My 87 TII starts without clutch in. So did my 86 N/A.

I needed to press the clutch on my 88 GXL

i dont understand how pushing in the clutch would do any harm to the engine? that doesnt make any sense.

the car starts up easlier when u push in the clutch because its not turning the tranny. whereas when u push in the clutch its not grabing it, its just free spining.

i kno this for a fact because even on my bike, u can hear the bike turn over fast than with the clutch out.

when you dont touch the clutch an try to start the engine doesnt it turn the shaft? thats jus common sense rite?

also the reason for putting the switch in so you have to push in the clutch when starting is by law in the us. its because alot of people have been hurt from retards starting their car in gear, and the car running someone over. thats why in some states its illegal to have a car starter in a manual.

86 and older RX-7s are the only years w/o the switch ;)


bingo, and good question....

All the more reason to set the parking brake every time.

And that is correct....

The switch died shortly after I replace the Starter, anyways the car wouldn't start at 5:00 am during a week day. Being late for work, while working underneath the sterring column @ 5 am is not fun :p:

If you have not disabled your cold start assist you would still have to start the car with the clutch in and in 1st gear to stop the cold start assist. I dont understand what people are complaining about. And yes it is also a safety precaution to have the clutch in while starting the car or the car may become self propelled. Holding the clutch in I remember hearing only wears out the throw out bearing. Is this only for extended periods of time? And if this is true what is considered and extended period of time?

I third this statement. My switch was intermittently failing. I bi-passed it to see if that was the problem. Will take you 2 minutes to do.


-billy

I'm sure the legless car thief community will stay away from our cars ;)


Kinda off topic...
Lets say you're at a red light and you leave the tranny in first while holding the clutch down waiting for the green, is this harmfull? I've heard that it isnt and that it is.

I dont think it wears out the clutch since it is seperated form the transmission but I hear the throwout bearing gets extra wear when it does. Can someone confirm this?

:dammit: lol

I've heard it is not good for one of the bearings (I forgot which one though).

I just leave it in neutral if it's a long light.

I just thought of something. what if your RX-7 has the clutch interlock switch and you want to jump start it....
when you go to pop the clutch, will it do it, or what ??

yes, all it does is prevent power from getting to the starter, everything else is fine.

I dunno man, there is a guy with one leg and a stump running around here, or hopping, but it makes me fel at ease knowing he won't be getting mine any time soon. Its also got no engine.

Sorry guys.. Let me clarify. I didn't mean 2 tons.... it was late at night and typing faster than my eyes were processing.

1) Thrust bearing, is what holds the E-shaft (or crankshaft on a regular engine) from moving front to back in the case. This is called "end play" and is set with shimms or thicker/thinner bearings.

2) Throw out bearing. Obvious...

3) Pressure plate pushing on the end of the crank/E-shaft = wear to throw out bearing and Pressure on the thrust bearing and shimms.

No oil at cold startup = Extreme wear to thrust bearing on some engines (not nessesarly Roatary, but principle still applies).

So when you have a cold throw out bearing (grease doesn't flow when cold) and the thrust bearing is dry, or reletivly (no oil pressure), then you are putting a high load and possible extreme wear to the bearing. I KNOW for a fact it does happen to VW engines, it states in the manual to start the car with it in neutral and No Clutch disengagment.

I don't know exactly how it will effect the Rotary because I haven't torn down any engines (yet), but common sense should prevail.


Its mostly a fail-safe to keep people from hopping over curbs or doing something stupid by starting their car with it in gear (and forgetting the clutch) IMHO. Why not just make a neutral saftey switch Mazda? Problem solved.

-Bobby

holding the clutch in while starting does not hurt the engine at all. Why does EVERY new car make you do that? 99% of manual cars on the road made after 1985 need the clutch pushed in to start. It's done so you son't absentmindedly hit the starter in a parking lot while in gear and smash the car in front of you.
The DSM engine's problems are probably not because of the clutch, it's just a shitty engine.

Oh yeah, 1 ton=2000 lbs, and I doubt any clutches put that much stress on the engine. Even with the mechanical advantage built into the pedal you wouldn't be able to put 2000 lbs of force on the clutch.

I've torn apart a 150k mile N/A engine with the starter interlock, and that thrust bearing looked just as good as the brand new one I had beside it. It's a good theory, but it just doesn't happen.

Crankwalk on a FEW 2G DSM engines is from a bad design in the block. Their was a poorly machined oil galley that would cause the crank to slowly walk itself down the crank case.

Actually its only a fraction of this as the "fingers" that release the clutch disk are levered, roughly about 3:1 looking at a pic of a pressure plate, so really when the clutch is out your only putting ~700lbs force.

Henrik

they've all got cluthc switches, it's just that they break.

and i tyepd this while i was making out with my girlfirned hah

edit: Ahem. Heh. They're fond of breaking, my car's switch is broken, and there's no point in fixing it imhmfo.

Yeah, I can start mine without the clutch ,too.