I keep seeing an increased number of threads about people losing clutches after only a small amount of use.

Things to keep in mind:

If your engagement point is "moving" that has something to do with your hydraulic clutch system, not your clutch disk/pressure plate. Most likely, you have a leak. 95% of the time, the master cylinder is the culprit. Get a flashlight and get under your dash, take a look at where the rod goes into the MC. It will most likely be wet there, that means you have a leak there ( duh) and you need to fix that.

A properly bled and adjusted clutch pedal should have at least half an inch to an inch of play at the top of the pedal. If there is no play, YOU'RE RIDING THE CLUTCH! This will cause slipping and in the long run, premature failure.

If you feel your clutch point "moving" first check the MC as I said above, then follow the clutch line, and check everywhere for leaks. The "damper" is somewhat notorious for leaks as that is a high pressure spot in the system, so be meticulous about checking. Fix any leaks, then buy some brake fluid. I reccomend Castrol GT LMA fluid. Even over honda fluid. This stuff is the best you can buy as far as I am concerned.

Bleed your clutch system (this has been covered before, search). Then, if you don't have enough play up top, or your pedal engages very close to the floor, you need to adjust the MC rod.

Get a 12mm wrench, and loosen the nut on the MC rod where it goes into the pedal. That rod is threaded into the bracket that bolts to the pedal, so, facing the rear of the car (which is looking at the threads in the "correct" direction), righty-tightey, lefty-loosey. If you want to move the clutch engagement point higher up, you need the rod to be farther into the MC, so you want to "loosen" the rod from the bracket. To go down, do the opposite.

Note: If you go too far with this adjustment, and let that rod come out of its threads, it is a BITCH to get back in. So be careful.

When you're done, tighten that nut up.

If you have checked all this, the pedal feels as I have described, and you don't have a pig of a rear main or input shaft seal that is leaking oil all over your clutch, you may actually have a bad clutch.

Most clutches should last at least 40k miles if you don't suck at driving. My clutchmasters lasted 40,000 miles and still had some on it when I swapped it out for an exedy stg1 a few weeks ago.


-Matt

edit: If you keep getting leaks from any part of the clutch system, replace with ONLY Honda parts! I'm not saying that without a frame of reference either, trust me, I tried the eBay master cylinder. It lasted about 10 months then crapped out.

Converting to a full stainless braided line is easy and cheap if the damper or any of that other bs is leaky. Cost: about $60.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NATE92SI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">92-01 Honda part 46920-SM4-A03 for clutch master (same for both Gens)
Third Gen is 46920-SF1-A06 for clutch master
</TD></TR></TABLE>


Modified by mgags7 at 3:23 PM 9/11/2007


Modified by mgags7 at 7:54 PM 9/11/2007

 

Nice post

 

Good stuff Matt. My clutch slips a little when it gets hot but it definitely works a lot better now. Time for me to check that master cylinder again. Thx again

 

yep its the master cylinder... leakn again. Any recommendations?

 

replace it

 

I just edited the above post, check it. Parts reccomendations.

 

92-01 Honda part 46920-SM4-A03 for clutch master (same for both Gens)
Third Gen is 46920-SF1-A06 for clutch master

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by NATE92SI &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">92-01 Honda part 46920-SM4-A03 for clutch master (same for both Gens)
Third Gen is 46920-SF1-A06 for clutch master
</TD></TR></TABLE>

edited in, thanks

 

also another thing... when doing a new master cylinder make sure their is some play in the clutch, i had a new project and went through 2 clutches in a matter of weeks, come to find out i didnt have the shaft from the master adjusted which was "slipping" the clutch the whole time