Do new clutch plates come blued?

[Nails]

Do new clutch plates come blued? Do they blue the metal to harden the steel or is bluing a by product of use like some new headers on a motorcycle do?

Anyone whose seen a new clutch before install on a miata or rx-8 remember if it was blued or not?

[TurboDuane]

Do new clutch plates come blued? Do they blue the metal to harden the steel or is bluing a by product of use like some new headers on a motorcycle do?

Anyone whose seen a new clutch before install on a miata or rx-8 remember if it was blued or not?

IIRC, all my clutches had blue metal holding it all together. I don't know if it's a function of hardening or what. I never gave it much thought.

[smartmx5]

I have a brand new ACT 4 puck clutch and PP and there is not any blueing. I do not remember any blueing on another clutch my buddy and I put in his spec. Where is Mad Merv when you need him?


BTW, I do not know if I am correctly spelling blueing. You know, public school graduate here....

[Nails]

Thanks for the replies. I had a stock 06 clutch made by Exedy shatter on me awhile back. Service advisor in Conroe TX said it was abused and he could tell it was overheated by the blueing. I've since looked up pics of new Exedy clutches and the do have a purple to maroon tint to them. Just wondering because I was trying to contest it.

[MadMerv]

Here I am! I didn't reply to this because I really did nut understand the question. Are we talking clutch disk, pressure plate, or flywheel? I've never noticed anything like described on new parts, but I've certainly seen overheated pressure plates and flywheels that had a blue tint. In all my years and miles with Miatas (and ya'll know how I used to drive!), I have never had to replace anything except a pressure plate in the 96. Everyone racing in SSB had the same problem, so Mazda Comp came up with a competition version, which I will use again in the 96 I got from Wags. I guess I am just not as hard on parts.............

[Nails]

I guess it's the pressure plate.

Here's mine at 18k miles.

[Nexus Flux]

Well if you are reffering to the hub that's left of your clutch disk, then yes I have seen some blue when new. As to the pressure plate, the rotor disk looking thing outside the blue hub, then no. Those get blue from overheating.

What happened to the rest of the clutch disk? Cuz there is a whole lot'a clutch missin'. Were you riding the clutch like a 10 cent mule?

[TurboDuane]

Well if you are reffering to the hub that's left of your clutch disk, then yes I have seen some blue when new. As to the pressure plate, the rotor disk looking thing outside the blue hub, then no. Those get blue from overheating.

What happened to the rest of the clutch disk? Cuz there is a whole lot'a clutch missin'. Were you riding the clutch like a 10 cent mule?

+1 The Blue hub is what I was referring to, but like Nexus said, there's a hole bunch of clutch missing , 18,000 miles, I'd say you've either been real hard on it or it's been slipping a very long time.

[wrxmr2eater]

The blue can be normal on a Exedy branded clutch.

[MadMerv]

I looked at that picture over and over again trying to figure out what I was seeing before I realized the only part of the clutch disk that is left is the hub. I can't imagine that you sheared off everything else! Call MER, at MSR and ask them if they have ever seen that happen. They are the most successful PRO-MX5 race team in the country, so they should know.
Merv

[MadMerv]

After looking at the pictures again, I just have to ask one question. Is the hub just sitting in there? Can you remove it? I would like to see what the other side of it looks like. I would definiatley pursue this with Mazda. Something very unusual has happened.

[wrxmr2eater]

I have been scratching my head, the clutch looks like its inside the pressure plate.

[Nails]

Yea the hub is loose and removable and looks the same color on the other side. Mazda is splitting the cost with me because technically the clutch lining is non-warrantable.

[MadMerv]

I have been scratching my head, the clutch looks like its inside the pressure plate.

That's exactly what I thought, but if it sheared off all the lining and the mounting plate, it would slide down until it was resting on the fingers. Weird!

[MadMerv]

Yea the hub is loose and removable and looks the same color on the other side. Mazda is splitting the cost with me because technically the clutch lining is non-warrantable.

There's a lot more missing than the lining.........