StandardShift.com

Hi all! First of, I wonna apologize for not being an active member of the community, and only creating threads when I think I am in trouble

Well, so the story goes is that a couple of months ago I took my 1.8 Civic in to replace the input shaft bearing. Since they would have the transmission out, I asked them to put a new clutch in because really, why not? It was past its prime anyways.

So, I get the car back, it shifts smooth, the clutch is awesome, grabs much better all that stuff. I asked the mechanic if I would need to break the clutch in or anything and he told me to just drive it normal for a couple of weeks. But here is the catch: I have a weekly gig in San Francisco. Minding the mechanics advice, I drove around carefuly on flat streets for a couple of weeks and used my friends car to go to the city. After I decided that 2 and a half weeks is enough, I bravely took the Honda to the steeps and...after a few trips there I noticed that my clutch is not as awesome as it was when it was brand new. On level ground it is still pretty fine, but on the hills the car has trouble to get moving sometimes. To be specific, it would do one of two things: first, it would hang at ~1500 rpm (where I usually start) the car would begin to creep forward, then the rpm's would shoot to around 2000 but the car won't be going forward much faster. Second, the car would hang at around 1500rpm and...would baaaarely move forward, almost standing still, kinda annoying. Mind you, It was not doing that before.

I hit Google, and found out that if I don't break the clutch in properly I would glaze the clutch and(according to one video geared towards drag racing muscle car owners) I may lose up to around 100lbs of torque. Which is awesome, because that's how much my engine makes haha. But really, I looked up symptoms of glazed clutch and they seem to be excessive slipping and shuddering. I don't get any of that...the only problem is that the bite point isn't as strong...so really, whatsup with that?

Wow! I don't have an answer, but someone here will. Short of dropping the tranny and sanding down the clutch disk I am not sure what can be done. Hey, regarding the photo you posted, those streets are really insane. What does a person do who is confined to a wheel chair?

InlinePaul wrote:Wow! I don't have an answer, but someone here will. Short of dropping the tranny and sanding down the clutch disk I am not sure what can be done. Hey, regarding the photo you posted, those streets are really insane. What does a person do who is confined to a wheel chair?

About wheelchair, that is a good question. I do not know, and I have never seen someone with a wheelchair use those streets. Now I wonder about that myself.

As far as dropping the tranny, well the car is driveable, it just feels annoying. Also, I'm just really bummed about damaging the brand new clutch within the first few thousand miles. Oh well, you live and you learn.

Mr.Airfield wrote:To be specific, it would do one of two things: first, it would hang at ~1500 rpm (where I usually start) the car would begin to creep forward, then the rpm's would shoot to around 2000 but the car won't be going forward much faster. Second, the car would hang at around 1500rpm and...would baaaarely move forward, almost standing still, kinda annoying. Mind you, It was not doing that before.
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But really, I looked up symptoms of glazed clutch and they seem to be excessive slipping and shuddering. I don't get any of that...

Your description of your symptoms (as quoted above) sounds like "excessive slipping" to me. Can you describe it another way, or talk about why you think it's not? One thing that's slightly unclear is all this stuff about hanging at 1500RPM; RPM should be under the control of your two feet.

If your clutch is mildly glazed, the glaze might wear off. It might be possible to accelerate that with some hard, high-RPM launches (being careful not to further overheat it).

I would also look at the hydraulic clutch release system. Air in the system could cause symptoms consistent with your description.

InlinePaul wrote:Wow! I don't have an answer, but someone here will. Short of dropping the tranny and sanding down the clutch disk I am not sure what can be done. Hey, regarding the photo you posted, those streets are really insane. What does a person do who is confined to a wheel chair?

Tacking, I imagine.


I guess a switchback road would be a more apt comparison.


Most of all, though, I bet they are very uncomfortable and in danger and probably avoid it except the macho ones. Hell, plenty of fully able-bodied folks probably avoid it too.

I'm not going to say that proper clutch break-in isn't important because I think it is, but if you drove around normally for a couple of weeks, your new clutch should have been broken in just fine.

Consider this--- You said the clutch felt great driving around on flat ground for those first two weeks. Then you start driving steep SanFran hills and the clutch wasn't so great (from your description, sounds like it is slipping quite a bit). But you also said that it still feels fine on flat ground. Maybe your clutch would have felt like it was slipping on steep hills from day one. And if that's the case, I think you should take it back and have them take another look. There are a lot of reasons that can cause a new clutch to slip.

Here are two ways to see if your clutch is slipping without worrying about hill starts:

1- While in 3rd gear at ~3000 rpm, downshift to 2nd gear (do not rev match, just downshift) and watch the tach to make sure the RPM increase immediately. If it does not, your clutch is slipping.

2- With the parking brake engaged, try to launch the car in 3rd gear. If the car doesn't immediately stall, your clutch is slipping.

Sorry, that 1500rpm thing is I meant that the grabbing point became kinda mushy...that all happens when the clutch isn't completely released. What I mean, it now takes bigger amount of slippage to get the car moving and it is not as eager to move as before.

2Shadow I did these tests and the car passed with flying colors.

I want to respond to this thread really late. I tested the two clutches on my two civics. The 91 which has an aftermarket clutch from who knows where and my 2000 which I am assuming still has the factory honda clutch. The 2000 grabs much better and smoother and produces a much better launch compared to my 91. I get the same symptoms that you describe. More slippage just to get it going. I'd have a hard time keeping up with traffic. Assuming that your mechanic used an aftermarket clutch, I personally would blame that it just isn't as good as the factory honda clutch that was previously in your car.

InlinePaul wrote:Wow! I don't have an answer, but someone here will. Short of dropping the tranny and sanding down the clutch disk I am not sure what can be done. Hey, regarding the photo you posted, those streets are really insane. What does a person do who is confined to a wheel chair?

I pictured an elderly women flying backward on two wheels down that hill when I read your post. Hahaha. It looks steep enough that if in a hover round you would have to lean very forward to avoid rolling over backwards.

dakta1420 wrote:

InlinePaul wrote:Wow! I don't have an answer, but someone here will. Short of dropping the tranny and sanding down the clutch disk I am not sure what can be done. Hey, regarding the photo you posted, those streets are really insane. What does a person do who is confined to a wheel chair?

I pictured an elderly women flying backward on two wheels down that hill when I read your post. Hahaha. It looks steep enough that if in a hover round you would have to lean very forward to avoid rolling over backwards.

Ah, I saw a lady on a Hoveround yesterday and thought that even on the level, a small dip in the pavement would be enough to topple her. It is a very tall and short "vehicle" to go more than about 0.1 mph!

InlinePaul wrote:

dakta1420 wrote:

InlinePaul wrote:Wow! I don't have an answer, but someone here will. Short of dropping the tranny and sanding down the clutch disk I am not sure what can be done. Hey, regarding the photo you posted, those streets are really insane. What does a person do who is confined to a wheel chair?

I pictured an elderly women flying backward on two wheels down that hill when I read your post. Hahaha. It looks steep enough that if in a hover round you would have to lean very forward to avoid rolling over backwards.

Ah, I saw a lady on a Hoveround yesterday and thought that even on the level, a small dip in the pavement would be enough to topple her. It is a very tall and short "vehicle" to go more than about 0.1 mph!

And sales are so competitive that salesmen always low-ball them and nobody ever gets the sport suspension.

Let alone the optional powertrain

If the grab point feels inconsistent then it could still have air in the hydraulic lines. Unless they were able to change it without opening the system. Not sure how Hondas are made.