syntheticdarkness

iTrader: (7)

It's not even about cancer now, must use the same address for everything. Basically what the video was saying is they want a black box like on the aircraft put in cars, and how the NHTSA was under fire from a bunch of different groups and so on for not really doing there job, and some of them getting paid off to look the other way. Maybe I should send it in, then they'd have to look at it, and not pass it up since they are being watched really close now.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

I got that done this weekend. It was definitely worthwhile to remove the driver's seat from the car beforehand to allow better access under the dash. There's some simple drilling that's not too hard to do. My bracket was likely in pretty good shape to start with having only 13k miles on it, but the reinforcement did make the pedal feel more secure, plus at least for now, a squeak has disappeared.

michael8

iTrader: (1)

My 04 broken at 59,000 yesterday. Had it replaced this morning at the dealership. Feels like once your clutch starts squeaking, you've pretty much had it. Filed a complaint at NHTSA, would suggest anybody with the problem do that, so we can get MAZDA pay attention to the problem.

Really bad when you suddenly lose the clutch!

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

Yep, complaints might help. I debated whether to wait for a potential recall, but decided I didn't want to risk getting stranded somewhere - plus I really hated that squeak. I have my doubts though that Mazda will respond unless forced to do so and the NHTSA has bigger fish to fry right now.

Spirograph

I finally have time to install my reinforcement kit. My '04 is at 47.4k miles, and the clutch started to make a clunking type of sound halfway through the travel (on depression only) about 500-600 miles ago. Here's what I found:





In the first image, you can see the plastic cap on one side of the spring is split and about gone. The plastic cap on the other side is completely broken off and missing. Can the plastic caps be bought and replaced?

I can't see any visible tearing of the bracket, but as you can see there's a section where the 2 stamped metals are starting to separate, like the bottom of the top sheet is bent out. I'm reinstalling with the Fluid reinforcement bracket kit; should I also bother with putting some JB Weld in between the area where the 2 sheets are starting to separate?

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

I hadn't realized before I put on the RR bracket, that the spring goes over-center during the depression of the clutch pedal. In other words, for the upper part of the travel, the spring forces the pedal up, and for the lower 1/2, it forces the pedal down. If those little plastic bushings are worn, it's going to 'clunk' when the direction of the spring force changes. While the 8 in many ways is a supercar with a $25k price tag, it does suffer at times from the product cheapening department in ways a Porsche would not.

RonX-8

I jus joined the snapped clutch pedal club!hehe!...I actually thought changing the tranny n diff fluid a week ago was the cause of my difficulty in shifting or getting into gear. Thank God it snapped while I was in the driveway and not while I was out of town or on the road!

Anyways, quick question to those who had theirs replaced already with another OEM part. How much does the whole assembly cost from the stealership? I wanna kno if getting the reinforced bracket from raceroot for 300$ is worth the purchase.
link:
http://raceroots.com/index.php/produ...-assembly.html

Spirograph

So aside from the clunk sound from the springs, do I need to worry about further damage - without the plastic pieces in place, will the spring tear through the stamped metal of the bracket?

Also, my long and short pieces of the reinforcement brace don't align. Either the long piece needs to be longer, or the short piece needs to be taller/thicker at the base.



This is where the hole aligns when my short reinforcement bracket piece is installed, is this correct?:

SilverEIGHT

Wow! That's a long way off. It's been so long since I did mine, I can't remember all the details. I did put mine in a vice to drill the holes. My bracket was not symmetric as the snapping, twisting and welding all contributed to distortion. However with the supplied temporary brackets for drilling the holes, everything did fit into place but I did have to work with it.

Looks like you caught yours just in time. I think my plastic caps are long gone and I never worried about them. I don't know if the JB would help or not. I suppose it could help with possible squeaking but I wouldn't consider it a substitute for welding.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

It's about where mine came out, but can be improved somewhat by placing the long piece on the other side of the tab from what the instructions show which makes the bracket more in plane.


My kit was shipped without instructions by mistake. So, un-encumbered by them, I took the inside RR reinforcement bracket as the reference for drilling the holes. I put that bracket in place and used a scribe with a 90 deg point on the end to scratch circles onto the inside of the Mazda part, through the holes in the RR bracket. Then, looking where the holes were relative to the stamped ridgeline, I center-punched and drilled from the outside in.
Doing that, and referencing the picture above, the hole in the sheet metal came out about 1/2 of a hole diameter towards the 2 o'clock position wrt the hole you're showing in the outside reinforcement bracket.

Wiggling things around and slight bends in the Mazda piece gets things to fit ok. The real issue is that the Mazda part is a POS, and made more so by flexing in use.

I knew I should have taken pics while I did this.

Race Roots

iTrader: (64)

This occurs occasionally when the pedal has seen a little to much flexing and the base is a bit warped because of its thin metal. Loosen the bottom bolt so you have more play. Align the Top bracket and the bottom bracket hole with a drill then finger tighten the bottom bolt with the drill piece in place. Drill thru both pieces at the same time all the way to the other side.

Let me know if you need further assistance.

Race Roots

iTrader: (64)

This is a convenience service that we offer. Currently I am out of used cores so you would have to send me yours for me to install on your unit at that price.

A new pedal sells for $215 from the dealership.

We sell a complete new assembly with bracket already installed for $395 shipped

SilverEIGHT

Here's the instructions from the old Mazsport installation which is what I used.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Mazsport...Reinforcement#

Hope this helps.

EDIT:

Decided it would be a good idea to post them here.

Mazurfer

^.........didn't see any instructions just pics, so here are the "Old, but Revised Mazsport" instructions!
I think Brice can confirm whether or not the RaceRoots are close..........if not the same.

Tnaked

My clutch pedal went out today with a *pop* sounds coming to a stop light. My car is an '04 with 74k miles on it. I reported it to NHTSA(although it doesn't seem like there are any progress). Does anyone know how long the clutch pedal assembly from race-root takes to get shipped(to Oregon)? Would anyone know what would be the fastest way to get a new clutch pedal assembly? I'm sure the dealer nearby would take about a week to get it.

SilverEIGHT

I feel your pain. This is a very frustrating and senseless issue and the only way to guarantee this will not happen to you is to be proactive and fix the clutch bracket before it happens. Make sure you spread the word and try to save someone else from this irresponsible mistake from Mazda. I know that doesn't address your question but now you are a member of the club and I hear-by declare members of club are by default lifetime members duly bound to help our brethren out.

You can get the clutch overnighted by Fedex or UPS or take the clutch off and have it welded by a local shop. The weld is a quick and painless process and you could have it done and install it back in one day.

Keep us informed of your progress.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

Here's another helpful bracket installation link with good pictures:

http://www.coloradomazdaclub.com/for...ead.php?t=2726

Be careful you don't overly compress the starter interlock switch.

btw: Race Roots bracket = Mazsport, so the pdf above is valid.

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

I had to "reset" that switch (the one that engages when the pedal is down), by pulling rather hard on the stem until it "ratchets" out to full length. Afterwards, pushing in on the clutch automatically resets the length to the proper value. If it's too short, the switch won't sense the depressed clutch, preventing the car from starting.

Mazurfer

I knew it was, but I felt like I had to use that disclaimer(of sorts).

Twiztog43

iTrader: (15)

after months of finally waiting, i have my raceroots reinforced clutch pedal installed. [it was sitting in my closet for a long while].

after waiting a couple months [dealer re-welded the original], i started noticing the pedal start to wiggle a bit, not to mention it was no longer aligned with the brake pedal. it seemed to sag to the left about a 1/4 of an inch and was about 1/2 an inch lower than the brake pedal. so after looking at that, [and scaring the heck out of me] i decided to have it replaced with the reinforced pedal, and i have to say, it is a lot stiffer! if i try to move the pedal from side to side, it wants to hold its ground. at least, i wont be as paranoid as i was before!

HiFlite999

iTrader: (2)

That was my impression as well - that even welding may not improve things that much because the stock bracket is just plain flimsy.

FYI: Race Roots is putting together a group buy. The present thread on this is:

https://www.rx8club.com/series-i-aftermarket-performance-modifications-23/clutch-pedal-bracket-group-buy-194437/

Myriad

iTrader: (2)

My bracket also died, 2004 MT with 46,000 miles. It snapped off as I was turning into my Aunt and Uncle's driveway. I'll be sure to file a complaint with the NHTSA and post pics when I get it back from the dealer.

RX8.PIPE.DREAMS

iTrader: (1)

Guys just an update. The raceroots clutch pedal re-enforcement kit group buy is ending in a few days. Get in while its hot! 10 more people and we can get an excellent price. Check it out here:

https://www.rx8club.com/showthread.php?t=194437

Group buy don't happen too often, get it in for a good price and fix you clutch pedal without worries for the future!

MazdaManiac

iTrader: (3)

lol! wow

$105 for a bracket that doesn't actually fix the problem? Seriously?

Why would anyone actually consider this?

Just get it properly welded and leave the over-priced band-aids to the Honda crowd.

Huey52

iTrader: (2)

I have to disagree with you on this one Jeff. Although from a purely semantics perspective the Race Roots bracket doesn't 'fix' the problem, it certainly makes it mechanically near impossible to snap the plate welds. The firewall-slave cylinder bolt attachment points are directly reinforced and adverse lateral forces are minimized.

Obviously as someone who has installed the bracket I can't help but appear jaded, but I did my due diligence prior to purchase and as an engineer was convinced this was a good way to go until, hopefully, Mazda offers a better designed unit.

I would recommend it even if the plate is re-welded for complete assurance as the stock plate is flimsy at best.