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ratbastid · 08-30-2003, 09:04 AM

I should preface this by saying that I'm basically a car-moron. I know how to drive. I can change oil. That's about it.

Yesterday my 2000 Miata's clutch started acting strange. I started noticing that the clutch was engaging further down in the pedal's travel than normal, if that makes sense. There were a few inches at the top of pedal travel that didn't feel connected to anything under the floorboard. I was in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway, so there was a lot of clutching involved.

As I crawled along, this got worse and worse, to the point that the pedal was engaging the clutch in the last couple inches of its travel, and getting the car into gear was getting pretty hard. It was clear I wasn't getting the clutch all the way in, even with the pedal on the floor. I started trying to drive like a semi--leave it in first gear as much as possible, and keep a steady, slow speed.

Then two things happened. I pulled off the freeway, and it started to rain. These things happened simultaneously. I should say, it was over 95 degrees, and 100% humidity in this particular North Carolina afternoon.

When I pulled away from the stop sign at the top of the ramp, the clutch pedal was acting normal again. If anything, the clutch was engaging a little HIGHER in the pedal's throw than before. I attended the meeting I was going to (about 1 hour away from home), and on my drive home afterward I didn't notice anything odd about the clutch or anything else about the car. Didn't notice anything driving to the gym this morning either.

So.... what happened? Can heat and humidity make a clutch act like that? Do I need to get it in to the shop? The car has 33,700 miles on it. I confess, I've been a pretty agressive with the clutch (it's a Miata!) but this feels awfully early to be having trouble with it.

08-30-2003, 09:04 AM	#1 (permalink)
ratbastid Darth Papa Location: Yonder	Strange clutch behavior I should preface this by saying that I'm basically a car-moron. I know how to drive. I can change oil. That's about it. Yesterday my 2000 Miata's clutch started acting strange. I started noticing that the clutch was engaging further down in the pedal's travel than normal, if that makes sense. There were a few inches at the top of pedal travel that didn't feel connected to anything under the floorboard. I was in stop-and-go traffic on the freeway, so there was a lot of clutching involved. As I crawled along, this got worse and worse, to the point that the pedal was engaging the clutch in the last couple inches of its travel, and getting the car into gear was getting pretty hard. It was clear I wasn't getting the clutch all the way in, even with the pedal on the floor. I started trying to drive like a semi--leave it in first gear as much as possible, and keep a steady, slow speed. Then two things happened. I pulled off the freeway, and it started to rain. These things happened simultaneously. I should say, it was over 95 degrees, and 100% humidity in this particular North Carolina afternoon. When I pulled away from the stop sign at the top of the ramp, the clutch pedal was acting normal again. If anything, the clutch was engaging a little HIGHER in the pedal's throw than before. I attended the meeting I was going to (about 1 hour away from home), and on my drive home afterward I didn't notice anything odd about the clutch or anything else about the car. Didn't notice anything driving to the gym this morning either. So.... what happened? Can heat and humidity make a clutch act like that? Do I need to get it in to the shop? The car has 33,700 miles on it. I confess, I've been a pretty agressive with the clutch (it's a Miata!) but this feels awfully early to be having trouble with it.