edited, see below

 

one of the welds on the pedal already broke so the thin metal was pretty flexed which didnt line up properly with the cluth pedal bracket holes. when i installed my bracket my welds were fine so they lined up properly but it took me a bit to get it in due to being uncomfortable and the cylinder kept gettin pushed back into the engine bay lol.

BTW dont know if you guys know about this but if your gray stick thingy isnt getting pressed down all the way then you can give it a good tug and itll extend out more closer to the green tab thingy.

 

^Well that makes sense.

Haha and nice directions on the thingys. Haha.

 

took the bracket out before, everything is holding BUT there are some signs of blending/flexing.

but it shouldn't cause the problem Im getting.

need to check the parts ... one part at a time ... grrrrr ....

 

whats up with your pedal? im out of the loop. and im sleepy and i dont wanna read lol.

 

Actually that switch needs to *learn* the clutch pedal's travel.

Its very simple.

Remove the switch, grab the plunger with your fingers, pull it firmly outwards (it seems like itll break, but it wont) you'll hear/feel a few clicks from the switch housing. Now reinstall it, move the clutch pedal. The clutch pedal will setup the switch properly.

Have to do this at the dealer on every install.

kevin.

 

Hey, thanks! That is much appreciated.

 

Wow, agreed. Interesting information Kevin.

 

^see... I read the shop manual and didn't pick that up. That's a simple explanation that suddenly makes a LOT of sense.

 

I don't know if thats *in* the shop manual, it should be, but i cant guarantee it, just something I've picked up along the way. Works on most manual mazdas, gotta do it on speed6's a lot as well.

Glad that random bit of knowledge i had floating was useful lol, i thought it was common knowledge until i read through this

kevin.

 

what Teknics said was exactly what i was trying to tell you guys. i got it from him. but hes better at explaing it than me and my "thingy" talk lol

 

When driving home last week I heard a snap from my clutch peddle and it has been squeaking for a the past month. I babied it the last few blocks home. I looked under and didn't notice anything strange but I did notice a lot more flex (side to side) in my pedal. Maybe I'm just lucky it still works? No more squeak though.

Car has 80k on it. does the dealership replace/fix this problem for free since it is a factory defect?

 

Nope! You are on your own. Best get it fixed ASAP.

... your user name is freaking weird!

 

Mine just snapped on the hwy at speed while on my way to transformers. I limped to the theater and had to have her towed home. Sucked and now I need to figure a fix before monday.

 

http://www.rotary4life.com/forum/showthread.php?t=265

Found this while googling cheaper solutions. Hopefully this helps anyone who needs a solution that isn't going to break the bank in our rough economy.

 

I had the dealer replace mine few months ago, was squeaking bad, at first all they changed was the clutch switch, but the squeaking sound never went away, so took it to another dealer and showed them, it was even vibrating when you depressed the pedal, but the dealer replaced the the whole clutch pedal assembly.

 

ooop! mine just snapped today at my buddies. there goes my ap exhaust

 

AWESOME! I just got my email from the DOT in response to my filing a claim on Mazda about the clutch pedal issue and I have responded. It's taken them quite a while but at least it is in progress. They are very aware of this thread and the issue. I love it.

Everyone PLEASE go file a claim to drive this point home.

 

where do we file a claim?

 

nyc youve seen my thread , my pics are in there

 

nycgps posted the link some where back in this thread, can't seem to find the direct link. But if you go to this site, you can dig around and find it: http://nhtsa.gov/

Actually it wasn't a "claim" I filed, it was a report. Sorry about that.

 

Yeah, I just got my e-mail from them also and replied.

Dozer, here is the address that is in my e-mail.

http://www-odi.nhtsa.dot.gov/ivoq/index.cfm

 

ill get on it when i get home

 

Yep

Seems like they're seriously looking into this issue.

I mean come on, Mazda. This is a SERIOUS SAFETY ISSUE !

I took mine out and fix it a bit ... It didnt break but u can see something has bent around the bolt area ... not good

 

For some time now, I've been concerned about this clutch bracket. I've had difficulty in visualizing how it works from the pictures, so I finally had a look at it last night. I saw things quite a bit differently.

These spot welds are not intended to hold this bracket together. They are simply there as a tack to hold the back piece to the front for assembly. In fact you can cut these welds off and throw the back piece away. Replace it with two long bushings for the proper separation to the firewall. Bolt everything back up properly and you shouldn't notice much effect of the change.

On pressing the pedal, the primary force tries to push the main part of the bracket towards the driver. This is resisted in two ways. The least desirable way is by the two nuts and bolts at the firewall. This puts stress in the member in that area which can cause it to tear in some cases. If this is the main area where the forces are being resisted, then you might feel some slopiness, or hear creaking or squeaking as things move. I wouldn't be surprised if the weld could initiate a fracture through material embrittlement.

The better way to hold everything together is with that third bolt (See #10 in this thread https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-do-yourself-forum-73/diy-clutch-pedal-bracket-removal-fix-170387/page2/). If this bolt is properly tightened, it prevents movement of the assembly, and there will be no significant stress in the region of the firewall bolts (although these bolts must also be tight to ensure there is no gap at the firewall. This captures the whole assembly between the firewall and dash structures so it cannot move. If it cannot move, it cannot apply stress to the nut/bolt area at the firewall.

So make sure your bolts are tight. If you want added insurance, have a look at that picture #10 again. See that hole in the dash structure to the left of the arrow just behind the bracket? Force a large screw in there to help keep the bracket from moving back (and maybe put a bit of compressive load on it by forcing it forward with a big enough screw). Loosen the bolt first.