killam

So last night my clutch started sticking to the floor and at first i was able to lift it up and keep going but that only worked a couple times and then i got stuck in the middle of a intersection and had to push.

Every time you touch the clutch it just drops straight down to the floor and sticks
and the car doesn't go into gear when its on.
So im thinking i probably need the slave cylinder replaced
but before i have that done could anyone tell me or maybe show me some pics of where to bleed the clutch? I was told to try that before i do anything else. Will this help? Should i even bother?

RotaryMelon

iTrader: (7)

The master probably went bad.. if you replace one.. replace both

but for attempting's sake.. theres a bleeder screw on your slave.. get an 8mm wrench, length of hose and container. You need someone to open the screw after you pump the clutch pedal and then hold it.. fluid should go into your container.. close the screw while the clutch is to the floor.. release pedal.. and repeat until its just fluid coming out.. no bubbles (clear hose helps).

as you can see, an assistant is needed without the 1 way valve

blown7

No assistant required at all. Put the cap back on to the master, there is a small air breather hole on the top of the cap. Get a air line and air blower. Put a small amount of pressure into the master and open your bleeder on the slave. If you dont have access to air then yes a assistant is required.

killam

The cap on the master says "Use only Mazda genuine brake fluid" do i need to worry about that or can i just put in the usual dot 3

ray green

iTrader: (14)

Suck and pump, worked for me. Get one of those vacuum bleeders at advance auto, hook it up, pull a vacuum and pump the fluid in with your clutch pedal. Keep the res full and that there's no air getting in.

killam

Ok so bleeding didn't help very much for me.
it doesn't drop straight to the floor anymore it comes up a little then sinks in slowly and sticks to the floor.
So i guess ill be ordering the slave cylinder, I don't really have the money for the master though. how important do you think it is to replace both?

Wodihor

ok think of it like this.

In the master and slave there is a piston with a rubber ring on it. If it goes bad fluid will seep past it. This can happen on master and/or slave. My master was fine, but my slave was shot. The dust boot on the slave fell apart in my hands. I had to replace both, because of rust on the line nuts. I had to cut the line to get the slave off of the car and it was rusted to the master as well.

I replaced both with the ones from the other RX7. I also swapped the piston from one master to the the other. It looked in better shape. I sorta monstered the to together.

People say that it is the Master that causes it to sink to the floor and stay there. I beg to differ with them. If a ring on either piston goes out, and the springs for the pistons are worn out. You will have this issue no matter what.

Worn spring in Master and bad ring in slave = stuck clutch.

That is why people say do both. You can get a rebuild kit for them though. Take them both off and clean really good.. replace the piston, and spring. either way you do it replace both. I will have to revisit mine in about 3 to 4 months I think and replace both with new ones.

killam

ok so here are some pics of the slave cylinder and the bleeder just for searching and archive sake

bliffle

Everyone has trouble bleeding the clutch. Either keep trying a lot or use pressure or vacuum. You can use a bicycle pump (or a 12volt $20 electric tire pump from the autostore or harborfreight) for pressure.

mar3

iTrader: (8)

Since the cap diameter, thread and pitch are the same for the clutch and brake master cylinder reservoirs, I went ahead and got Griot's now-discontinued brake bleeder system. I just use my custom cap for either reservoir, set the compressor to 1 psi and then unscrew bleeders wherever to get the systems free of air bubbles. Doesn't get much easier for a one-person system.

killam

wth this master cylinder is a pain in the ***
not only is the top nut a bitch to get at
i dont even have a deep enough scoket to get at the nut over that stupid bolt

mar3

iTrader: (8)

I guess it's time for the monster "How-to step-by-step" post I've been meaning to put in here regarding the clutch hydraulics R&R...I waited two years plus to make sure the "shade tree" hone of the master cylinder would work for the long run. I'm at work now, so it won't be until tomorrow night before I can get to it and the first couple of pages of the thread are gonna have a bunch of X's because the pics have been purged from the previous posts...

killam

so can someone tell me exactly what size the nut is for the master cylinder? im going to go get a deeper socket.

killam

mmk its 12mm nvm

killam

ok so i got the master and slave both off then got the new master on and started putting the slave on got one bolt in and dropped the other bolt now i cant find it anywhere its to dark to do anything and the bugs are crazy! i was so close...i guess it get done tomorrow but now its time to relax

BLKTOPTRVL

Why not one man bleed it just as you would with the brakes...

1. Get a rubber hose and attach it to the slave nipple.
2. Put the other end of the hose into a glass of clean brake fluid
3. Open the slave bleeder
4. Pump the clutch pedal, check every other stroke to be sure the master is not running out of fluid.
5. After a few cycles, close the slave bleeder

Works for me.

Rx-7Doctor

iTrader: (13)

I'm trying to imagine everyone opening the bleeder and pumping the clutch pedal.

The problem with this is that.
A). The bleeder on the slave is not a one way valve. Meaning that as you push the clutch pedal the fluid may be slightly expelled outwards but when you lift up on the pedal you would be drawing air in.
B). You can't build up pressure with an open bleeder valve. Pressure is what expels the air out and creates Hydraulic pressure. Hydraulic pressure is what allows the system to work.

The correct pedal pumping procedure is to have the bleeder "Closed", pump the pedal, then open the bleeder valve to expel the air and create fluid pressure. You do this until you have a good Stream of fluid spraying out of the bleeder screw when you open it. You close the bleeder each time while the pedal is depressed and repeat steps until the stream of fluid is evident.


As far as inspection goes on our systems. The best and easiest way to start is to pull back the rubber dust boot on the slave and inspect for fluid on the outside of the piston bore. If it is wet, the slave is bad. When inspecting the Clutch master you need a flashlight to shine into the area inside the vehicle where the cylinder mounts. Alot of times there will be no fluid visable but the clutch master will be bypassing internally. This is more common of a failed Clutch master cylinder.
If the clutch slave is dry there is about a 95% chance that the master is the problem causing the collapsed pedal. Usually the slowly bleeding down of the pedal pressure is the slave but not always.

Replacing of both is also recommended and the hose as a precautionary measure although I have never had the hose fail.
Dot 3 or Dot 4 fluid brake fluid, it does not really matter. Dot 4 just has a higher boiling point.

BLKTOPTRVL

That is why you keep the end of the hose in the fluid. If the end is not exposed to air, it can't suck air back in.