Hey all,

Just wanted to ask you guys if you know if my clutch may be going.
Basically my car was totally fine until like 1 day ago, so
when i go into 1st from a stop the car kinda shakes, and I feel like I
have to give it more gas than normal for it to not stall.
Car kinda shutters when I do what I always have done to get it
going.

Could it be that my clutch is going? Or could it be something else
like damaged or lost bearing somewhere?
My issue is that I need to be able to fix the problem before this causes
my car to break down. Could it be just something from the cold?
I cant really afford to be without a car for even a day or two cause
it I need to be able to get to school and the way it works at my
medical school is if you miss even 1 or 2 days you are basically
screwed.
I need to do something early here guys.
I appreciate the help.

Info:
123k miles
1997 civic ex
stock motor, only aftermarket intake.
The only thing that has been replaced is timing belt / water pump.
The rest is all original parts.

 

Torn motor or tranny mount?

 

If your clutch is going out, it will slip. Next time you are driving hit the throttle and if the RPM's go up but the car doesn't go any faster, clutch is going out.

If you hit the throttle and the clutch doesn't slip but you feel a hard jerk, could be busted motor/tranny mount as blk said.

 

Well, shifting into 2nd-5th gears seems to be as it always has.
Does starting from a stop put the biggest stress on motor mounts?

 

Also, I don't have the problem with the RPMs. The car seems to speed up if I am hitting the gas.

 

put some hydraulic fluid??????????

 

Once had this problem and half of my tranny bolts were loose

 

Huh. Whats hydraulic fluid?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by portenio78 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Once had this problem and half of my tranny bolts were loose </TD></TR></TABLE>

Is there any way for me to check if the motor/tranny mounts/bolts are loose
outside of taking it to a mechanic?? Thanks for the tips guys.

 

give them a quick torque and see if they are loose?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by portenio78 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">give them a quick torque and see if they are loose?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't know where to find em.

 

I just drove my car again and noted some things. Hopefully it will be easier to diagnose the problem now.

1. Car shutters/jolts when getting into 1st as I ease off the clutch, also in reverse but to a lesser extent.

2. Whenever the engine RPMs fall (ie. normal upshift) I hear this sort-of sci-fi sounding, robotic whoosh, dont know if its the engine or tranmission. This is more noticable in earlier gears since the RPMs drop off more.

3. Downshift from 3rd to seconds also produces the characteristic shaking.

4. I noticed if I rev higher as I ease off the clutch, problem #1 isnt as severe.

Where are the pros out there? If anyone has any ideas please share.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Re3irth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> I hear this sort-of sci-fi sounding, robotic whoosh</TD></TR></TABLE>

that doesn't help...it actually confused me.

to check the mounts, just push on your intake mani (make sure you aren't pushing on any sensor either)...if you can move the engine quite a bit (a normal little wiggle is fine), either the rear mount/side mounts are bad.

where do you live? i had a problem with clutch chatter when it got cold on my old clutch...whenever i'd slip the clutch to start moving the whole car would shake...like wheel hop. drive around for a little bit and it'd smooth out.

 

at 123k it wouldn't hurt to change the clutch anyways. It sounds like the pressure plate is getting weak, along with uneven wear on the clutch disk.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCejcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that doesn't help...it actually confused me.

to check the mounts, just push on your intake mani (make sure you aren't pushing on any sensor either)...if you can move the engine quite a bit (a normal little wiggle is fine), either the rear mount/side mounts are bad.

where do you live? i had a problem with clutch chatter when it got cold on my old clutch...whenever i'd slip the clutch to start moving the whole car would shake...like wheel hop. drive around for a little bit and it'd smooth out.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yea I'm in MD. So it did just get cold recently, I don't know whether
this is a coincidence or not.

Well let me explain the whoosing sounds better.
Its like you can hear the engine and/or tranny spinning down, ie.
from a higher to lower pitch. This is distinct and in addition to the
normal engine/exhaust sound.

 

is it more like a whine?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SOHCejcivic &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">is it more like a whine?</TD></TR></TABLE>

I wouldn't say its like a whine, more like an airy whooshing winding-down
sound. Its definately distinct from the engine sound.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4dohs4mohoes &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">at 123k it wouldn't hurt to change the clutch anyways. It sounds like the pressure plate is getting weak, along with uneven wear on the clutch disk. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Exactly what I was going to say.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Re3irth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
1. Car shutters/jolts when getting into 1st as I ease off the clutch, also in reverse but to a lesser extent.</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is known as "clutch chatter" and is usually caused by a worn/broken/faulty pressure plate and can cause "hot spots" on your flywheel. A clutch job is the remedy.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Re3irth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I wouldn't say its like a whine, more like an airy whooshing winding-down
sound. Its definately distinct from the engine sound.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm having the same problem but my clutch is fine .

 

Wow, it seems to me that I'm getting quite conflicting suggestions and
opinions on this. So if I can hit the gas in gear and still move normally,
can it still be that some part of my clutch assembly is broken?
I mean, it just started seeing this in literally over 1 days time, can
the pressure plate/clutch really go bad in such a short time?

The other thing is, I bought my car about 4 years ago for 4.5k.
So i put about 45k miles on it with minimal maintenance.. I figure I got
my money's worth by now, is it really worth the huge job to replace the clutch?
Well I'll need at least a couple weeks to ride it out, cause a job that big
I'll have to wait until winter break until I can leave my car in the shop
(have to drive to class every day). Keep em coming guys.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by djessenz &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

I'm having the same problem but my clutch is fine . </TD></TR></TABLE>

HOw do you know exactly?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 4dohs4mohoes &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

HOw do you know exactly? </TD></TR></TABLE>

Haha. If I have to end up replacing my clutch, what do you
guys recommend. OEM or aftermarket?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Re3irth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Huh. Whats hydraulic fluid?</TD></TR></TABLE>

fluid for your clutch master cylinder.

 

It's probably your clutch assembly man. A broken eng. mount would cause different problems than what you described, loose trans bolts could only really be from the trans being taken off and on at some point and then the bolts didn't get torqued correctly. Has anyone reading this thread ever heard of a Honda assembled engine shaking it's trans bolts loose? I never have. Off the top of my head, I can think of three friends that have had their clutches replaced, 2 D-series and one B. All three had bad pressure plates, probably due to hard/abusive shifting. And yes, a pres. plate can go bad suddenly.

I recommend a Honda clutch or an Exedy OE replacement.

The hydraulic fluid being mentioned is the same as brake fluid.

Your Civic has only 123xxx miles, if you like it and it's not too beat up why not fix it?

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Re3irth &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Well, shifting into 2nd-5th gears seems to be as it always has.
Does starting from a stop put the biggest stress on motor mounts?</TD></TR></TABLE>

No. Winding the motor to redline and then dumping the clutch is the worst for the eng. mounts and pres. plate for that matter.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mcvtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">It's probably your clutch assembly man. A broken eng. mount would cause different problems than what you described, loose trans bolts could only really be from the trans being taken off and on at some point and then the bolts didn't get torqued correctly. Has anyone reading this thread ever heard of a Honda assembled engine shaking it's trans bolts loose? I never have. Off the top of my head, I can think of three friends that have had their clutches replaced, 2 D-series and one B. All three had bad pressure plates, probably due to hard/abusive shifting. And yes, a pres. plate can go bad suddenly.

I recommend a Honda clutch or an Exedy OE replacement.

The hydraulic fluid being mentioned is the same as brake fluid.

Your Civic has only 123xxx miles, if you like it and it's not too beat up why not fix it?

No. Winding the motor to redline and then dumping the clutch is the worst for the eng. mounts and pres. plate for that matter.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Well, I alwats shift under 3k. I never take my car to redline really.

Anyway, I tried shaking the engine by the intake manifold, and it seems to be
intact. I guess the mounts are fine then... Also, I never touched the clutch or
brake fluid, do those ever have to be checked or replaced??
I was wondering why people often refer to brake fluid when
speaking of manual honda tranmissions?
Thanks folks.