One of the reasons I bought the Miata is because I was tired of wondering if the RX-7 would make it both to and from the places I needed to go. The Miata is a simple car. I figured, even if it did break, it would be fairly easy and inexpensive to fix. The car is old and there are many of them which means plenty of used donor parts if need be. Last night, the Miata broke down for the first time.
The clutch pedal has always been a little soft on the Miata. I figured that was just how Miata clutches felt. When I bought the car, I spent time changing all the vital fluids on the car to make sure that all the maintenance was done. All the fluids except the brake and clutch fluid. I noticed the clutch fluid was a little low, so I just topped it off.
Fast forward a month and I’m driving back last night from my last tutoring appointment. I notice the shifting is getting slightly notchy. It’s usually notchy in second, but this time it is notchy in all the gears. Each time I push the clutch pedal, it feels just a little softer. When I get within a couple miles of my house, the pedal just sinks. Crap! I am able to get the clutch to disengage just enough to clunk the transmission into first and then I had to revmatch the rest of the shifts. I made it home and got out a flashlight. Clutch cylinder is dry. =(
Figuring it’s probably time for a new clutch cylinder, I just went inside and went to bed. Not much I could do in the dark, and I had to get up early to go hunting this morning with my dad. I was disappointed though. I bought the Miata to be reliable and instead the cylinder goes kapoot within a month. Ahh well, at least it wasn’t something too tough or expensive to fix.
After hunting this morning, I decided to check out the Miata. The cylinder was dry (inside and out). I couldn’t see any liquid leaking, perhaps I was in luck! Following the clutch line, I saw that it was wet at the fitting that connects to the actuator. I tightened up the line with a flare wrench and filled up the cylinder again. The Miata was fixed. In fact, the pedal feels tighter than ever without even bleeding.
I’m going to bleed it out and replace all the fluid, but I was pretty happy that the total cost of repair was the $1.50 bottle of brake fluid. Is the Miata reliable still? I think so, but I guess I better pay more attention to these things. It’s certainly not the nightmare the RX-7 was.
On the RX-7, I replaced four calipers and bled the brakes so many times that I lost count. I replaced the master cylinder and the brake booster. I even took the car to another place once because I could never get all the air out of the damn lines. If when the Miata breaks down, it requires me to tighten a nut and put some fluid in, I can live with that! =)
11 Comments
November 15, 2007 at 9:29 pm
I remember pumping the brake for you. That was a workout. I got to do the fun part!
November 16, 2007 at 1:02 pm
Hahahah.. I hate bleeding brakes.
Yeah.. old cars, you’re still going to have a few strange things like that.
I bought this power bleeder for the Evo, man, it won’t fit on another master cylinder, but if you saw how easy it made brake bleeding by yourself your jaw would have dropped.
As tough as it is, you could probably just rev-match your way home with the gearbox like that. I’m sure Will has done it
November 16, 2007 at 3:58 pm
Scott:
=) I’m sure I’ve volunteered a lot of people to pump brakes for me in the RX-7’s time. I know at least you, Scott, my brother, my dad, and probably Mike at some point too.
Mike:
I was able to revmatch it home, but it’s impossible to revmatch 1st gear. You just kind of have to clunk it in. I am hoping that the bleeding nightmares I had with the RX-7 were an RX-7 thing. I mean, it seems like the Miata doesn’t even need to be bled after I let the cylinder go dry. I guess I’ll find out soon whether I just suck at bleeding fluids. Maybe it’s Shanell’s turn to be a footpumper.
November 16, 2007 at 11:28 pm
Well, the clutch in that car doesn’t take a lot of pressure. Bleeding it will be optimal but not completely necessary. Just do it when it’s cold. You don’t want the clutch dragging when you shift, but you can feel that.
Yeah, I think I helped you out once. Seriously though. Powerbleeder. Not mitivac. Powerbleeder.
November 17, 2007 at 4:25 am
=) I will do that soon. It’s been shifting great today though. Even took that notchiness out of my second gear shift.
November 17, 2007 at 5:38 am
I do believe I HAVE been a pedal pumper! Was second better yesterday when you drove it?
November 17, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Well, there ya go. If you’ve been my pedal pumper, it’s a station of honor which I only give to my closest inner circle of friends and family!
November 17, 2007 at 6:49 pm
Err, I wouldn’t do it when it’s cold. That kind of thing sucks.
the clutch is pretty easy since the line is so short though. Wait till you see the circus the Evo’s engine bay is… it’s awesome.
November 18, 2007 at 12:06 am
Bandwagon.
November 29, 2007 at 6:35 am
Today, Will will read the site. Therefore I will pre-empt his reading with important Miata questions:
1. What should I lube my power antenna with. It’s getting up there in age and I can’t always get it up (or down for that matter) when it gets turned on.
2. There’s a missing bolt for the top latches. It’s one of those bolts with the star shaped center. Where can I get one of those bolts without paying an arm and a leg? Know a local parts guy or something?
3. Have you ever lubed the flip-up lights? Those seem to be making more noise now that it’s cold.
4. Have you ever had problems with the locks? They don’t seem to turn well in the cold. I think I’ll try some graphite.
Seems like the Miata doesn’t like the cold. Go figure.
December 10, 2007 at 10:12 pm
Wow dude, you know what’s funny? My clutch did the same thing. Exact same thing. But after hunting around, I couldn’t find it being a major problem… Funny.
1.WD-40 or dielectric grease. If you use WD-40, be prepared to do it like once a month.
2.I think your best bet would be a LumberJack. If they don’t have one, shoot an E-mail to Planet Miata
3. There should be a bearing of some sort for the lights, or at the very least, a gear assy. Try common grease? Sorry, I just never heard of that problem before…
4. I had a small problem with my door locks a few years ago, I just used a monthly squirt of the magic WD-40, and haven’t had a problem since…
Hope those help!
-Will