My daily driver 1998 Accord sedan started slipping its clutch about two days ago, so I put it in the garage and I've been spending a little time in the evenings taking it apart.

So far, I have the axles out, the subframe removed... I'm just about ready to start unbolting the transmission from the engine.

I noticed the "Super Street" Accord clutch writeup has removing the exhaust pipe running under the engine as one of the steps. Is that really necessary?

I got two of the three exhaust bolts loose under the car, but the third one is just rounding itself off.

If I don't really have to mess with the exhaust, I would rather not. I hate dealing with those rusty nuts. The car has 230,000 miles on it and the exhaust (and clutch!) appear to have been untouched over this time.

Thanks for your help!

 

simple answer is no, unless you have to drop the pan to do the rear main seal... which you should do while in there

 

Great, thanks! I was afraid I might damage the exhaust when I lower the engine+transmission.

Will I need to drop the pan in order to replace the rear main seal? Can I just pull the old one (I have a bent and sharpened screwdriver "seal puller" that works pretty well)...?

 

Update: I finished this job, working on it a few hours on weekday evenings over several days.

Rear main seal was replaced without dropping the pan, and the clutch was replaced without removing the exhaust. The operation was a complete success...