Clutch Issue?
 

Well luckily under warranty, mazda replaced my motor.

While i was at the shop they had the two motors, old and new sitting out... This past year i had an Exedy stage 2 clutch and light weight installed by another shop, so i asked if they could install my exedy clutch and flywheel on the new motor and they did so...

I've pretty much broken in the motor, and for the first time actually got on it... and shifted pretty hard from first to second and experienced some wheel hop... since then the clutch seems to chatter more.

Being that its a stage two it has always had some chatter but since the hard shift and wheel hop, starting to move from a stop feels more rough... normal driving is fine feels normal aside from a slightly weird pedal feel... (occasionally feeling extra resistance half way while pushing the pedal to the floor.)

approx 1.2k on the motor
approx 8k on the clutch

and the car is 2005

So i took her for a spin and the best way i can describe the pedal feel is that its almost a grinding feel as if there's sand/or debris causing resistance..

any help is appreciated... i dont know where to start and i dont wanna touch anything til i have a an idea where to start.

Are you sure it was wheel hop and not the clutch slipping? Try putting the car in 6th, just enough to not stress the engine, and do a WOT run. Does the clutch slip?

Yea im 100% sure that it was wheel hop. i can still bang through all the gears on a WOT run and i still get some hop in first and second gear.

Ofcourse we all know, wheel hop is bad in so many ways. I have no idea if its possible to knock somthing loose in your drivetrain like that or not.

Seems to me what your describing is that your clutch is getting tore up and weak. Even though it is an after market stage 2, they can go bad as fast as you want them to.

Not saying it IS your clutch but the symptoms sound clutch issue related.

Heres somthing you can try, warm your car up good and well, go for a good drive then get in first gear and rev it fairly high and slowly let the clutch out. Then see if some of that clatter goes away.

well the clutch still bites pretty hard... still can go WOT and bang through 1st and 2nd... hopefully its not goin out... but the only issues are the starting from a stop and a weird pedal feel.

Yeah, clutch chatter, your clutch can still handle high harsh revs and not slip at all, but can still be wore and damaged.

When you start to have chatter like that, its because your clutch is wanting to go out (getting near the end of its life).

Sometimes even with proper break-in, clutches can still get messed up easier than you would like.

Like, your clutch can still last you plenty of mileage to come, but one day, your gonna go to pop the clutch and its gonna break.

My advice is to not launch it, if you do, feather the clutch out some so you don't transfer all your power to from a dig.

And I know this from multible experiences.

Thanks HKS for your input... well i guess ill have to baby it til i dig into it deeper...

Thats probably the best idea. And np mate.

BTW, after you run it down the highway or a long straight, does it chatter even if your in neutral and coasting down the road after getting the clutch hot?

Nope only chatters when starting from a stop in reverse and first.

Thats kinda intresting to me. Its a street clutch and not a 6 puck or anything is it?

Yea its a exedy stage 2, nope not a 6 puck.