Okay, so this requires abit of a back end story.

Approximately summer of 2013

-Family Mechanic installs clutch
-few months later, on THE day I have a very interested buyer, clutch begins to become very difficult to put into gears

Fall of 2013
- head off to uni
- car sits

Fall of 2015
- arrive home to settle inheritance battle with ****-tier uncles.
- put FG back on the road
- considerably less difficulty of shifting into gears, however over the span of 6 months gets progressively worse
- Bring FG into mechanics shop who had done the clutch.
-States no leaking near peddle, nor any leaking underneath the car. Transmission fluid was done few months back.
- Explains it requires lubrication of shift linkage ("because its been sitting") and master cylinder hydraulics
- Receive car. Still has shifting problems where you have to hold clutch into gear and wait for the moment her legs spread open to put in the shift (Can't explain it any other way visually)
- Goto car next day. Only gear I can put vehicle in is Reverse. None of the 1-6 gears will allow the clutch to engage. The clutch peddle does go to the floor no problems.

I have tried to make this as factual and brief as possible. Key notes are Bolded

I would greatly appreciate any advice or experiences with this as what I've searched has come up to way too many possibilities (i.e. synchros in tranny, bad tranny, clutch not installed correctly, hydraulics not installed correctly etc) and I want to narrow it down to decide which mechanic in Toronto is not bullshiting me and demonstrates actual knowledge. As mechanics in GTA are far worse than any ambulance chasing lawyer or krooked insurance salesman on the planet.

Kind regards.

 

Is it capable of safely being driven? If it can move, take it to Barrie Honda. They have never ever steered me wrong. It sounds like the clutch shift linkage ( or cable) has slipped and isn't allowing the full release of the pressure plate, or at least not for all of the gears.

Check the clutch master cylinder cap to see if there is fluid coming out from under the lid.

Just spit balling....

 

So the clutch operates fine, but the shifter doesn't? Sounds like something is up with the cables.

 

It sounds like a lot of different things could be the issue... very hard to just narrow it down. Your best bet is to have it checked by someone you trust!


What part of Toronto are you? I can recommend you my shop that I go to all the time. I do all my work there and I know the guys personally also. It's my buddy and his dad's shop and they are very honest. Coming from Montreal trust me when I say they are more then honest... no bs!

Let me know if you need the info.

 

I was about to post the same issue and saw this. I'm having the same issue with my '07 Si. It has 142K miles with original clutch. Clutch grabs well but for a little while now 5th and 6th were kinda hard to get into. Now suddenly the last couple days all gears are practically impossible to select. No leaks. I bled the slave cylinder to make sure all was ok. Selecting a gear is a bitch!
Could this be a clutch issue or tranny issue? I don't want to change the clutch to find out the tranny is bad. That would stink!

 

-The master cylinder may need adjustment.
-There may be external or internal leaks in the master or slave cylinder.
-A clutch damper spring may have broken out. Seems like some aftermarket disks (including exedy) display this issue from time to time.

Things you should know:

Clutch ENGAGED : Driveline linked. This should happen with the clutch pedal up. If everything is working correctly, the clutch should engage more and more as you let the pedal come up.

Clutch DISENGAGED: Driveline not linked. Usually happens when you put the clutch pedal to the floor.

Thats the terminology. Helps if you need to describe the problem.

Sounds like either yous guys' clutches are NOT disengaging, or you have a trans problem.

There should be about 1/4 to 1/2" of pedal freeplay at the top of the pedal travel. If there is more than that...the clutch may not fully disengage. You can adjust that via the rod on the master cylinder...under the dash.

The clutch fluid is responsible for transferring the energy from your foot to the slave cylinder in order to disengage the clutch. If there are air bubbles, or if the master cylinder is not adjusted properly for stroke length (pedal freeplay), the clutch will not disengage. If the master cylinder setting is too tight...the clutch will slip because it will always be pushed on. A slipping clutch won't affect shifting, though.

Does the car shift ok when it is turnt off?

 

B Serious, car shifts perfect when turned off.
Extremely hard to put in 1st. Quite hard to shift to others too. But not as bad as 1st.
Could it be a clutch/pressure plate issue or internal?

Thanks

 

How is the pedal freeplay?

What type of clutch is in the car?

 

I'll check the freeplay. Original clutch.
When I have the clutch pedal all the way down it doesn't take much before it engages as I bring the pedal up.
I'll check the freeplay while pushing down.

 

One more thing to tell you. When I step on the clutch to put a gear I hear a high pitch metal scraping sound. Similar to a worn out brake pad. It's brief and goes away immediately when a gear is selected.

 

I'm on the west end of Toronto. If you can pass me their details that would be great

The car shifts perfect when car is off. Moment car is on...no chance to put into 1-6 gears. Again, reverse works but will hear that gear noise while doing so.

When it was actually going into gear, and while sitting idle with clutch engaged into 1st gear, I would see the rev meter dip below 500. Sometimes dropping low enough to stall the car.

The mechanic who released my vehicle last week noticed no leakage of any kind.

Respect for giving providing the info B Serious. Sick profile pic btw

P.S. the clutch peddle will drop to the floor no problem.

 

Could be like B serious said and there is an internal leak on the clutch MC. I would be very curious about how this gets repaired.

Stumped... I am stumped...

 

So here's the latest. I stopped by my local Honda dealer and spoke with a mechanic. Explained the symptoms and he said it sounds like a failing pressure plate. Not disengaging.
I also did this test. Drove to a downhill street, stopped the car put it in gear and let it sit there. No handbrake on. I started stepping on the clutch to see when the car would start rolling. It didn't happen until the pedal got close to the floor!! That does sound like a faulty pressure plate. Wouldn't you say so?

 

lol, I was just thinking to myself... I wonder if the bolts are backing off on the pressure plate... or slave cylinder.

 

Update:

Issue resolved. For the hard shifting it was a clutch master cylinder adjustment. It was not leaking. Just an adjustment.
The noise was a broken piece of metal from the clutch disc! YIKES!!

Replaced clutch and Exedy 9lb flywheel and Stage 1 clutch kit. Also replaced slave cylinder and all fluids.

Car drives amazing now. Clutch grabs higher and clutch pedal feels smooth and very responsive. I have to relearn how to drive the car.

 

Awesome! Thanks for the update.

 

glad to see one issue resolved for someone!