Clutch randomly decided to break?! Catches very LOW

[MX595]

I drove home the other night, and the 1995 MX5 was riding great, no problems or weird feelings. The next morning it starts up nicely, I let it warm up, and when I finally get in and get ready to go, this happens...

I push the clutch in (pressure feels fine) and throw it into reverse, without lifting the clutch pedal...it engages and the car begins the buck...it does the same thing in 1st gear..

Once it gets going in 1st, each shift catches very close to the floor, and there us still pressure in the clutch pedal each time I press it down.

Another thing of mention, there is a slight fluid build up (seems to be brake fluid) near where the hood latch is (clearly visible when the hood i up), thinking this may be related

Any assistance or direction would be greatly appreciated, pics will come asap

[kung fu jesus]

Hood latch or hood hinge? I would bet your clutch master cylinder is bad.

[MX595]

the hood latch, just in front of the radiator, I was thinking either the master or slave cylinders were the issue

[Breezy]

Slave cylinder is my guess.

[kung fu jesus]

Replace them both.

[Martin]

Fluid near the hood latch would almost have to be coolant, wouldn't it?

[kung fu jesus]

Unless the clutch hydraulic system made a magic money shot.

[MX595]

I'm going with leaky hoses or one of the cylinders, i turned on the car and let it run for a bit, today I had to pump the clutch a little to get gear in place either in reverse or first, so def thinking it is the slave/master cylinder...I will know more tmrw when I finally get t working on it

Thank you for the input

And Martin, I am as surprised as you, it most certainly isn't coolant, I'm 99% sure it's brake fluid, it is a brownish color I will post pictures

[MX595]

pics

[MX595]

12283
12284
12285
12286

[kung fu jesus]

If it is brake fluid, that paint under the hood would already be lifting where it touched it.

How's your AC? I bet it is either refrigerant or coolant, unless someone lubricated your latch.

For the clutch issue, I'm going to recommend an overkill solution that is also an upgrade:

949 Racing Clutch Hydraulics overhaul kit (http://949racing.com/miata-clutch-HOK.aspx)

That pricing is really very, very good. I'm not sure you could source those parts that cheap individually from a known, quality manufacturer.

The extended clutch line is worth the money.

Do it.

[Rogue]

I recommend Master/Slave/long braided line….although Motul is way overkill in a clutch that sees no heat.

[MX595]

thank you very much, sadly the overhaul kit is out of stock

[kung fu jesus]

Buy the line, get the slave and master locally.

[MX595]

I found the same kit through planetmiata and it's in stock, so win!

Also, my A/C runs well, the belt was replaced when i did the WP/TB

[kung fu jesus]

Excellent!

I would shine a light down there between the condensor and the front of the car, look at the drier, too.

[kung fu jesus]

Check the other parts of the engine bay and hood skeleton. See if if is coming from somewhere else.

[MX595]

will do, I will update you when I have some more info, thanks again for your help!!

[MX595]

Parts should be here tmrw, couldn't find any other leaks along the hood skeleton as suggested, there is most def an apparent leak in the line though, hence the puddle

I bought the whole overhaul kit, any noticeable differences I could expect?

Like more sturdy pedal, cleaner shift, etc..

[kung fu jesus]

Not really, you can expect the clutch to work again. :) The braided line eliminates another failure point and the overhaul should give you solid clutch hydraulics.

[MX595]

Well a working clutch is definitely helpful, was hoping it would be more like the brake lines and give a stiffer feel

[kung fu jesus]

It does, but it is too long of travel in the clutch to feel it.

[MX595]

So i was given that braided line with the clutch overhaul kit...and have no idea where it is supposed to go, my stock lines were perfectly fine, so I left them in place

any comments on this?

[MX595]

ended up actually being the Master cylinder, I replaced both, still no idea why I was given the very short steel braided line

[kung fu jesus]

Short line replaces the rubber line at the firewall.

[MX595]

maybe I'm lost a bit, my master is on the opposite side of the engine bay compared to the slave, sorry if i'm making this more complicated than it has to, but where does the line start? it seems to fit in 2 possible places

[kung fu jesus]

12407

The short clutch line is as shown partially here. This is looking at the fire wall on the passenger side, between the A/C lines and the back of the intake manifold. The hard line to the left goes up and over to the clutch master. The flexible line then connects to the hard line you connected to the clutch slave. It is very much like replacing brake lines, but harder to reach. If you have flare wrenches, use them.

FWIW, the long line starts here at the terminus of the clutch cylinder's hard line and REPLACES the hard line to the clutch slave.

The reason the long line is generally preferred is because it makes replacing the clutch slave MUCH easier, is easier to install than a short line, and also if you have to yank the motor.

[MX595]

Thank you very much, now I understand, next issue, hopefully easily solved is, I have found what i think is a leak in the Master cylinder, any idea how to mend this?

[MX595]

12408

[MX595]

The seal at the marked area in the picture is non existent, you can wiggle and see fluid come out

It is brand new

[kung fu jesus]

Call the vendor, it shouldn't do that. Try pressing it down first.

[MX595]

I contacted the vendor, and also tried as suggested to push it into place, it seems that it tightened the seal a bit, but is not perfect

[kung fu jesus]

It is a frustrating design. The brake master is similar. It makes using a pressure bleeder on these cars a little sensitive.

[MX595]

agreed, very touchy, in any case, the vendor and one of our sponsors were extremely helpful and within the blink of an eye, have shipped me a replacement part!

Thank you planet-miata!

I will be getting the new radiator in soon as well, and after that, I will finally install my new steering wheel with quick release!

[Martin]

Planet Miata has been very good to me in the past. Good people there.

[kung fu jesus]

Agreed. Steve has set me up with some amazing parts in the past.

[etikoner]

Getting rid of the oem hard line helps making the clutch bleed easier

[MX595]

I did find a replacement line from master to slave, my hard line is in great working order, so I will keep it for now, in doing this work, I'm sad to announce I found a leak, most likely from the rear seal....so...woo woo....FML

[kung fu jesus]

I have found it fairly rare to see a Miata that DOESN'T leak oil.

[MX595]

Fair enough Kung Fu Jesus hahaha, its just the fact it is now to a point that is concerning and upsetting to look at, I started a new thread in NA miata section to seek more info