Hello all, my wife drives the Tribute (standard trans) and she says the clutch very intermittently won't engage when going from 2nd to 3rd after the vehicle is warmed up after 20+ mile drives. Therefore she has to keep pumping the pedal to get it in or out of gear. She also says the clutch pedal will seem a little too soft during this scenario. I haven't been able to replicate the issue but I am told this is possibly a "clutch slave and/or master issue". Any suggestions would be appreciated..

Hey...I know this is an old link, butta...i guess U found out that it is probably the master cylinder (or even the slave) that needs resealing. This is usually an easy job that does not require replacing the parts themselves, just the the seals inside of them. Try it..i used to do em all the time on the Mazda RX-7s, 4s, 3s, etc....

You can even gravity bleed it...

Aloha and best regards,

talk to me about this gravity bleed. I just did the master last nite and kept pumping it to get pressure in the line. Do I just pop the cap on the resevoir to bleed it?

OK...to bleed, open the slave cylinder bleed nipple and if the master is higher, gravity will eventually cause the fluid to flow out, much like water leaking out of hole in a can. Make sure all the hydralulic fluid does not flow out. To speed things up, you can bleed the usual way..pump it up and hold down while someone else opens the bleed nipple while there is still pressure. Do this until adequate. Still another way, is to put a hose on the slave and put the hose into a clear bottle with some fluid already in it and pump until the bubbles go away.

BTW, since you already have the system opened, you might as well remove the slave and disassemble it and clean and inspect it. If the cylinder is pitted, replace it. If the rubber is hard, change the seals. If everything looks good, then wash with warm water, dry, and reassemble using a little brake fluid (that is what is used in the system BTW).

Found one for sale here:
http://www.partsandaccessories.com/onsale/mmp~mazda~tribute~clutch_slave_cylinder.html?paacc id=D1094669621W413f55350cb69&paackwd=Mazda+Tribute+Clutch+Slave+Cylinder
for $25.00 (but I would just rebuild it unless it is too pitted).