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1996 Mazda MX5 Intermittent Clutch Free Travel

Tiny
ENZO158
  • MEMBER
  • 1996 MAZDA MX5
  • 4 CYL
  • 2WD
  • MANUAL
  • 110,000 MILES
I use my car as a Daily Driver. Today when I started it I noticed that the free travel in the clutch had gone from having 1 inch of travel to about 5 or 6 inches of free travel.
The car has not shown any symptoms of a transmission problem and didn't have this problem 12 hours before when I got home from school. I did notice something as I drove the car today. It seems that when I "pump" the clutch pedal a few times the free travel will shorten. Meaning I go from 6 inches of free travel to 2 inches of free travel.
At first I thought it may be the clutch slave cylinder, but can the adjustment or seals go bad overnight? I live in southern california, so the weather is usually pretty consistent. Hot during the day, cold at night.
I am posting this question to understand this symptom because I am in training for automotive and would like to know how to troubleshoot this properly. Thank you.
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Saturday, March 20th, 2010 AT 1:29 AM

3 Replies

Tiny
RASMATAZ
  • MECHANIC
  • 75,992 POSTS
Sounds like the clutch master cylinder is leaking internally or air in the system that needs bleeding.
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Saturday, March 20th, 2010 AT 1:37 AM
Tiny
ENZO158
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Thanks for the quick reply! I'll try this in the morning to take a look at it. :)
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Saturday, March 20th, 2010 AT 1:39 AM
Tiny
ENZO158
  • MEMBER
  • 3 POSTS
Problem solved.

It turns out that it was the Slave Cylinder. If I had the time to check the system yesterday before posting this I would have found it immediately. I didn't know that the cylinder would just break without showing any symptoms right before breaking, but now I know. If the pedal suddenly has free travel, it's possibly a slave or even a master cylinder.

Fix cost $30 and 10 minutes of my labor. :)
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Saturday, March 20th, 2010 AT 9:29 PM

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