REPAIR PROCEDURE
1. Verify customer concern.
2. Replace clutch cut switch with a revised part.
NOTE:
• Ensure clutch cut switch locks into position when installing.
3. Verify repair.


Part Number D374-66-4D0A Clutch Cut Switch

http://silvereightstudio.com/misc/Br...t/DSC_1862.JPG

http://silvereightstudio.com/misc/Br...t/DSC_1850.JPG

Just in case anyone is interested it what it looks like when it snaps!

Took mine out this morning. The only problem with removing it is when it snaps, it pushes the metal out over the nut and it's really hard to get a socket over it. I spent more time trying to get the socket on than it took for everything else.

Charles, I'm looking forward to getting the assembly in this Thursday. I'm going to go ahead and try to repair mine if possible in the tomorrow.

Yep, all the failures end up looking the same.. Design flaw

lol, from the looks of it, mine wont last that long now either :(

Ray, pls hurry!

I get the idea that this could be why shifting gears was getting a little grind especially when the car was not at full operating temp.

You know, it's just one thing after the other in this car. I love it but I hate it. I have to keep justifying to my wife why I should keep it. Before I owned it, I would never put up with a car with this many faults... so why do I put up with it now? Why don't I trade it in on something more reliable? I think it's like the old saying, "Love is blind". I love this car so much that I don't have a true unbiased view of the real issues. I want it to be the perfect car and I keep thinking after every thing is repaired that, Now, finally it's fixed... I don't think I will ever learn.

I think my trany is going on me! jeeeeezzzzzzzz 60,200 miles! Figures! Just after the engine replacement at 58,500.

EDIT:
Thanks Ray, I will take pics and post as soon as I get it in my grubby little hands. I'll try to take some good enough you can use for promotion.

any type of performance car that has ran as fast as yours on Road Atlanta and Roebling and a few other places is going to have some upkeep!
My tranny is making noise also--but Don we can get one now for less than $900 and we have learned about how to make them last a little longer.
You do have a heavier wgt oil in it dont you?
When you come to install the gauges i will show you some things i have discovered in my adventures.:)
olddragger

Yea, I'm running 10w40 right now and when we run at Roebling, I will have 20w50 in it... and yea, now that you mention it Denny, maybe it has seen a little activity. :eyetwitch See ya on the 19th.

cool it will great to see ya. i have some things to show you.
OD

What are you talking about !

Its pure user abuse ! :lol:

engine swap in CA???

This is my clutch pedal assembly after welding. You can see that it is now fused as one piece so if anything breaks, it will not be from the previous week spots.

http://silvereightstudio.com/misc/Br...t/DSCF0856.JPG

http://silvereightstudio.com/misc/Br...t/DSCF0857.JPG

This is the corner that was torn off and welded back in place.
http://silvereightstudio.com/misc/Br...t/DSCF0858.JPG

I don't know if it's going to work properly but at this point, I don't give a crap. I have alternatives on the way.

As long as it aligns properly it should work ok.. The corner that is the weak point is pretty well covered

Just got through installing and boy did it make a difference. I can see now that there was a gradual degradation of the bracket because I have been having problems for a while. Especially after the new clutch install. The gears seem to change easier now. Maybe it's my imagination but it just feels much better. There is still a little lateral flex but I guess that is a good thing for safety and mechanical reasons.

WOW! It looks like I might have this same issue. I'm going to my car to check things out in a few minutes. When I press the clutch peddle I do get a slight squeek but not the loud creek that was on the previously posted youtube video. I am not sure if I noticed any lateral movement but then again I could be wrong since I have not payed much attention to it. I thought the assembly just needed some grease.

I'll keep you posted... :squint:

OK, this is what my bracket looks like...

http://a580.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...2c69524ce3.jpg

Sorry for the blurry pic...cell phone.

http://a250.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...f87fdb5479.jpg

http://a848.ac-images.myspacecdn.com...a5231a04ef.jpg

Seems like my bracket is ok but not sure.

It seems to be Fine. but no way to know for sure (blurry piccccsssss)

I took most of my pics with my phone, u need to get a better phone, oh no no iPhone's no no no. No Razr either.

N73 FTW ! Soon will change to K850 :)


FOR those who have/had clutch Bracket Problems, PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE take 10-15 minutes of your time, and REPORT THEM to NHTSA. Im SURE there were a lot of broken brackets. but so far I've seen only a few people who actually did The report !

My 16 gb iPhone told me to tell you...:bootyshak :cussing: :moon: :fart: :balls: :cwm27:

The problem was the angle of the flash light. I will try and take some more pics but this time a little bit closer.

BTW...I have 56,000 + miles.

my 3.2 mp N73 from *2 yrs ago* tell me to tell you that it can pwn ur iphone in picture quality anyday & night :SHOCKED: :cwm27:

anyway, lets see if u can take some better pics :)

I have 40K miles now.

Can you tell me where to access for reporting. I will be all over it.

Thanks!

Apparently this problem was also experienced in at least the 2nd gen RX-7's. See the welds, partially obscured, at the top of the bracket in the attached image. These welds do not look like factory welds. When I purchased this car, the previous owner indicated that it had an aftermarket "street/strip" clutch. So perhaps this is a long standing problem with the RX'es?

It's difficult to inspect it properly while still installed.. But taking it out is pretty simple..

Ray, the assembly came in today. I'm including pics and a brief observation. I have not installed it yet so I can't give any use responses yet.

First thing I noticed about Ray's unit is that the welds are more numerous than I expected and the coverage is well exicuted.

http://www.silvereightstudio.com/mis...t/DSC_1897.jpg

Additional welds are applied to the top bracket that attaches to the dash frame.

http://www.silvereightstudio.com/mis...t/DSC_1898.jpg

The side piece that holds a switch is also welded for more strength.

http://www.silvereightstudio.com/mis...t/DSC_1900.jpg

The welds are very clean.

http://www.silvereightstudio.com/mis...t/DSC_1909.jpg

The side of he bracket that attaches to he firewall is also reinforced with welds. There is a small visual flaw that you can see on the bottom left of this image that could have been from a brake in the original bracket or could have been from welding. I can't tell but it would not have any effect on the usability of this assembly.

http://www.silvereightstudio.com/mis...t/DSC_1906.jpg

My overall observation is that this assembly is more than ample to take care of my needs using an Exedy stage 1 clutch. Since I have already had mine welded and seems to be working, I'm not sure I can justify purchasing this one. I'm just lucky enough to work for a company that has a welding shop. Many of you will not have that advantage and Ray's alternative is a VERY good solid choice. I would consider it to be stronger than required which is a good thing.

Welding Broken Clutch Brackets
 

If you are decently handing with socket wrenches. I recommend the following which I just did today. 1) print out the service manual pages that diagram the clutch pedal so you know what the hell you are looking at under there. My clutch pedal bracket totally broke. I took the clutch pedal out. I went to the yellow pages and found a professional welder. $25 dollars later he took what looked like a piece of junk with no hope for repair and made it stronger than if I had bought the $275 clutch pedal from mazda. So parts labor of $380 cost me $25 dollars and I am good to go for another 50k. Shifts like butter again!! The springs gasket and rods are really solid so their is no need to buy a new pedal.

Wow... my clutch pedal popped today... i guess im not alone on this, has anyone on here gotten a new clutch bracket from CRH or BHR? cuz i need a new 1 and might as well get something not for just a temp job...

You have several options:

1. Order from CRH - reman and ship your old one to him
2. onlinemazdaparts.com - New
3. Local Mazda parts department - New
4. Local welder or someone you know

I suggest you price them out. If time is of the essence, which it was for me. The best option was to get someone from the company I work at to do the welding for free. I'm lucky to have this option. It was done the same day I took it in. Taking the assembly out is very simple. Good luck and let us know what you do.

Im telling you guys who had a problem(or having a problem) with this clutch thing to REPORT this to NHTSA.

Cuz this is really ridiculous, this part should NEVER FAIL in the first place.

^ indeed... Mine never failed outright but I got the reinforced bracket from BHR for peace of mind. That is probably the path I would recommend. A new part will just fail again down the road. You could get yours re-welded but since it already snapped you have to be careful to put it back together so everything aligns properly.

For people having this same issue.

http://www.mazsport.net/store/index....oduct_list&c=2

The Mazsport kit works well...I welded my OEM bracket last summer...and it tightened it up a bit......but the metal the bracket is made of is too thin to be rock solid.

I am sure your reinforced AND welded bracket works well also. The reinforcement is badly needed to stiffen things up...

I really think Mazda should think very seriously about fixing this problem before someone gets hurt when the OEM bracket fails :(

Hey Ray,

According to the Mazsport web site, the manufacturer of this kit IS Mazda.:)

so the guys who developed a POS clutch pedal are the ones building this "kit". OH boy...

Huh??

show me where... i'm rotarded and dont see that.. :banghead:

huh ? really ?

welding + this bracket = the best.

but this problem shouldn't even exist in the first place. Damn Mazda. Do something !

http://www.mazsport.net/store/index....oduct_list&c=2

Probably a mistake, but that's what is says.

I think it is a mistake.

Wonder if it will fit over my welds?

https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1214657613

Looking at your pictures it should fit no problem

The ideal fix would be to do both...but after you look at the Mazsport Kit you will notice it really doesn't matter if the stock bracket is broken even...the support is now in the kit pieces...not the OEM bracket The biggest problem with the stock unit is the metal is too thin and flexes...that is solved with the bracket

I'm not one to recommend mods mindlessly... but this one is a no brainer....

Marietta8 said he read somewhere "one of the safety features of the 8 was that the pedals were designed to fold away in a crash". This makes plenty of sense from a safety standpoint but for a durable assembly I believe they should rethink their engineering.

Wonder how many assemblies have actually collapsed during impact as apposed to those that have snapped from flex and caused people to spend money needlessly on wreckers and replacement/repair. Mazda... are you listening?

Scott, that's better. Looks like you are keeping up with the thread. ;) I'm considering getting the Mazsport brace to go on my welded assembly.

The 8 doesn't have collapsing pedals. The WRX has em (trust me, I know, they're one of the reasons I still have legs), but on the 8 the pedals are bolted straight to the firewall...

I dont know about the "designed so it folds when collision happens". But I do know that accident might happen if the snap in the middle of high speed driving.

I just got my car back yesterday from having an SR Motorsports HD clutch kit and 9.25 lb flywheel installed. Now the clutch bracket is broken on mine as well. It goes into mazda for replacement on Tues. I will defintely order a reinforcement but after the clutch costs, I am a little strapped for cash.

try to have it re-welded, would be cheaper than a replacement from mazda..

the push rod would most likely bend.

Well, the Mazsport clutch pedal bracket fixed me up just fine. The welded assembly was apparently out of shape and was still flexing so much that it was causing the clutch to have little or no adjustments. Once the bracket was installed, instead of the clutch engaging at the floor, it then engaged at the beginning of the clutch push. I made adjustments and it's much better.

The Mazsport bracket is a must. Don't even question it. I now have to get used to having a clutch that actually works properly and itis MUCH stouter. The price is steep, at least you think that when you look at the parts but after it is installed, you will be glad you did it.

Putting the bracket in after the clutch has been welded is not easy. The welding distorts the metal and can make it difficult to line things up properly. If I were you guys, I'd get this bracket. Welding did not take care of all my problems. The addition of the bracket seems to have finished the job. However if excessive welding is done during the referb, you could make it tough. Do it before you need it. Consider it cheep insurance and also, you will enjoy it more.

I'm having some other issues with my clutch and I'm taking the car into Mazcare next week for Charlie to look it over. The squeaking is driving my nucking futs and the clutch is getting harder to push in. It's less than a year old and a stage 1. It's really screwing with my leg, especially when in rush hour traffic.

This is a link to the images from Mazsport's installation instructions. The bracket pieces are red. Scott, hope you don't mind me posting. The actual brackets are black. I think he must have used red for illustrative purposes. The two bolts that are in the base of the bracket where it goes into the firewall are temporary and used only for aligning and are removed after the bracket installation is complete and before the assembly goes into the car.

My clutch started squeakin too maybe 2 months ago or more. I guess im the next one buyin the mazsport bracket. Quick question though, would it be better if I were to get a new oem clutch bracket and then install the mazsport bracket? Or would it have no difference puttin the bracket onto my current squeaking one? Thanx in advance

if u're still under warranty, go fix it at Mazda, then u file a complain at NHFSA

if u're out of warranty, write an mail or something to Mazda, buy a new bracket from CRH, Add Mazsports Bracket, then file a complain at NHSFA.

Sounds like advertising :)

Different ways to skin a cat I guess....I'm sure Mazsport wouldn't necessarily agree with my comments....


I'm also sure your mod is an effective and excellent mod as well, as all of your stuff I have seen...but I haven't personally seen this one to comment

As I've stated in previous threads, I installed the BHR clutch bracket and noticed a huge difference and my OEM bracket had no problems with the welds. The overall construction is just flimsy.

Having the bracket welded makes it a quick in and out install. There's no other pieces to put in, and no need to send parts and have your car disabled in the mean time. I was pissed I had to spend the money on what should have been a factory fix but it was well worth it.