Hey guys,

While driving back to work from the shop my clutch went out for the most part. If I try to start off in 1st it vibrates pretty violently and the shifter feels mushy and tough to get out of gear. In addition, I noticed that while the car is running or coasting, if I hold in the clutch and have the car in any gear, there is (was) an audible scraping/rubbing noise.

When I had 00-#55 the same thing happened and apparently one of the springs on the disk went bad. Unfortunately, I think I'm in the same boat again.

My fluid was really low, but I don't think this problem could be attributed to it(?).

I did manage to drive it home a few miles and ironically, while pulling into my driveway the clutch totally gave. Basically, I can't put it in gear and the pedal has little resistance.

My question is, has anyone else experienced this with their ITR. The reason I ask is that I've been told that these spring issues are common among Integras.

TIA,

Matt

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Utilitarian &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My question is, has anyone else experienced this with their ITR. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Lots of drag racers see that.

I don't have springs in my clutch, soo... not me.

 

Yes, many of us have experienced it. Sounds exactly like when mine failed. The shuddering on engagement in first and the difficulty selecting gears are tell tale signs of a clutch disk failure. Looks like you're pulling the box

 

Time for a new clutch. I went through that in my last teg. When they pulled it, one of the springs had completely busted. You can still drive it and go through the gears w/o the clutch--you just have to use the good ol' rev-match-upshift.

 

Yes, common failure. Sounds exactly like what mine did.

Either spring(s) fail, or the stamped bosses that hold the springs crack and fail. If you don't have too much mileage, you can replace just the disc. Although turning the PP and flywheel, and replacing the pilot (least durable) and throwout bearings is recommended while you're in there. Does not take dragging or abuse to cause this failure.

If your fluid was really low, you could have perhaps sucked air, but this is really unlikely. You'd have to be driving it that way for a long time, and actuating the clutch during hard cornering or braking to pull air into it. Therefore, probably better to plan on replacing the clutch, than to waste time bleeding it. Unless of course your fluid is dirty and it's time for a change anyway. May save you some work, but I really think you'll have to replace clutch parts.

Consider dropping the entire motor and drivetrain as a unit to get the the tranny. I will do it this way next time, rather than trying to maneuver the tranny in and out. This also allows easy replacement of the rubber motor/tranny mounts, especially the rear one. If you're over 40K mi / 97 / stock mounts / live in a city with smog, they are probably due. Replace the shifter bushings at the same time. I used all stock rubber parts when I did mine. Night and day difference, and pretty cheap. Plus no wicked vibrations like with urethane mounts. Depends on whether it's a track car or not as to whether you need/want urethane.

:edit: P.S. Changing the shifter rod bushings will not only improve feel, it can save your tranny, by making it harder to 'money shift' (3 instead of 5). It also seems to help prevent the 3rd gear grind.

 

That's for all the info dude!

Yeah my motor mounts are pretty worn because I get quite a bit of wheelhop in 1st gear under moderate acceleration.

Should I replace the rear main seal now too?

 

If you have the tranny off, def. do the main seal if it's leaking. The labor pulling the tranny or drive is the hard part, clutch is really easy to do. Seal is still 'easy' if you follow the Helms, and make sure you have the right tools. Be REALLY carefull pulling the seal, not to scratch the crank at all.

Note: You can use the correct size socket for a seal press, or you can get a cheap seal driver kit from Harbor Freight. Note: They don't generally sell metric tools, so convert a SAE size to metric (1" = 25.4mm)

Do some searches on all these topics before you start, that will give you lots of good info and save you lots of headaches.

Order your parts from Len at Baranco!