Tracing A Leak In BJ Astina

mike_d87 · 29-01-2008, 11:00 PM

Hi all.

I'm looking for a leak in my sisters astina. I have found it is coming through a hole in the clutch pedal bracket, however there are witness marks from where a bolt would have been previously. It is above the return spring next to a nut holding the bracket up.

Can any manual BJ owners check theirs when they get a chance?

Cheers
Mike

chicaboo · 29-01-2008, 11:52 PM

Your sister is not alone, this is another BJ thing that Mazda won't fix... But I have the same leak, comes from the same area. Some guy on here reckons he got his fixed by Mazda (he was the only one), and he said they replaced a seal or bung that seems to be missing on nearly all of them. I hope it's that simple, I can't see how it would leak any other way. Unfortunately I'm too big and fat to get a look at what's going on under there, so if you find out what the deal is, please keep us informed.

Gav.

JBT · 30-01-2008, 11:12 PM

No leaks in our BJ11 Astina. Here is a photo I just took of the clutch pedal bracket area. Is this the same as yours?

marcs_sp20 · 31-01-2008, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JBT

No leaks in our BJ11 Astina. Here is a photo I just took of the clutch pedal bracket area. Is this the same as yours?

How the hell did u manage to get a good photo from such a wierd and hard to get to position?

Mine still does it, pity I dont care anymore, Tash drives my car more then I do

Rupewrecht · 31-01-2008, 06:08 PM

I knew there was a thread about this somewhere

http://www.astinagt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6996

JBT · 01-02-2008, 07:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by marcs_sp20

How the hell did u manage to get a good photo from such a wierd and hard to get to position?

Just a lucky shot I guess with the camera on the floor and the seat fully back.

mike_d87 · 01-02-2008, 07:08 PM

no, that's considerably different! I also didn't notice any bungs/grommets on the firewall other than the throttle cable. Interesting...

chicaboo · 01-02-2008, 07:29 PM

Yeah Mike, whatever Mazda did different on the BJ model, is what most likely causes the leak issue. I wonder if the circlip that holds the seal in around the clutch piston fails? Interesting...

Gav.

zappy65 · 01-02-2008, 07:57 PM

Ive been told by guys a work that the Clutch pedal is too heavy and when depressed actually puts strain and cracks the firewall base on which the clutch pedal sits....the only way to fix this is to find the crack and get someone to weld it up...i will ask again at work on Monday..

chicaboo · 01-02-2008, 08:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by zappy65

Ive been told by guys a work that the Clutch pedal is too heavy and when depressed actually puts strain and cracks the firewall bas on which the clutch pedal sits....the only way to fix this is to find the crack and get someone to weld it up...i will ask again at work on Monday..

I'm not convinced on that explanation Zapster. The firewall is likely to be 2ply metal there, and I know from Orion's experience in trying to drill through it for his gauge lines, that it's one very tough customer! And there's no way a "crack" could let in a cup of water like it does.

Gav.

zappy65 · 01-02-2008, 08:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chicaboo

I'm not convinced on that explanation Zapster. The firewall is likely to be 2ply metal there, and I know from Orion's experience in trying to drill through it for his gauge lines, that it's one very tough customer! And there's no way a "crack" could let in a cup of water like it does.

Gav.

Yeah thats what i originally thought to mate...ill see..

dave0r · 01-02-2008, 08:25 PM

hmm i'll have to check my BJ tomorrow
so its the clutch pedal right?

marcs_sp20 · 01-02-2008, 10:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dave0r

hmm i'll have to check my BJ tomorrow
so its the clutch pedal right?

Yeah its the clutch pedal, you would really know if its leaking or not after a big downpour or even after washing the car, engage the clutch and water would dribble down onto your toes

phildough · 03-02-2008, 11:08 PM

I too had the leak in question, I rang mazda and the said it was most likely to be a seal around the clutch pedal. I took my car in and they looked at and when i went to pick it up they told me they were unable to fix it and they needed to repair the car, they told me this would be covered by mazda, it was about 1 year out of warranty at the time,but i do remember something about a longer body warranty???? They arranged a time 2 weeks later and arranged a loan car for me (A Mazda 2).I was told little about the problem even though i asked many times. The car was sent to a panel beater, I know this because it came back with their key ring on it, From what i could find out there was a crack in the firewall around the clutch pedal mount. There was also a clunk coming from the clutch when the pedal was fully depressed. Mazda repaired this for free. I cant see any repairs made to the car so what they did i don't know.The car has not leaked since and the clunk and noise is now gone, i cant say anyone else is going to have the same luck getting it fixed for free.

chicaboo · 03-02-2008, 11:21 PM

Hi Phil,

Can you give us the name of the dealer you went to? Was it the Cleveland dealer? I would be happy to give them a try, as I've never had any joy from Mt Gravatt or Springwood...

Cheers, Gav.

phildough · 03-02-2008, 11:43 PM

Hi Gav
I actually went to the dealer at Mt Gravatt. It was about 18 mths ago though

chicaboo · 04-02-2008, 12:42 AM

Thanks mate, I will try out Mt Gravatt then, they've loaned me a Mazda2 hire car before too.

If I don't get anywhere with them I will try Cleveland.

Gav.

phildough · 04-02-2008, 01:16 AM

Off topic but about loan cars..I was given a mazda 3 Auto loan car by Mazda when they scratched my ex's car at its 1000 k service. Its throttle kept jamming wide open, it had only 3000 km on the clock, scariest car i have ever driven, Never knew when it wanted to go flat out, I took it back.. scaring the crap out of my self the whole way..It jammed just as i turned into Mazda and did a nice long burnout(hand brake assisted) all the way in the car park. hahaha.. Said to the boss there...there is a serious problem here.. he didn't believe me.. i showed him and it stuck there at redline in neutral for about a minute.... ha ha ha... they couldn't stop it.... I said there is a serious fault here and if i didnt know how to drive well it would have killed some one. A week later there was a recall of the 3. It was the cruise control cable getting caught.Oh and they fixed it with a zip tie. Scary.

DavoAust · 04-02-2008, 03:42 PM

zip ties solve everything

has anyone been able to check the seal around the clutch piston? that looks like a likely culprit.

chicaboo · 04-02-2008, 05:22 PM

Yes, I would be hoping that it was the circlip falling off letting the rubber seal out. But after what Zappy told me, and then what Phil needed doing, maybe the dam firewall does crack!? WTF makes a car where the friggin firewall cracks and lets the rain in...???

Gav.

EDIT: I've booked my car in for an inspection at Oldmac Mazda Cleveland this Thursday, and for another (just incase

) at South City Mazda for the 20th Feb (soonest I could get with them). The advice I am getting from them is that the welds that hold the clutch pedal in let go and it bends away letting in the rain and moo cows. That would probably explain the creeking noise I get when I use the clutch? If I don't have any joy with one dealer, I will keep going to another dealer until I do (except Oldmac Springwood, they are cvnts...).

29-01-2008, 11:00 PM	#1
mike_d87 AstinaGT Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle Car: Astina Posts: 481 View Photos By: mike_d87	Tracing A Leak In BJ Astina Hi all. I'm looking for a leak in my sisters astina. I have found it is coming through a hole in the clutch pedal bracket, however there are witness marks from where a bolt would have been previously. It is above the return spring next to a nut holding the bracket up. Can any manual BJ owners check theirs when they get a chance? Cheers Mike

31-01-2008, 06:08 PM	#5
Rupewrecht Administrator Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: melb.vic.au Car: AZ-1, Astina Hardtop Turbo, BJ Protege, Beetle Posts: 16,525 View Photos By: Rupewrecht	I knew there was a thread about this somewhere http://www.astinagt.com/forums/showthread.php?t=6996 __________________ jdmparts.rupewrecht.com Sourcing your not-quite-overnight parts from Japan WRECHT--\|--SLOWTEGE--\|--BEETLE--\|--SUBSTITUTE--\|--AZ-1

01-02-2008, 07:57 PM	#9
zappy65 Senior Member Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: SE Brissy Car: Old: 1989 DOHC Mazda 323 New: Nissan 180SX Type X Posts: 2,135 View Photos By: zappy65	Ive been told by guys a work that the Clutch pedal is too heavy and when depressed actually puts strain and cracks the firewall base on which the clutch pedal sits....the only way to fix this is to find the crack and get someone to weld it up...i will ask again at work on Monday.. __________________ Today you will die and then you will know what it feels like to live... Straights Are For Fast Cars, Corners Are For Fast Drivers: Colin McRae Visit My Ride: http://www.astinagt.com/forums/vbpic...?do=view&g=319 Come see my deviantness....hehe http://dawnblade.deviantart.com/ Last edited by zappy65; 01-02-2008 at 08:01 PM.

01-02-2008, 08:25 PM	#12
dave0r AstinaGT Regular Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Tauranga Car: Astina GT Turbo Posts: 302 View Photos By: dave0r	hmm i'll have to check my BJ tomorrow so its the clutch pedal right? __________________ 1996 ST205 Toyota Celica GT4 Gone 1991 Astina GT, 102wkw/138whp Built a KL-ZE 220whp engine for a KF Laser

03-02-2008, 11:21 PM	#15
chicaboo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Logan prefecture Car: Touge monster Posts: 7,585	Hi Phil, Can you give us the name of the dealer you went to? Was it the Cleveland dealer? I would be happy to give them a try, as I've never had any joy from Mt Gravatt or Springwood... Cheers, Gav. Last edited by chicaboo; 04-02-2008 at 12:40 AM. Reason: carnt speel

29-01-2008, 11:52 PM	#2
chicaboo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Logan prefecture Car: Touge monster Posts: 7,585	Your sister is not alone, this is another BJ thing that Mazda won't fix... But I have the same leak, comes from the same area. Some guy on here reckons he got his fixed by Mazda (he was the only one), and he said they replaced a seal or bung that seems to be missing on nearly all of them. I hope it's that simple, I can't see how it would leak any other way. Unfortunately I'm too big and fat to get a look at what's going on under there, so if you find out what the deal is, please keep us informed. Gav.

30-01-2008, 11:12 PM	#3
JBT Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Brisbane Car: BJII Astina MX-5 Posts: 23	No leaks in our BJ11 Astina. Here is a photo I just took of the clutch pedal bracket area. Is this the same as yours?

01-02-2008, 07:08 PM	#7
mike_d87 AstinaGT Regular Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Newcastle Car: Astina Posts: 481 View Photos By: mike_d87	no, that's considerably different! I also didn't notice any bungs/grommets on the firewall other than the throttle cable. Interesting...

01-02-2008, 07:29 PM	#8
chicaboo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Logan prefecture Car: Touge monster Posts: 7,585	Yeah Mike, whatever Mazda did different on the BJ model, is what most likely causes the leak issue. I wonder if the circlip that holds the seal in around the clutch piston fails? Interesting... Gav.

03-02-2008, 11:08 PM	#14
phildough Banned Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brisneyland, Queensland Car: 2002 Mazda Frankenstina Posts: 2,868 View Photos By: phildough	I too had the leak in question, I rang mazda and the said it was most likely to be a seal around the clutch pedal. I took my car in and they looked at and when i went to pick it up they told me they were unable to fix it and they needed to repair the car, they told me this would be covered by mazda, it was about 1 year out of warranty at the time,but i do remember something about a longer body warranty???? They arranged a time 2 weeks later and arranged a loan car for me (A Mazda 2).I was told little about the problem even though i asked many times. The car was sent to a panel beater, I know this because it came back with their key ring on it, From what i could find out there was a crack in the firewall around the clutch pedal mount. There was also a clunk coming from the clutch when the pedal was fully depressed. Mazda repaired this for free. I cant see any repairs made to the car so what they did i don't know.The car has not leaked since and the clunk and noise is now gone, i cant say anyone else is going to have the same luck getting it fixed for free.

03-02-2008, 11:43 PM	#16
phildough Banned Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brisneyland, Queensland Car: 2002 Mazda Frankenstina Posts: 2,868 View Photos By: phildough	Hi Gav I actually went to the dealer at Mt Gravatt. It was about 18 mths ago though

04-02-2008, 12:42 AM	#17
chicaboo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Logan prefecture Car: Touge monster Posts: 7,585	Thanks mate, I will try out Mt Gravatt then, they've loaned me a Mazda2 hire car before too. If I don't get anywhere with them I will try Cleveland. Gav.

04-02-2008, 01:16 AM	#18
phildough Banned Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brisneyland, Queensland Car: 2002 Mazda Frankenstina Posts: 2,868 View Photos By: phildough	Off topic but about loan cars..I was given a mazda 3 Auto loan car by Mazda when they scratched my ex's car at its 1000 k service. Its throttle kept jamming wide open, it had only 3000 km on the clock, scariest car i have ever driven, Never knew when it wanted to go flat out, I took it back.. scaring the crap out of my self the whole way..It jammed just as i turned into Mazda and did a nice long burnout(hand brake assisted) all the way in the car park. hahaha.. Said to the boss there...there is a serious problem here.. he didn't believe me.. i showed him and it stuck there at redline in neutral for about a minute.... ha ha ha... they couldn't stop it.... I said there is a serious fault here and if i didnt know how to drive well it would have killed some one. A week later there was a recall of the 3. It was the cruise control cable getting caught.Oh and they fixed it with a zip tie. Scary.

04-02-2008, 03:42 PM	#19
DavoAust Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Brisbane Car: Red '93 3000GT / Black '08 Ninja 250R Posts: 2,930 View Photos By: DavoAust	zip ties solve everything has anyone been able to check the seal around the clutch piston? that looks like a likely culprit. __________________ Understeer is when you hit the wall with the front of the car and oversteer is when you hit the wall with the rear of the car. Horsepower is how fast you hit the wall, torque is how far you take the wall with you. '97 1.8L Hardtop '93 3.0L TT 3000GT

04-02-2008, 05:22 PM	#20
chicaboo Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: Logan prefecture Car: Touge monster Posts: 7,585	Yes, I would be hoping that it was the circlip falling off letting the rubber seal out. But after what Zappy told me, and then what Phil needed doing, maybe the dam firewall does crack!? WTF makes a car where the friggin firewall cracks and lets the rain in...??? Gav. EDIT: I've booked my car in for an inspection at Oldmac Mazda Cleveland this Thursday, and for another (just incase ) at South City Mazda for the 20th Feb (soonest I could get with them). The advice I am getting from them is that the welds that hold the clutch pedal in let go and it bends away letting in the rain and moo cows. That would probably explain the creeking noise I get when I use the clutch? If I don't have any joy with one dealer, I will keep going to another dealer until I do (except Oldmac Springwood, they are cvnts...). Last edited by chicaboo; 04-02-2008 at 06:11 PM.