERNAL leak of the master cylinder. An external leak is possible also if the secondary or rear seal is damaged and you would be able to tell by fluid actually leaking out by the rod.

evoman2669

THE EXACT same thing happened to my '04 at 38k miles... its like they times it or something haha. In my case it was worse, I was picking it up from the dealer after some recalls, and the clutch felt funny, but I thought it might have been just because it wasn't driven much, got on the highway and i couldn't get it into any gear, i forced it into 2nd and drove back to the dealership, they told me i messed my clutch up and it would cost over 3000, so i had it towed to the other Mazda dealership and they said they see this a lot, and they replaced all the hydraulics (master, slave) and now my car shifts better than new.... and it was free under warranty, this dealership also paid for my towing from the other shi**y Mazda dealership. So if your in Wisconsin, its all about Hall Mazda/VW.

nmarz77

Damn you should report that other shitty Mazda dealership. That's a clear case of them trying to rip thier customers off!