626 5SPD MANUAL CLUTCH PROBLEM

My car is a 1999 Mazda 626 LX-V6 with the 5 SPD MANUAL transmission.

My car clutch exhibited obvious symptoms while driving today...

While in first gear, and with the clutch pedal fully down (this is a
hydraulic clutch), I can lift off the brake on level ground and the car
will gradually start to pull away from a standstill. Definite dragging
going on... as opposed to slippage. Lifting only about 1/4" off the
carpeted floor causes nearly FULL engagement of the clutch. Also, if I
try to put it into reverse, the gears touch and grind rather than
engaging silently. I can shut off the engine, put it into 1st gear, and
start up again with the clutch down and get on my way but this needs
fixing. It also seems to be intermittent. For days at a time, I can
drive the car with no symptoms at all.

Sounds like clutch master cylinder leaking or bypassing pressure, slave
cylinder leaking, clutch flex hose leaking, pedal bushings worn or
missing?

Hopefully not INTERNAL problems. Any ideas?

--
For a private email reply, you'll need to de-spamify my email address...

Mark Sissons wrote:
> My car is a 1999 Mazda 626 LX-V6 with the 5 SPD MANUAL transmission.
>
> My car clutch exhibited obvious symptoms while driving today...
>
> While in first gear, and with the clutch pedal fully down (this is a
> hydraulic clutch), I can lift off the brake on level ground and the car
> will gradually start to pull away from a standstill. Definite dragging
> going on... as opposed to slippage. Lifting only about 1/4" off the
> carpeted floor causes nearly FULL engagement of the clutch. Also, if I
> try to put it into reverse, the gears touch and grind rather than
> engaging silently. I can shut off the engine, put it into 1st gear, and
> start up again with the clutch down and get on my way but this needs
> fixing. It also seems to be intermittent. For days at a time, I can
> drive the car with no symptoms at all.
>
> Sounds like clutch master cylinder leaking or bypassing pressure, slave
> cylinder leaking, clutch flex hose leaking, pedal bushings worn or
> missing?
>
> Hopefully not INTERNAL problems. Any ideas?
>
Look for clutch fluid on floor under transmission or carpet area under
clutch pedal. Any leak means you need to replace both master and slave
cylinders. Best left to a tech.