So I desided I needed a new clutch because the catch point on the pedal was about 1/4 inch from having your foot off the pedal and the PO couldn't tell me how old the clutch was when I got the car. I had tried to adjust the pedal and found that it didn't help. So the last two nights I have spent replacing the clutch and pressure plate.

Got everything together last night and took it for a drive. Same problem, but now the pedal doesn't feel like it returns with as much force as it used to. I am pretty sure I bled the line from the slave cylinder.

So how can I get the catch point on the pedal to be closer to the ground and do I now need to rebuild the slave cylinder?

 

Really you will be ahead to buy a new slave.

 

May as well replace the master while you are at it as well...

 

I think I am going to replace both, but how can I fix the pedal so the catch point is closer the the floor?

 

If you clutch is installed correctly, the problem may be the slave/master/hose. I would also replace the hose with a stainless hose from Mazdatrix. The stainless is less expensive than a rubber hose.

That may fix your trouble.

Also, you should download the FSM if you haven't already. The clutch adjustment will have to be redone if your previous adjustments were trying to compensate for a hydraulic problem.

Good Luck!

 

As stated above get a Master, Slave Cylinder, and Stainless Clutch line. You will see a huge improvement

 

Your problem may be with your flywheel. If you had air in the clutch line or a bad clutch master or slave cylinder your pedal would be spongy and the clutch would engage with the pedal just off the floor or might not even disengage at all. What often happens when a clutch is replaced the flywheel gets sent to a machine shop for resurfacing. There are 2 surfaces that material should be removed from. Obviously the friction surface but the same amount of material is supposed to be removed from the outer surface where the pressure plate bolts on. Commonly only the friction surface gets machined. When this happens there is less clamping force applied to the clutch disc because it is now farther away from the pressure plate and the end result is a clutch that engages near the top of the pedal height.

 

^ +1000

Even if that's not the problem in your case, this info is worth repeating - a detail often missed.