i have a 98 civic cx (original motor, never worked on)
the other day while i was driving, all of a sudden i couldnt put my car into any gears at a red light. i was only able to put it into any gear if i turned the motor off. so i drove home in 1st gear slowly.
my initial impression was that it was my release bearing, because i can normally hear a slight change in engine noise when i prell the clutch pedal down. now there was no difference.
i was then informed that it could also be my pressure plate or my slave cyl.
i checked for fork movement when the pedal was pressed, and it moves.
then i ordered a new clutch kit.
2 days go by, and i get in my car to move it out of the yard, and i notice that the clutch pedal dropped to the floor, not completely, but it got about 70% softer. in addition to that, when i start the car in gear, with the clutch pedal on the floor, the car is already pulling as if it is semi engaged.
now i was puzzled, i searched on here and found nothing that i didnt already assume myself, however i did bleed the master cyl completely as some people stated to do. that did nothing.

any ideas?
my clutch kit comes in the mail tomorrow, and i dont want to hear any unpleasant surprises from the mechanic when i take the car there.
i would normally install it myself, but i have got a little too old for this kinda stuff and an way too busy with work.

 

Sounds like your Clutch Master cylinder. They can be picked up at you local auto parts store..

My guess is, when your press the pedal.. There is no fluid making it to the clutch Slave cylinder.. thus not allowing for you to change gears..

A bad clutch would let you put the car in gear.. but it would slip when trying to engauge.

A broken pressure plate will make a bunch of noise.. allow you to put it in gear.. and slip if it did engauge..

Hope this helps..

 

nope...
i said i bled the system. all the fluid goes through to the slave just fine.
there are no leeks anywhere either.
there is no noise, so im not sure about the pressure plate
also, my clutch is fine, it was not slipping ever. i ordered the clutch kit assuming it was a bad release bearing, and if the tranny is coming off, i might as well put a new disc/plate in as well.

 

bumppp.
anyone?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by havok hybrid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Sounds like your Clutch Master cylinder. </TD></TR></TABLE>

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beav &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">nope...
i said i bled the system. all the fluid goes through to the slave just fine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Doesn't matter. A bad master cyl. doesn't have to leak. The fluid simply travels past the piston inside and it doesn't push as much fluid as it's supposed to. It just means the piston is worn out.

 

hmm, interesting. can anyone vouch that?
ive read a gzillion threads about this problem, and everyone seems to say that a bad master cyl has to be leaking one way or another. and i cant find any leaks.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beav &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">hmm, interesting. can anyone vouch that?
ive read a gzillion threads about this problem, and everyone seems to say that a bad master cyl has to be leaking one way or another. and i cant find any leaks.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I have replaced a few of them.. and always score a new on for my race cars..

I have Never seen one leak.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Doesn't matter. A bad master cyl. doesn't have to leak. The fluid simply travels past the piston inside and it doesn't push as much fluid as it's supposed to. It just means the piston is worn out.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

 

ahh you guys are all wrong.
tranny came off today. all clutch components were fine, both master/slave were fine.
the problem was the fork thats attached to the slave cracked in half.

so here is the new issue...
new stage 1 clutch is in...but it feels so different. now the pedal is super soft unlike before, and the engagement is all the way at the end instead of right away like it used to be.
why is this???

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beav &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">ahh you guys are all wrong.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Snap

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
so here is the new issue...
new stage 1 clutch is in...but it feels so different. now the pedal is super soft unlike before, and the engagement is all the way at the end instead of right away like it used to be.
why is this???</TD></TR></TABLE>


Different pressure plates require different amounts of throw. It's simple physics really; torque = force x distance. Two pressure plates can have the same holding capacity, yet one might have a very heavy pedal feel and require minimal movement to disengage while the other would have a much lighter pedal feel and require a lot more movement to disengage.

Generally, the fast engage clutches suck for street driving. My old Excedy was like that. I switched to a Clutch Specialties which has a much longer throw and is a hundred times better for street driving.

Or.... you simply need to adjust your clutch pedal

 

Hey I have the same problem and is it 99 percent that it will be my clutch fork too or other componets may apply.

 

so if the clutch pedal was never adjusted but the feel changed with the new clutch, would it be wise to adjust the pedal itself?
and if i adjust it, i dont get how it would adjust the engagement point, it would only adjust the pedal travel right?

 

u would adjust the clutch anywase i mean it's a have to. and once the pressure is stronger then it engages the clutch to a certain distance but relying on ur pressure plate force. and i see it as same distance of moment and pressure on oem clutch master cyclinder. Well and once ur clutch pedal is adjusted to it's highest travel then it's set.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by beav &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">so if the clutch pedal was never adjusted but the feel changed with the new clutch, would it be wise to adjust the pedal itself?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yep. It's really easy. It'll take you five minutes. The hardest part is contorting under the dash to get to the pedal.


<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">and if i adjust it, i dont get how it would adjust the engagement point, it would only adjust the pedal travel right?</TD></TR></TABLE>

That depends. Get under your dash and have a look at the clutch pedal. Push it down by hand and see how much "free" space you have before the pedal starts to depress the master cylinder piston. If you have too much free space, you can adjust it out, and then your clutch will engage higher from the floor.

If you don't have a lot of extra "free" pedal play to begin with, don't adjust it. You always want to leave a little bit of play so that the shift fork isn't constantly pushing the throwout bearing into the pressure plate when your foot's off the pedal.

 

[QUOTE=Legion]

you can adjust it out, and then your clutch will engage higher from the floor.

QUOTE]

well the thing is... i want my clutch to engage closer to the floor, not higher off. right now it engages at the last highest moment.

and i did get under the car today, i adjusted the cylinder pushrod. i got it to engage somewhere in the middle now, which is better, however the pedal travel has also decreased, and it just feels wierd.

and the pedal feel is still soft, and i just bled it again. i guess thats just the stage 1 clutch kit.