After developing a squeak and a sound that only went away when I depressed the clutch pedal on my DB, I decided to listen to a fellow enthusiast and spray WD40 into the boot that covers the Slave Cylinder. As I further read into the problem to diagnose the real issue, I concluded I may have contaminated my clutch by spraying WD40 into the dust boot area. Now, my clutch chatters, its hard to get into gears at times, and i'm very worried about busting my clutch.

Now, to help remedy the problem, I was wondering if I could clean the area I sprayed into with Brake Cleaner, in hopes of washing away any of the contaminants that possibly got on the clutch? Or is there no other way besides dropping the tranny>

 

hmm, i think you should ask this in the 92-00 civic forum, the guys there may be able to help you out

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by YoungKadafi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmm, i think you should ask this in the 92-00 civic forum, the guys there may be able to help you out</TD></TR></TABLE>

I dont see anything wrong with asking multiple forums this question. Some members dont see threads in other forums non related to their specific vehicle.

 

WD40 is a lubricate.. Why would you spray that onto the clutch disc & pressure plate? Especially seeing as Clutches work due to friction

I would try soaking it down it brake parts cleaner, Hopefully you'll be able to get off the film that the WD40 has left on the pressure plate/clutch disc.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Jimmy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">WD40 is a lubricate.. Why would you spray that onto the clutch disc & pressure plate? Especially seeing as Clutches work due to friction

I would try soaking it down it brake parts cleaner, Hopefully you'll be able to get off the film that the WD40 has left on the pressure plate/clutch disc.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I did not intend to spray the clutch, I only assume I may have since I have developed a chatter in the clutch. Keep in mind, I sprayed the WD40 into the boot/dust cover that covers the slave cylinder and clutch fork areas, while the tranny was still connected to the motor. The reason I did that, is there was a squealing sound coming from the slave cylinder area and I was looking for a quick fix. Other members have sprayed WD40 into the same area with positive results. I did not just spray wd40 all over the clutch disc and pressure plate.

 

i would imagine you have warped your flywheel somewhat, and will need to get it resurfaced. so i dont think youll be able to fix it without taking the tranny off if this is the case

 

WD-40 probably can't actually WARP the flywheel. Probably the surface of the clutch disk is unevenly wetted with that stuff, resulting in some uneven imprinting of clutch material onto the flywheel & pressure plate. Kinda like when your brakes shudder.

You could clean it up with brake cleaner, it might just work. But after all the effort of dropping the tranny & getting the clutch out, I think it would be silly to put that clutch disk back in. Clean the flywheel & PP, and get a new clutch disk.

PS... WD-40 is a POOR lubricant. It dissolves the grease & then dries out too fast. If you were trying to lube your throwout bearing, this would be a good time to get a new one.

 

you dont think that it could have developed some hot spots from where the wd-40 got and caused some slight warpage? i guess i cant say for sure, because i havent run into this, but i would think it could have. i supose he can measure it when he gets it off.

 

some old man at the race track told me that there is some stuff called BON AMI soap that may work to clean a contaminated clutch......sounds worth a try.........

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">WD-40 probably can't actually WARP the flywheel. Probably the surface of the clutch disk is unevenly wetted with that stuff, resulting in some uneven imprinting of clutch material onto the flywheel & pressure plate. Kinda like when your brakes shudder.

You could clean it up with brake cleaner, it might just work. But after all the effort of dropping the tranny & getting the clutch out, I think it would be silly to put that clutch disk back in. Clean the flywheel & PP, and get a new clutch disk.

PS... WD-40 is a POOR lubricant. It dissolves the grease & then dries out too fast. If you were trying to lube your throwout bearing, this would be a good time to get a new one.
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Thanks Jim for all your helpful info.

I am planning on changing out the whole clutch setup in 2 weeks. Thats when I'll have time to drop the tranny and have the parts in hand. What I'm trying to do is make it those 2 weeks without having a clutch spring blow out from the disc. So i'm trying to find a simple quick fix prior to changing out the clutch disc, throwout bearing, and pressure plate.

 

I don't think there's gonna be a simple fix. OTOH, I think you'll have no trouble lasting 2 weeks. Just start gently & baby the clutch somewhat. Launch like your driveshafts are made of glass, so you put less violent loads into those clutch springs.

Since you're having this problem now, plan on resurfacing your flywheel when it's all apart.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I don't think there's gonna be a simple fix. OTOH, I think you'll have no trouble lasting 2 weeks. Just start gently & baby the clutch somewhat. Launch like your driveshafts are made of glass, so you put less violent loads into those clutch springs.

Since you're having this problem now, plan on resurfacing your flywheel when it's all apart.
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I have been nursing the clutch since I initially began cleaning the area out. I sprayed brake cleaner into the clutch fork area, re-lubed the slave cylinder, and so far, everything is just fine.

I'm running an ACT streetlite flywheel. Those can be resurfaced like any ol' flywheel correct?

 

Hell, I'd just drive it for a while, it may work itself out. Like Jim Blake said, drive it around gently for a while and it may wear off the contaminated surface and stop the chattering after a while. If that doesn't work, beat the hell out of it for a while. Worst case, you'll have to replace the clutch anyway...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by nitrofish420 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Hell, I'd just drive it for a while, it may work itself out. Like Jim Blake said, drive it around gently for a while and it may wear off the contaminated surface and stop the chattering after a while. If that doesn't work, beat the hell out of it for a while. Worst case, you'll have to replace the clutch anyway... </TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeap, thats exactly what i plan to do now...

 

When you start, just use more RPM than nromal, and engage the clutch more slowly. Don't try to launch too quick. That'll maybe(?) even out the disk's surface without doing too much extra damage.

Depending on your interpretation of "beating the hell out of it", that'll probably just make it worse.

Bon Ami is an abrasive soap that seems much finer than polishing compound. It's like a bar of soap, with this fine polishing compound. But you still have to remove the tranny & clutch. After that much work, I'd replace the clutch disk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by JimBlake &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">When you start, just use more RPM than nromal, and engage the clutch more slowly. Don't try to launch too quick. That'll maybe(?) even out the disk's surface without doing too much extra damage.

Depending on your interpretation of "beating the hell out of it", that'll probably just make it worse.

Bon Ami is an abrasive soap that seems much finer than polishing compound. It's like a bar of soap, with this fine polishing compound. But you still have to remove the tranny & clutch. After that much work, I'd replace the clutch disk.
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I understand that. I didn't mean beat the hell out of it as in really tbe hard on it, i'm just planning to ride it out till it really wants to go out. Brake cleaner seemed to have fixed the problem. Other than that, I re-lubed the slave and the symptoms are gone.