Hi guys. I have a 2.2I petrol single cab 4x4 that every 18 months I go for the clutch and there is nothing.It's the second time that the pivot ball that pivots the thrust bearing arm breaks. This is now becoming a problem. The clutch is fine thrust bearing is fine. the arm seems fine. the only thing I can see is there is quite some play when the bearing slides over the shaft and it has worn the shaft a bit. Local Mazda says needs a new complete bell housing. Another branch says its fine and the play is not excessive. But i have taken that gearbox out now so many times it's now a 45-minute job. and I'm over it now . I have attached photos . Has any one had the same problem .

 

Welcome David!

Can you post some pictures of the pivot ARM (sometimes called a clutch fork)......front and back sides of it? Also, the throwout bearing will need to have a small amount of grease on the "shaft" that it slides on. From your pictures, it appears that the "shaft" is worn......that might indicate that it has been dry, or no grease has been applied there. I would not think that the bell housing needs to be replaced.

Is your clutch hard to depress? A hydraulic clutch system should be very easy to depress the clutch pedal in on.

Send in those pics of the pivot arm please, so we can see if there is anything going on with it also.

 

Hi MeB2000

I will get som pics in the morning . I am waiting on a new Throwout Bearing but already bought a new Clutch Fork .

Also, the clutch has never been hard or feels like it gets stuck . It always feels normal until the ball breaks and you have no disengagement of the clutch. The bakkie has around 288000 km on it

 

On the clutch fork there should be a couple of tabs to keep the fork "socket" centered on the ball stud......if these are missing (or bent too far open), I can see where the fork could get out of alignment and then cause the ball stud to break off when the clutch is depressed.......the hydraulic slave cylinder can put some serious pressure on that clutch fork. Make sure the fork is engaged into the throwout bearing correctly also, before you close it all up. There is a "window" in the bellhousing that is covered by a rubber plug (one on each side for right or left-hand drive I assume) and you might be able to look inside the bellhousing while a helper depresses the clutch.......might have to use a flashlight and mirror to see in there though.

 

I just noticed that your truck is Right-Hand drive.......make sure that you have the clutch fork for that style truck! I'm not certain that there are two different forks, but I would think that there is. All of my experience has been with Left-Hand drive trucks/vehicles.