clutch worn out MPS6 93,500kms

So my clutch has started slipping in 3rd gear or higher. It's ok if I drive like a grandma but as soon as the turbo makes some boost and the engine makes decent torque, she start's slipping.

I've done some research, looks like everyone in the U.S. recommends this kit:
RallySportDirect.com - ACT Mazdaspeed 3/6 Street Disc Clutch Kit

My Brother and I will do the labour once I save up the $$$ (he's a mechanic). I'll take plenty of pics and do a write-up afterwards.

Who else has had to do their clutch on an MPS6? How many kms?

P.S. I bought the service/repair manual on alldatadiy.com for $26.95 (figured it was cheaper than buying off mazda)

pretty shit that exedy dont make sport clutch for mps:poo::poo::poo:

pretty shit that you have to go overseas to get a non OEM clutch... and that the OEM clutch is so crap!

Anyway the price wasn't too bad in the end: ACT Heavy Duty Clutch Kit MazdaSpeed 3 07-09 2.3L Turbo Performance Disc - ZX4-HDSS

$976 including shipping and conversion to AUD

These goodies arrived today:
Attachment 5506

Sorry for the poor quality.. quickly taken with my iphone

Quote:

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Originally Posted by tomo89aus

These goodies arrived today:
Attachment 5506

Sorry for the poor quality.. quickly taken with my iphone

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Hi tomo, I will be interested to see your writeup. I have heard that clutch replacement in a 6MPS is a MAJOR drama in terms of time and labour. Someone on here mentioned "$4,00 clutches" as one reason he decided to get rid of his car.

That was quick delivery btw, and not TOO expensive. I am assuming the kit came over air freight? Assuming 90 cents to the US dollar freight would have been around OZ $250?

Also very keen to hear how the clutch feels compared to the OEM one.

Regards,

Leon

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Originally Posted by Velocity Red

Hi tomo, I will be interested to see your writeup. I have heard that clutch replacement in a 6MPS is a MAJOR drama in terms of time and labour. Someone on here mentioned "$4,00 clutches" as one reason he decided to get rid of his car.

That was quick delivery btw, and not TOO expensive. I am assuming the kit came over air freight? Assuming 90 cents to the US dollar freight would have been around OZ $250?

Also very keen to hear how the clutch feels compared to the OEM one.

Regards,

Leon

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My personal opinion is that it can't be any worse for labour than any other performance AWD car. Most mechanics these days are just lazy I reckon. My brother (who is a mechanic) wasn't even confident he could do it properly.
It's actually quite frustrating when you ring a mechanic for a quote and they don't even know the car is turboed or AWD until you tell them. And then they just tell you to ring Mazda (who overcharge for everything).

So far as I can tell, the only difficult part is dropping down the front crossmember. After that is done the rest is pretty straightforward provided you have the right tools.

Delivery for the new clutch was 2 weeks. I paid about $180 U.S. in shipping and it was bloody heavy so for $976 all up I'm pretty happy with value for money.

I've put a compiled how-to guide (based on the workshop manual) in the "How To" section in the forums. Let me know if you think it really looks THAT difficult because I'm attempting to do it this Saturday with a mate.

I will be interested to see how it goes as well.

My 6 has done 108,000kms, but clutch seems fine. A little hard to engage smoothly but I believe this is normal.

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Originally Posted by Penguin740

...A little hard to engage smoothly but I believe this is normal.

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Yep that's normal.. I'd rather it be hard to engage smoothly and provide good clamp force than for it to be nice and soft though.

With clutches, so much comes down to personal habits. Speaking generally, if you are getting high failure rates, I'd look first at one's driving style and clutch use, unless numerous others are reporting similar failures at similar mileages, and even that is hard to quantify in a statistically meaningful fashion, as it is impossible to apply a statistical control.

I have only 45,000km on a stock 2005 clutch, one that lots of people grizzle about or try to get changed, but I have no issues with mine, and I don't drive like a granny as some of you will know. But I don't give it heaps off the line and I don't ride it like so many people seem to do.

I just wonder about how some people drive. I sold a Maserati Ghibli to a good mate who'd been pestering me for years to sell it to him. Maseratis have the strongest crankshafts in creation, but within two days of getting the papers for the car he managed to break the crank! Was that impeccable timing on my part and bad luck on his, or was it his driving style, which most people who experienced it would suggest was most likely?

BTW, good clamping force alone has nothing to do with smoothness of engagement. Smooth engagement of gears depends more on selector fork settings and synchro. Smooth engagment of clutch is an entirely different matter, and depends on many factors including clutch pedal effort required, effective effort at the fork vs clutch spring pressure to be overcome (mechanical effort), throwout setting, take-up position with respect to leg and seating positions for individual drivers, and lastly, on the driver himself.

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Originally Posted by Doug_MPS6

BTW, good clamping force alone has nothing to do with smoothness of engagement...

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I wasn't referring to smooth engagement, more the ability of the clutch to hold increased torque due to mods, etc... EDIT: I did sort of imply a clutch with low clamp force would have a smoother engagement in my previous post but I didn't actually mean to!

I've only had the car for 12months so I don't know its history regarding the treatment of the clutch.

Ok so I've had the new clutch for a little over a week and I am very impressed. It's like having a different car altogether. The pedal is noticeably stiffer now, but at least its consistent. If I lived in a city I probably would not buy this clutch kit. However now my foot is used to it I can't tell the difference really.

Those considering doing a clutch replacement themselves shouldn't be discouraged at all. The MPS6 is a remarkably good car to work on with the majority of things very well thought out. It took my mate and I about 10 hours (neither of us are mechanics). I can see why mechanics do charge a lot in labour because it is a pretty big process. None of it is difficult though if you have some basic mechanical knowledge and the right tools. I can help out those living close to Newcastle or even Sydney in NSW if you want to have a crack at it yourself.

Some hints/tips:

- You need a 27mm open ender (spanner) to get the reverse and shift position sensors out of the gearbox. Obviously a socket won't fit over the cables and a shifter won't have clearance. Bunnings, Home Hardware or even a specialist fastener store I went to didn't sell them. This set us back about 1 hour while I went to a mates place to borrow one.
- Buy new front axle nuts (the old ones aren't all that great for re-using due to the lock tab)
- Borrow a very strong rattle gun.. makes life 10x easier
- Don't bother replacing the pilot bearing unless you need to
- The starter motor is a bitch to remove. Access to the bolts isn't great and the top bolt has a 12mm stud used to secure a water pipe bracket.
- Workshop manual says to remove the Transfer case water cooler with the hoses attached. Don't bother. Just remove the hoses and plug them with a bolt or something.
- Workshop manual also says to only remove the middle piece of exhaust between the two cats. However you're best off to remove the 2nd cat and the middle piece so the prop shaft has somewhere to hang down (it has a joint just after where the cat is located).
- Its definitely a two person job.
- When you've put everything back together and the wheels are back on. Go for a drive around the block and then tighten the axle nuts further if possible. Mine were FT (f**king tight) but two days later had further to go once everything settled.

Issues:
- Now the clutch/flywheel setup is stronger than stock... (and no longer the weakest point in the drivetrain).. the rear diff mount has become the weakest point. I get a fairly strong vibration at 1500-1750rpm under load. Pretty sure the rubber is torn/non-existent.
- All 3 engine mounts need replacing in my car. I'm saving up the $$$ and eager to hear from others who've had to do this.
- I overfilled the transfer case when I was filling it with oil again (the hose from the hand pump sealed the hole and didn't let the excess oil flow out until I checked it). Diff oil really stinks when its hot.