Grind feeling in clutch

[MakaveliX]

Got in the car just now. Blue cold engine light came up as usual. Whilst sat stationary In neutral I pressed the clutch a few times and it felt grindy, no noises at all. When the cold engine light went off the engine sounded quieter ( as usual ) and then immediately after the clutch pedal felt perfectly smooth.

Went for a drive and occasionally when shifting into 4th, I'd lift the clutch pedal up slowly and it would feel a tiny bit grindy.

Any ideas what this is ?
Car is a Mazda 3 with 22,000 miles on the clock. Got full service history etc and the last service was August 2022.

Any help appreciated, thanks

[sunbeam alpine]

Thrust bearing maybe?

[Smint]

Does the movement of the clucth grind or you can feel a grinding whilst holding the clutch down, hopefully the former and a bit of lube here and there in the linkage or pivots might help, if not and its a rotational thing maybe thrust bearing as suggested, or if the car has stood in the damp maybe the pressure plate had a light coating of rust which should soon be removed once in use.

[MakaveliX]

Yes it is the "former" as you say.... its only during the movement back upward when releasing the clutch pedal.

I'll try some lubricating tomorrow as prior to this the pedal has been a bit clicky ( in my toyota I lubed the clutch mechanism and it fixed it )

The only thing that bugs me is that it only does it in certain gears. Also why would it do it when the blue cold engine light is on, then when the light went off it was fine ( in neutral )

Edited by MakaveliX on Saturday 12th November 18:45

[E-bmw]

MakaveliX said:

The only thing that bugs me is that it only does it in certain gears. Also why would it do it when the blue cold engine light is on, then when the light went off it was fine ( in neutral )

If it just happening with movement of the pedal then the gear is completely irrelevant, you may just (for instance) release the pedal slower/faster at different speeds & this could be the difference.

It won't have any relevance to the engine cold light, but it may be that the car has been sat overnight etc & the stiction of the pedal is slightly higher until it has been used a few times.

As per my first paragraph, in neutral you aren't having to feed in the bite point, so will be moving the pedal at a different speed.

[MakaveliX]

Thanks for the info.
Yes you are right it is nothing to do with the blue light, this morning it felt grindy when I first started my car, the engine sounds louder when the car hasn't been driven in a while and then settles down usually before I set off on a journey. At this point it felt fine.


Just been for a long drive and in certain gears if I keep the pedal half way down there are vibrations.

The grindy feel tends to be in line with the cars movement and revs, lower speed and lower revs it is much less noticeable... higher speed and higher revs I feel it more. Let's say 55mph in 3rd gear, I feel it much more than 30mph in 4th gear.

No problems shifting gears, stalling, slipping gears etc and no odd noises so hopefully it's fine and could just be wear and some placebo

Edited by MakaveliX on Sunday 13th November 11:18

Edited by MakaveliX on Sunday 13th November 12:12

[MakaveliX]

When I first start my car up ( especially when cold ), the revs increase for about 30 seconds, during this time the clutch pedal feels grindy.
After 30 seconds the revs drop and the grinding ceases.

[Caddyshack]

I think it is the clutch release bearing.

[MakaveliX]

Caddyshack said:

I think it is the clutch release bearing.

Is this something to be concerned about ? There are no odd noises etc and shifting gears seem fine.
I am under warranty with Mazda but their " diagnostic " charges are ridiculous

[Panda nero]

I would think that you are unlikely to get a warranty repair for this unless it gets considerably worse .
Just keep an eye or ear on it and don't stress over it .

[MakaveliX]

Panda nero said:

I would think that you are unlikely to get a warranty repair for this unless it gets considerably worse .
Just keep an eye or ear on it and don't stress over it .

OK, thanks.

At 22,000 miles I wouldn't expect any problems with the clutch, when my old Yaris had 80,000 miles on it and no issues with the clutch.

When I first got the car I would rest my foot on the clutch pedal gently sometimes but rarely do that now. Hopefully nothing serious

[Smint]

MakaveliX said:

OK, thanks.

At 22,000 miles I wouldn't expect any problems with the clutch, when my old Yaris had 80,000 miles on it and no issues with the clutch.

When I first got the car I would rest my foot on the clutch pedal gently sometimes but rarely do that now. Hopefully nothing serious

The problem with that is that its engaging the thrust bearing and possibly causing slight slippage, exposing everything to excessive wear.

Unlikely the dealer/maker will honour a warranty claim, the outlaws stopped buying Mazdas after many years due to being harshly treated over a prematurely worn out clutch, this after they had already made encouraging noises about goodwill, too late to start looking elsewhere when the box is on the ground in the dealer workshop and the clutch parts on the floor when reality bites.

If there is definately an issue developing start asking around good indy's in your area for a quote for replacing the complete clutch assembly, can expect to pay as low as 1/3rd what the dealer charges for the job using high quality parts such as LUK, better to have someone pencilled in sooner rather than later in case it gets worse rapidly.

[sunbeam alpine]

MakaveliX said:

Panda nero said:

I would think that you are unlikely to get a warranty repair for this unless it gets considerably worse .
Just keep an eye or ear on it and don't stress over it .

OK, thanks.

At 22,000 miles I wouldn't expect any problems with the clutch, when my old Yaris had 80,000 miles on it and no issues with the clutch.

When I first got the car I would rest my foot on the clutch pedal gently sometimes but rarely do that now. Hopefully nothing serious

This could possibly explain what you're experiencing (depending on how hard you were resting your foot). This would put slight pressure on the bearing which effectively disengages the drive when you push the clutch fully in, causing premature wear.

I wouldn't worry too much - just try to avoid doing it from now on!

[MakaveliX]

Cool thanks guys.

I've only covered 2,000 miles since getting the car ( it was 20,000 miles on the clock when I purchased it ) and I only noticed this yesterday. Could have been something to do with one of the previous two owners - but that's irrelevant as it is my car now.

The first couple of weeks when resting my foot on the pedal it was only very lightly... definitely no firmer than when I had my Yaris - and within the "free play zone" .

I did nip it in the bud and rarely do it now unless in slow traffic when I have to constantly use clutch control.

It is a bad habit and is difficult to stop as I've always driven like that.

I'll keep an eye on it, there are no odd noises whatsoever or problems shifting as said previously. Hopefully if I can correct my clutch habits it will prevent any further wear.

[Caddyshack]

I would try a warranty claim, no harm in it as long as they don’t charge.

I doubt it is anything to worry about. Some clutches are easy to get to and change a bearing, others are a pig.

[MakaveliX]

Caddyshack said:

I would try a warranty claim, no harm in it as long as they don’t charge.

I doubt it is anything to worry about. Some clutches are easy to get to and change a bearing, others are a pig.

They do charge, lots

I wanted them to replace a £30 brake light switch and they wanted me to pay £120 just for a "diagnostic" just to look at it, even when I politely told them what I wanted doing. This is for a job that takes literally 5 minutes.
They then said that I " might " be able to claim some money back if they do find a fault. If they didn't find a fault, then it's £120 down the drain.

God know what they'd ask me for if I mentioned the clutch, especially on the basis that " the clutch pedal feels a bit grindy sometimes ".

As has been helpfully advised I will keep an eye on it and my clutch habits.

[MakaveliX]

Completely stopped resting foot on clutch pedal since original post so hopefully it does not progress.

At it's " worst " it's when the blue engine light is on after being left overnight and the revs are about 1,500rpm and in neutral, once the revs drop it feels completely smooth ( would this help to pinpoint exactly what is causing it ? )
If in neutral once the blue light is off, I rev the engine and then press the clutch pedal, it feels fine.

When driving it is barely noticeable and happens only mildly when the revs are high

could it be the gearbox oil needs to be done ?

Edited by MakaveliX on Monday 5th December 17:56

[littleredrooster]

MakaveliX said:

could it be the gearbox oil needs to be done ?

No, don't think so. (And I say this as a degree-qualified mechanical engineer who has been breaking and fixing his own cars/bikes for 55 years)

I really think you're worrying needlessly about this. Sometimes a minor 'tremble' on the pedal is quite normal. If you wanted to worry about something, you should have perhaps tried my first car - a 1947 Ford Model 10 with rod-operated brakes, no synchro on first gear, vacuum wipers and a need for greasing 28 different locations every few weeks. Strange noises - you haven't lived, mate - I couldn't even turn the radio up 'cos it didn't have one, or a heater!

[MakaveliX]

littleredrooster said:

No, don't think so. (And I say this as a degree-qualified mechanical engineer who has been breaking and fixing his own cars/bikes for 55 years)

I really think you're worrying needlessly about this. Sometimes a minor 'tremble' on the pedal is quite normal. If you wanted to worry about something, you should have perhaps tried my first car - a 1947 Ford Model 10 with rod-operated brakes, no synchro on first gear, vacuum wipers and a need for greasing 28 different locations every few weeks. Strange noises - you haven't lived, mate - I couldn't even turn the radio up 'cos it didn't have one, or a heater!

Good point, thanks for the advice

[MakaveliX]

Smint said:

or if the car has stood in the damp maybe the pressure plate had a light coating of rust which should soon be removed once in use.

This may be the culprit *hopefully*

I've monitored it closely since I noticed it. At first when the car was cold ( after being left overnight or for a few hours ) start up the engine, keep it in neutral and the grinding was bad and did it all the way up the clutch movement ( when engaging ). Then it did it at the bottom and top of the movement, then it only did it at the bottom of the movement and now you can barely feel it at all. So fingers crossed there is no damage or wear and it will completely subside