True. But, they need to rethink what should and shouldn't be plastic. IMHO.

Agreed, but it doesn't help that they weigh it down with all the leather and millions of airbags neither.

Apparently some of the people of mazda don't know about coat hangers when they were little, basically what are clutch brackets are.

If there had been a strong weld at the top, joining the two pieces of sheet metal above where the nut goes, there's no way your particular failure would have happened. It would have resisted the leverage of the clutch pedal that causes the tearing action on that part of the bracket metal. The only reason your spot weld came apart is because the metal above it and to the right had already torn through, putting all the force on that one weld.

Don't get me wrong, I'd prefer Mazda make the clutch pedal bracket twice as strong (not to mention the firewall -- that thing flexes ridiculously). My point was that it would not take a major redesign of their manufacturing procedure at this point to fix this problem. Nor would a recall cost them much money.

a recall on this thing (if it happens) would cost millions of dollars. Just like their engine recall, Im pretty sure it cost millions of dollar.

the firewall part ... *shurgs*, I wonder how they gonna recall that. :)

NASCAR-style tube bracing for everyone! But carbon fiber, of course. :)

yeah ok !

if Mazda do that ... I think I will be a Mazda only customer for life :)

Maybe we can ask for a group buy on that :lol:

So I got my bracket welded today with the help of a friend. I wish I took pictures but I just didn't have my camera. The spot welds were being pulled from the bracket. There was no cracking or warping, but there was definite separation. I'm glad I got it welded... I didn't get pictures of the separation but I'll still make the report...

THATS WHY YOU NEED TO GET THE FLUID MOTORSPORTS CLUTCH BRACKET.

sheesh.

i repeat myself over and over about these things. but no one listens to me. and then bam, your clutch assembly breaks all over again. so go ahead, dont get it. see if i care. i dont get paid for posting this, i dont receive commission on them. im just trying to help you. i have one, and it was ridiculous how much it improved my shifting. my clutch assembly was on its way out. it became better than when i first bought the car.

im going to go red in the face about these things and you guys will still not be paying attention cause you dont want to spend $120. $120 that will actually improve performance. but you'll spend $750 for a 3hp upgrade and a "sound modification." talk about the ultimate rice. :uhh:

I think we're trying to make this into a recall, so no one has to pay any extra for anything.

dont forget, we shouldn't even have to "pay to fix this" to begin with.

Ive noticed that my clutch pedal when i depress it makes a squeaking noise. What and were should i look to see if the bracket is coming loose? Is this a part thats inside the vehicle or in the engine bay?...

Here is where mine broke...
I had it welded back, (sorry kersh4w, I cant afford a new one right now) It has held up great for over a year now after having it welded.
Edit: It also broke after I had over 100K on my car and I had just put in an ACT II comp clutch which is way heavier than the stock.. SO, Im sure the pressure difference had something to do with it. The guy who welded it for me works on a GT RX8 race team and told me he sees it constantly with Mazdas...

I'm gonna go ahead an say a reinforced bracket is completely unnecessary. I got a pretty good look at the brace when I had it out. If you just weld it, it's good to go. Take any materials or metal class. Welds are inherently much stronger than the metal surrounding them. In this case, due to the fact that the bracket is essentially a stressed frame, all of the pressure placed on the bracket during operation goes to those joints, not the actual metal. The metal being as thin as it is, is actually strong enough to transfer a lot of compression to these joints... there's no lateral movement on the pressed metal during operation; it won't fail in the i direction (assuming k is into the firewall) unless you roundhouse kick the pedal towards the brake assembly in a fit of rage... this is the only direction the bracket metal is weak in because there is no frame support in that direction. But, it won't fail in the j direction because of the transfer of force from the metal to the joints on the upper lock nut due to tension on the bracket frame during normal operation and it will not fail in the k direction because this is the normal operating direction--the frame is designed to transfer force in this direction to the joints on the firewall.

Basically what I'm saying is the joints fail. Not the metal. Even though the metal feels like crap and is super thin, it's bracket design is actually doing what it's supposed to. It transfers all of the energy to the joints. I dare someone to actually break that bracket by normally driving the car. You'll break the joints and spot welds, not the metal. So your argument that the metal is crappy and needs to be reinforced simply isn't true. All you have to do is reinforce the joints. I reinforced all of the joints on my bracket with five minutes of arc welding. My pedal now feels significantly stronger, the squeaking is gone, and I feel no fear pushing in the clutch.

Instead of spending $200 on, in my opinion, a completely unnecessary (notice I didn't say useless) reinforcement, you could just get it welded by a friend for free (like I did) and spend just half an hour on the whole ordeal for a complete fix.

I was going to go with the Mazsport/Fluid Bracket and even the BHR modified OEM pedal until CRH told me to check it out and get a welder. I took out the bracket and after looking at it and after doing some mental math and pulling out my statics and dynamics book I decided CRH was 100% right.

Just weld the damn thing and save yourself a lot of money and grief.

R

Have you report the broken bracket issue to the NHTSA ?

Ummm, no. What is the NHTSA?
I find that anytime I reported an issue with my car to Mazda they blew me off and would do nothing for me.
Example: My brakelights had the cool "fishtank" feature. I took it into Mazda while still under warranty only to be told at the time it was not a known issue... Then after I ran out of warranty I was told it was a service bulletin and if I where under warranty they would cover it. I also paid to have my starter replaced because I was told it was not a known issue either.

https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...72&postcount=1


your dealership sucks :(

dont worry u're not alone. I've been thru 5 dealerships before I found one that they actually know what they're doing.

and hmm, the fishtank feature ... I replaced mine (both sides) 4 times ... under warranty ... (the last replacement was 49303 miles ... 697 miles b4 expires, now if it happens again im on my own, 51K miles)

lol that sucks. the previous owner had the taillights replaced at my dealership. and then i had them replaced at the dealership. dealership asked me twice if i had had them replaced before. i said, "no I have never had them replaced before." lol. and then they replaced them. :)

about the brackets, my whole assembly would go sideways. i watched it as i depressed the clutch pedal. the joints/welds are weak as shit. absolutely. and you are right about the welds being stronger than the metal around it. thats why so many clutch assemblies break AROUND the weld spot. see pink fleas pic. they break around the weld cause the metal is shitty. sorry. what kind of metal sheers under normal operation?

and you might drive like a grandma. but i DO kick the shit out of the clutch. i have over 20 quarter mile passes on my rx8, and would probably put another 20, easy this summer. if i wasnt going to spend the entire summer doing PT.

my clutch assembly totally would go sideways. AND none of my welds or metal was broken. so where was the bending coming from? the metal.

you might drive differently from me. you might hit the clutch pedal from a different angle with a different amount of force.

stamped metal is used everywhere. because for its cost, its strong. the key point, "for its cost."

you could give me your re-welded clutch assembly and i'd wear it out in a summer of drag racing.

now i understand not everyone is as hard on their car as i am. i was talking to a gentleman yesterday (at a MSCW meet) who has more miles than i do and could not notice a difference in pedal play between my car and his car. neither could i. of course, the man was 55+ and used his car for commuting. no racing of any sort or any hard shifting. his clutch assembly will last for a long time. but it will eventually go too. it might just last until 150,000 miles though.

however, for the normal spirited driver. i really believe that our assemblies will not last more than 100k miles. i managed to make mine trash in less than 20k miles. this bracket makes it bulletproof.

I drive normally, I dont kick the shit outa my clutch. but mine still broke when I was @ 38K miles

there is something wrong with this bracket, weak weld spot or whatever. hell sometimes I feel that my Honda Fit's bracket is actually stronger than my rx8, makes me feel sad. :(

i know they're trying to cut cost here and there, but come on, now it seems that its costing them a lot of money, bracket issue, engine replacement cuz OMP design was fudged up, weak ass tranny, etc etc.

its actually common for the clutch assembly to break on e28 bmw 5 series.

around 200,000 miles.....

our 8's bracket will break in ... that a zero out of your number, times 2 and bam ! there u go !

I just don't understand how you're pushing your clutch it at an angle. I don't understand how that is happening. Period. And I definitely don't drive like an old lady. I probably redline my eight more than I should.

And even if this bracket was 14 gauge steel, I bet those spot welds would fail. The metal might not shear off, but the spot welds would still separate. It's not the quality of the metal, but the quality of the joint.

My joints were pulling apart. There was no cracking or metal failure, jut massive gaps ready to separate. I understand most people are experiencing cracks and metal failure. This is just caused by different stresses, I think.

Again, it's not the quality of the metal that's the problem, but it IS the quality of the joints.

Maybe you're a special case because you kick your clutch in sideways, but I have never seen that and I can't even wrap my brain around that process! :Eyecrazy:

mine went sideways when i pushed straight down.

and ok, your spot welds failed. but did you look at pink fleas photo? her spot welds HELD, but the metal AROUND the weld sheared.

the problem here is two-fold. i feel like im banging my head against a wall. you simply had one type of failure. but there is another failure out there as well. some pepple have a weld failure, others have a metal failure. some people have both.

reposting pink fleas pic to illustrate my point.
http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/c...flea/metal.jpg

No no, I see what you're saying. The metal is cheap and weak. I completely agree. But what you're showing; that's shear stress at a JOINT.

It's the joint that's failing. If you had stronger metal there, than the spot weld would fail and the metal would hold. It doesn't matter if the metal is heavier or not. Do you see what I'm saying? The bracket itself is made of the same cheap metal, but it IS SIGNIFICANTLY stronger than it seems because of the STRESSED FRAME it makes. So yes, the metal is cheap and flimsy. BUT the metal is not the problem.

Get off the metal.

It's the joint that's the problem, whether the spot welds fail or the metal at the JOINT fails. Reinforce the joints, not the metal; do that with a weld.

To illustrate endowdly's point and my earlier point:

^Thank you. You weld the joints and the metal will not break. Your problem evaporates and then melts into a new stronger bond of everlasting clutch tastiness.

ok. but all that means is that the clutch bracket works very well. because it takes all the stress off the assembly and puts it into the bracket itself. and that bracket wont bend. not without a sledge hammer.

Kind of. The clutch bracket works very well because it takes all of the stress and transfers it to the JOINTS. The bracket won't bend, not without significant force to the PEDAL outside of normal OPERATIONAL stress or metaphorically a sledgehammer or roundhouse kick in rage fits. But who cares about the bracket frame. Seriously, that's not the problem. The problem is the joints. They fail. Either the metal at the joint fails or the spot welds. Weld them and they won't.

Welding works...clutch bracket works.....

You 2 sound like a couple of 12YO girls ;)

BTW...I welded mine...and had the metal fail...now I have a clutch bracket.....so each to his own :)

i keep saying it, and i'll say it till im blue in the face. the problem is 2-fold. the joints and the metal. they are both shit.

but whatever. i have a bracket, and im happy as can be.

I think I remember :)

:) and thank you for it.

You guys spent so much time arguing this and that, might as well make this into a recall ?

Isnt that best of both worlds ?

So post ur broken brackets up. and report them to NHTSA.gov ?

I'm tall and my leg does not push on the pedal straight from under the steering wheel since my knee is starting to the left of the wheel, so I imagine my clutch pedal assembly gets more a little more side-force than most. I would think that would also add to the variation in forces some assemblies have applied to them. I bought a bracket reinforcement assembly but have not installed it yet. Realistically I may never need it since I am putting so few miles on the car but I want to install it anyway. I still think part of the problem is not just Mazda being cheap but that the assembly may be designed to break-away or collapse in the event of a collision. Is the brake pedal bracket made the same way?

I think all of them will collapse in the event of a collision.

but the point here is that, it shouldn't break under normal condition, there are millions of cars out there and you dont see their clutch bracket breaking down as early as our 8 does.

just got off the phone with NHTSA mine broke this past saturday I will request Mazda to keep the old part cause I want to take pictures.

Thank you :)

This forum represent probably less than 5% of the whole Rx-8 community.

So if tons of us having a clutch bracket problem ... think of the outsiders ...

So yeah, if you have an issue, please report them to NHTSA.gov ! Thanks a lot !

here are some pics yeah they charged me two hours of labor and part it all came to 421 dollars I am mad right now

2 hours ?

Hmm ... 1 hour the most to install and re-adjust the free play (assume that its on a lift already)

421 dollars including parts and labor hmm ... about 100 bux per hour then, cuz I think the bracket itself cost like 170-200 bux.

Is the broken bracket still in your procession ? since you paid for a new part, you can keep the old part for evidence.

Also, Save those picture in a safe place, go report your issue to NHTSA. This is a safety issue.

no they charged me for an hour of labor even though I told them I need a new clutch pedal cause its broke.

so ... they charged u ~~~ 300 bux for the pedal ?

gg my friend :(

Aye ... Anywayz, keep the old one, report your issue. hopefully a recall will come out, then you can ask Mazda for a FULL refund including labor charge.

Just curious,

Has anyone filed a lawsuit against mazda b4 regarding this matter?:uhh::uhh:

If you bothered to file a small claims against them for the cost of the parts and labor they would just cave and pay out to settle it rather than spend more to send a rep to fight it. That is how it always works.

its nothing that major though not death causing. you can shift without the clutch.

you might get your $20 back that you spent to weld it.

from your foot maybe? lol

I don't think a clutch pedal would ever be designed to "break away".

fact is they use shitty steel and put on 3 spot welds they rust and boom bye bye pedal.

well as you can see in my pictures above the pedal nearly came off completely from the piece that mounts on the firewall

yay, clutch pedal snapped on me again!!! got it welded and now its broken...just gonna buy a new one!

http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/8294/img00704.jpg
http://img514.imageshack.us/img514/5686/img00705.jpg

Well, now that's the first I've heard of breaking a second time. I'd like to know a little about your circumstances. How was the first weld done? do you have some good pics of the first weld and can you get some better pics of the one that just broke? I'd like to see more of the stress break. Do you have an after market clutch and what stage is it?

These images look like they are taken with a cell phone and a little too close up to focus.

Just so everyone knows, I was talking to Charles Hill about the options for my squeak of death. It's REALLY obvious that BHR is mostly concerned with helping people in this community, regardless of whether he makes a sale or not.

The same thing happened to me a couple of months ago.. heard squeaking the SNAP.. took it to the dealership and good thing it was covered in my warranty

What year is your car?
Do you have an aftermarket clutch?
Did you purchase new or used?
How much milage?