I have a 1980, RX7 with about 45,000 miles on it with the original clutch hydraulic cylinders.

I started loosing hydraulic pressure and had to pump the clutch to change gears. So I replaced the master and slave cylinders. After bleeding the clutch, checking for leaks, and adjusting pedal height and free-play, I now have great pedal pressure and am very pleased with the pedal feel.

Before the hydraulics went out, it would disengage & engage toward the lower half of pedal travel. With the new cylinders, the clutch disengages and engages at the upper end of the pedal movement, instead of halfway or lower down which is where I prefer it.

Is this normal? Or should I/can I make an adjustment to the engagement location?

Thanks.

 

In effect you did change the "engagement point" when you adjusted the pedal height and free play. having the clutch engage at the top half of pedal travel vice the bottom half of travel is preferable in my opinion.

 

I figured that the old cylinders didn't create enough compression until I had depresssed the pedal almost all the way, and that's why the engagement was so far down.

However, now that the cylinders are working properly, the engagement is very high. Even though I have the prescribed free-play and pedal height, the engagement is almost at the top of the pedal travel.

Could this be a symptom of needing a new clutch? Is the the clutch plate and throwout bearings working properly, or should I have it checked out and replaced?

 

When I installed a RB clutch, I had the same issue. I adjusted the rod on the top of the pedal and got it right where I like it. Good luck...

 

I think I'll add a little more free play in the pedal and see if that improves the feel.

 

Just remember, more free play and travel means a longer shift time. May not mean much now but at the strip it may be important. I think it's nice to be able to just tap the clutch and have it disengage just enough to shift. Nice to know I'm on the right path to fixing my clutch hydraulics issue. I have the master and slave cylinders here, just waiting on an SS braided line to come in so I can get it back on the road. Thankfully I have a second car.

 

The hydraulics in mine went out finally. They didn't like the extra pedal effort of the RB street strip pressure plate. Gotta rebuild 'em. I'll get an SS braided line too.

 

Added a tad bit more free play and boy, did that make a difference.

Driving it and getting used to the high engagement has made a difference. But the extra free play has added some pedal movement to make the shifts more confortable.

Now it's in the upper 1/4 of pedal travel but not so high that if occurs at the last minute.

 

I hate engagement at the top of the pedal travel. It feels unnatural, as dose at the bottom. Somewhere in the middle is fine.

 

Free play should be the same regardless of whether the pedal engages high or low. The trick is to adjust the push rod until it engages where you want and then adjust the stopper bolt so there's only a few mm of free play between the push rod and piston.

 

Oops, I said dose. That's funny.

I ran into a weird free play problem in the rotary 510. The hole in the pdeal was oval from years of use so I adjusted things to bring it to the edge of the hole. Worked like a charm and feels natural.