New Clutch: downshifted hard, now clutch pedal sinks to floor.. Shuttering probs., etc..
 

I had a new stage 1 clutch and flywheel installed about 2 weeks ago and have been treating it nicely to break it in.. I hit about 500 miles and decided that it was probably alright to get on it a little bit.

So, I downshifted and wound out 2nd, but had a hard time getting it into 3rd. Then my clutch pedal sank to the floor and I had to rev match other gears to limp it to the shop that installed everything. The clutch pedal still comes back up without me pulling it up manually.

The brake master cylinder has plenty of fluid and I don't believe it's a bleeding issue although I could be wrong (couldn't bleed it b/c I didn't have any tools and the shop wasn't open). I checked for leaks from both the master and slave cylinder but didn't see any fluid. When I push the pedal down, I can feel a weird vibration through the pedal.

Another thing to note: the car has been shuttering pretty badly from takeoff for the last 2-3 days. I've been taking it easy, so I don't think I did anything wrong with the break-in process.

I'm so irritated, I was going to start installing my turbo kit this weekend, but I guess I'll have to wait.

Any ideas what could be wrong?? I searched, but didn't find anything similar to the problems I'm having. This is all on a 97' SH. Thanks https://honda-tech.com/forums/images/smilies/emthup.gif

Re: New Clutch: downshifted hard, now clutch pedal sinks to floor.. Shuttering probs., etc.. (bubs)
 

i dont know what ur problem is, but go back to the shop on monday.

Anyone have any ideas?

Re: New Clutch: downshifted hard, now clutch pedal sinks to floor.. Shuttering probs., etc.. (bubs)
 

if you feel vibrations through the clutch pedal, it probably has something to do with your throwout bearing/fork, or the pressure plate.

Re: New Clutch: downshifted hard, now clutch pedal sinks to floor.. Shuttering probs., etc.. (Mikey3
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Mikey3000 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if you feel vibrations through the clutch pedal, it probably has something to do with your throwout bearing/fork, or the pressure plate.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks, the shop is going to look at it tomorrow, but I wanted to get an idea of what could be wrong.

I would try bleeding it myself, personally. You will need an 8mm wrench and preferably a bleeder bottle.

To me, it sounds like they may have forgotten to bleed it thoroughly. If the clutch is not fully disengaging when you put the pedal down, it may shudder a bit as the clutch grabs at the flywheel.

the clutch master cylinder would be the one to make sure is full....

the shuttering is because they didnt cut the flywheel before putting it in

and your poopy pedal needs to be bled, let those bastards do it though, i hate brake fluid

Re: (mgags7)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">the clutch master cylinder would be the one to make sure is full....

the shuttering is because they didnt cut the flywheel before putting it in

and your poopy pedal needs to be bled, let those bastards do it though, i hate brake fluid</TD></TR></TABLE>

Could you explain "cut the flywheel"? Is that the same as resurfacing? It's a brand new flywheel, I assumed that wasn't necessary.

I don't think the system needs bled honestly. I actually did it myself again after I got everything back because I know how shops slack off on things like that. The main reason I don't think this is the problem is because the pedal pressure was great and there were no symptoms of anything being wrong (besides the shutter from takeoff) and then BAM, no clutch + the weird pedal vibration.

The clutch master cylinder is at the full level, so I don't suspect any leaks.

I just talked to the shop owner and he said he'll look at it first thing in the morning. https://honda-tech.com/forums/images/smilies/emthup.gif

Re: (bubs)
 

The flywheel may have worked loose from not being torqued down correctly. That could cause some stuttering issues as it flaps around in there, though it probably would be accompanied by some nasty noise which you haven't mentioned. Guess we'll just see what the shop finds out.

yes, i mean resurface by saying cut.....

just because its new doesnt mean that it is straight, its always a good idea to cut them before putting in, because as you have seen it is a pain in the ass to deal with, and an even bigger pain in the ass to fix....

Re: (mgags7)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mgags7 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yes, i mean resurface by saying cut.....

just because its new doesnt mean that it is straight, its always a good idea to cut them before putting in, because as you have seen it is a pain in the ass to deal with, and an even bigger pain in the ass to fix....</TD></TR></TABLE>

So true.. I'm starting to wish I would have paid extra to go to a honda dealer that knows what they're doing. I just want things to work!

I dropped my keys off this morning and he said he'd look at it later today, I'll let everyone know what happened in case someone else ever has this problem.

good luck with it....

let us know

Re: (mgags7)
 

Just in case anyone wants to know: the problem I was having was because the 3 week old clutch disc fell apart and pieces of it started breaking off.

This was an XTD clutch, which I don't recommend. I ended up getting an exedy disc to replace the one that came with the kit, so hopefully everything will be OK now.

I've learned my lesson to buy the good stuff to begin with to avoid headaches later. https://honda-tech.com/forums/images/smilies/emthup.gif

did they make you pay for the new disc? They being XTD. I figure the f'in thing should come with some sort of "last more than a month" warrante....

Re: (Ludebehavior85)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ludebehavior85 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">did they make you pay for the new disc? They being XTD. I figure the f'in thing should come with some sort of "last more than a month" warrante....</TD></TR></TABLE>

It has a 12 month/12,000 mile warranty. I'm going to call within the next couple of days to get a new one which I will probably sell on ebay.

I didn't want to put the same kind of disc back in to have it fall apart again which is why I bought an exedy disc from another company. We all know how much fun Prelude SH's are to change the clutch on.

Re: (bubs)
 

Ouch, that sux.

Yeah, I don't skimp on things like that. It often turns around and bites you. Especially when it is a part that is that difficult to change.

I bought an Exedy race clutch.

Also, when you say you downshifted hard, do you mean you didn't rev-match when you downshifted?? I know A LOT of people who do that. It's pretty bad for the whole engine doing that. You should ALWAY rev the car up in neutral before downshifting. Downshifting puts A LOT of strain on the clutch, flywheel, and I would imagine engine internals.

Good luck.

Re: (AndyD)
 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by AndyD &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Also, when you say you downshifted hard, do you mean you didn't rev-match when you downshifted?? I know A LOT of people who do that. It's pretty bad for the whole engine doing that. You should ALWAY rev the car up in neutral before downshifting. Downshifting puts A LOT of strain on the clutch, flywheel, and I would imagine engine internals.

Good luck.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Nah, I always rev match when I downshift. I have a friend who had a 5 speed tiburon and never rev-matched and it drove me crazy. He would ask to drive my car and I'd always make up some excuse because I didn't want him doing the same thing to my poor prelude. https://honda-tech.com/forums/images...s/emsmilep.gif