looking at some exedy stage one clutch kits but other then this i will need what? a flywheel? counterweight? throwout bearing? anything else? who sells these things the cheapest?

and i have a friend that is attending ITT tech.. should i trust him enough to switch out my clutch?

 

Lol well considering i see commercials for ITT tech on a daily basis... no.

 

Also consider a pilot bearing and oil seal... they are cheap.
Contact Charles R Hill at Black Halo Racing or go to their site:
http://blackhaloracing.com/

Has this friend ever changed out a clutch or flywheel?
That is the important questions!

 

most if not all clutch kit these days come with pilot bearing and throwout bearing

well, at least the 2 clutch kit that I bought (ACT and Exedy OE Replacement) came with them

As for should u trust ur friend part --- the most important thing is probably the alignment, I mean its not hard but one little simple mistake can cost you a lot of stuff.

just do it carefully, and everything is going to be cool.

 

I went to ITT for electronic engineering, and there were a lot of tards.

Has nothing to do with his schooling, it has to do with his aptitude.

 

You don't need a new flywheel. Just a new clutch seal and bearing.

 

i DONT need a flywheel?

so all i need is a clutch kit that comes with throwout and pilot bearings, and clutch seal?,

what about counterweight?

 

If your clutch is stock, I think you'll need a counterweight, too.

Hit up Charles at BHR. They sell complete kits and he can help you get exactly what you need.

If you don't replace the flywheel I think you will need to have it machined.

 

The OEM fix for flywheels is to replace them...they don't have any spec's for allowable material removal for re-finishing


If you go to an aftermarket flywheel...most of them require a counterweight to balance and fit them

Unless you scored the flywheel face..it is likely OK to re-use if it isn't burnt or heat checked

 

I would buy an ACT clutch kit with racing beat flywheel kit. It cover all the bearings, nuts and bolts and also the counter weight. All you need is go to the dealer and get a rear main seal.
You don't need to get a light weight flywheel, but you should do it when you drop the tranny.
I don't know if your friend have all the tool or knowledge to do a clutch job, but it is not as simple as it looks. If he did a 93+ RX-7, or Miata before then it is very similar. The flywheel nut need a 2-1/8 socket and a air gun to get it out, you could do it by hand, but you will need a long breaker bar and a flywheel stopper also a few beers.

 

Stock Flywheel is the most durable thing and it can last almost forever and the most "streetable" option. (Cuz its steel, it can withstand huge amount of heat, and most stock clutch material are too "soft" to do much damage to them)

If you not planning to replace it with an aftermarket one, just take it out and bring it to a local GOOD auto shop and ask them to re-surface it. it shouldn't cost a lot and it takes maybe 15-30 minutes to do it (they do it on a machine)

then just re-install it

As for clutch kit, like I said, most clutch kit comes with everything you need, the clutch disc, the pressure plate, throwout bearing, pilot bearing, pilot bearing seal, and the clutch Alignment tool.

One thing to note is the pilot bearing, I tried 2 pullers and they weren't "small enough" to pull the pilot bearing out, the solution is I bought the Mazda tool, about 100 bux. and it takes 10 seconds to "tap" the pilot bearing out. there is a "installing" tool also, you don't 100% need that, but just like most Mazda tools, use it, install takes 20 seconds.

Dont try to force it out with any other kind of puller or hook kind of thing, it might damamge your e-shaft and thats not something u want to do.

You don't always have to replace the pilot bearing but if its me I will always do it. its a cheap *** part but if it fails, you can kiss your tranny and/or Engine bye bye.

You can buy an Exedy OE replacement set for around 200 something these days, I got mine under 170 shipped (hohohoho ~)

Exedy is pretty weird they have 2 different part number for RX-8. MZK1002 is for 2004-2005, and MZK1007 is for 2006 and up. dunno whats the difference, it might have the upgraded HD throwout bearing I don't know, but as far as "fitment", all rx-8 share the same part and it will work 100%

 

Just do the complete BHR set up, I did and I love it.

 

damn, started a post and don't know if I accidentally posted it...pm me if you want some real first timer experience advice with this. I have the proper flywheel breaker bar if you'd like to do some sort of borrow also.

 

A better car alarm?


I always use a new throw-out bearing, because if I did not, it would go bad before the clutch did.

If you want a lightweight flywheel, now is the time; you cannot know if a flywheel is required till you see the flywheel.

If your friend changes it, be careful with the power plant frame.

 

go to finishlineperformance.com they have the whole kit OEM replacement, see if your mazda dealer will price match, they did for me

 

Exedy does not always include the pilot seal with their kits, but they include the same heavy duty release bearing BHR offers. They do, for now, anyway.
ACT includes the shitty Koyo release bearing with their kits but at least they include the pilot seal.
Beware as not all clutch kits have all the needed parts, nor are they always quality pieces if/when they do.

 

Thanks for pointing this out. I did my own research and figured out what was needed, but it was not that simple. I got an exedy stage 1 replacement clutch kit, and it did come with the new throwout/release bearing, and pilot bearing, and alignment tool. but it did NOT come with the pilot bearing seal. I don't know much about these things, but sounds important, so I ordered it ($8 shipped from some random OEM supplier). But for someone who's never seen this stuff before, it took a lot of looking at pictures to be sure I had all the needed parts.

 

weird, because my kit came with it.

you sure it didn't get trap somewhere or the bag has a hole or something ?

 

(just went and checked box again)

Nope. There's a bag with the pilot bearing itself, but no seals. (as seen here: http://mazdatrix.com/8clutch.htm ) A small hole in the bag, maybe it fell out, but i doubt it. Most of the descriptions I read suggest it should be in there...oh well...

Everything else was in there, alignment tool, lubricant, throwout bearing, and pilot bearing.

It's cool though, I've learned a lot about this stuff having to research it all.... Was very confused before I learned that a throwout bearing and release bearing are the same thing ....and the pilot bearing is different. Gotta learn somehow :-)

 

As I said, the Exedy clutches do not come with pilot bearing seals as delivered from Exedy. This means that some companies might do the same thing BHR does; manually include them with every Exedy clutch as a convenience for our customers.

 

Aww, then you should've asked. I could've just give you the seal (I have to look for it tho)

cuz as far as I remember I should have 3 sets (bearing & seal) collecting dust somewhere in my garage ...