rer747

I just replaced the flywheel, clutch, pressure plate and throw out bearing on my brother's step son's 1999 Accord 4 cylinder 5 speed. It was a big job. Got it back together.
Now I cannot get the clutch to disengage. It will almost, but not fully disengage.
My question is regarding the clutch slave cylinder. What is the travel of the rod? When the clutch pedal is fully pressed, the slave cylinder rod moves about 1/2 inch. Does this amount seem correct? I have bleed the system and still the 1/2 inch travel.

Thoughts?

tootski14

Try putting your hand on slave cylinder to hold pressure on it while someone is pumping pedal. Some trapped air may still be in there.

rer747

TX. I will give that a try.... How much travel should the slave cylinder rod have?

holmesnmanny

Half inch is not enough. Did you disconnect any of the lines ? Did you make sure the spring on the back of the fork did not come off ?

My first inclination is that you are not bleeding it good enough.

I usually do it like this...open bleeder...push clutch pedal down...hold pedal down...close the bleeder valve...pull clutch pedal back...open bleeder valve..etc etc

The clutch master cylinder doesn't really hold a lot of fluid. It's very easy to let it get too low on fluid and make you have to rebleed it all the way through again. Don't take any chances...make sure it stays atleast hafl full at all times.

tyronaqb

Some trapped air may still be in there.

rer747

Ok. I will try bleeding the system again....

rer747

I am still hoping someone can give me the travel for the slave cylinder.

holmesnmanny

It's about an inch..maybe inch and a quarter.

rer747

Holmesmanny, you have 1 to 1 1/4 inches of travel!! The 1/2 inch I have just does not cut it! I just bled the system again... still 1/2 inch. I am confused.... Anyone have any ideas?

jdowen2

You may have to replace clutch master cylinder.

rer747

Is there anyone else willing to do the measurement?

rer747

I pulled the transmission again. Double checked installation and did measurement comparisions between the old clutch pressure plate and old flywheel to the new. The measurements match. Put it back together. Same issue. Wheels turn when clutch is fully pressed.
I still get a about a 1/2 inch slave cylinder travel. I also when to an auto wrecker and found a 98 accord with the same engine and transmission. Check the travel in it... 1/2 inch too.
Is there someone else out there who can check the travel on their slave cylinder?

dunes09

It could be the pressure plate. I replaced the clutch on my brother in laws camaro and we dropped the tranny 5 times trying to figure out the same issue you are having. Tried bleeding it too. He ended up taking it to a shop and they were like, the pressure plate spring was bad. Popped in a new pressure plate and boom good to go. Damn EBAY clutches!

rer747

Good suggestion. I have tried both the old and new pressure plates. Same issue. I have had the transmission in and out 3 times now....
This is why I am looking to check the slave cylinder travel to see the travel others are getting from their slave cylinders

holmesnmanny

Did you use a clutch alignment tool or did you just eyeball it ? Is the throwout bearing fully seated in the fork ? The two pieces need to rest inside the end of the fork. There's a spring that runs on the backside of the fork. Did it come loose or is still attached to the back of the fork fully ? Did the slave cylinder somehow get bent ?

holmesnmanny

I will get a measurement tomorrow afternoon for you if you want but I think if you measured already at the junkyard the travel you measured is probably correct. I was just guesstimating.

holmesnmanny

Did the shift lever get bent somehow ?

rer747

holmesnmanny, thanks for the reply. Please check and post your measurement.
The new clutch disk was installed using an alignment tool that came in the kit. I am sure the clutch fork, release bearing, ... were installed correctly, but, since I have the transmission out again, I will double check the clutch fork and all related parts. If the clutch fork is bent, is it obvious to tell?

rer747

An Update.
After many hours and lot of trial and error....
This issue was the clutch kit. It was faulty.
I purchased and installed a different kit. No issues with the new kit.
Also, a 1/2" travel on the slave cylinder is normal....

silas871

Where was this defective clutch kit purchased, and what brand did you end up using successfully? I have the same car, and also had to replace the clutch last summer. You are right, it is a big job. Sorry you had to do it twice

rer747

The bad kit was Rhino-Pac/Car World purchased from RockAuto. I have purchased a lot of parts from them in the past. RockAuto has been great to work with. For the bad kit, they have covered the return shipping and are going to give a full refund.
The new kit (Fenco) was purchased locally. It cost a fortune ($240), but at that point I was willing to try anything.

holmesnmanny

did you figure out exactly what the issue was ? I would guess it was the pressure plate

rer747

I did not figure out the problem. I had tried the old pressure plate using the new clutch disk and throw out bearing. The same issue occurred. So that left me with the bearing or clutch disk. Both the old disk and old bearing were garbage, so I did to try either of them with the old pressure plate. It was so frustrating!!
BTW: Rockauto refunded me the full purchase price and a portion of the shipping since I had additional items in the order other than just the clutch kit. I am very pleased with the service provided by rockauto.com

holmesnmanny

I just replaced my clutch slave and master cylinder. I concur with the slave travel lol

my master cylinder was ever so slightly leaking of late down by the clutch pedal

Scottbert

Same issue with my 99 accord, clutch wouldnt fully disengage. took a craftsman 1/4 inch drive 6 pt 9mm socket on the end of the slave cylinder rod i think i should blead the clutch but it works.