streetgrind

hi everyone,

THANKS IN ADVANCE FOR READING ALL THIS... (i thought it would be better to be very explicit)

I have a stock Prelude '92 (H23A non-vtec). I've been having problems with either my clutch, master or slave cylinder, but I don't know which. Here's a description :

Started about a week ago. After a short session of friendly highway racing (which i don't do very often) the gears started to be harder to shift into, except if the car wasen't moving and running at idle. As I made my way back home that same night, I would have to shift at about 3500 rpm, otherwise i would grind the gears (as if i had no clutch) but i could still feel the usual pressure in my clutch pedal....

The next day, same thing, but the friction point would change every time i stepped on the clutch pedal. Sometimes I would be at a red light in 1st gear with the clutch pedal down and the car would try to move as if i was letting off the clutch pedal (felt like the friction point changed even if i wasent moving anything)....

For the next 2-3 days, the situation was the same, but the gears would be harder to shift into EVEN AT IDLE.

Then all of a sudden, on the ride back home, everything seemed like it was back to normal. So I thought the best test would be to try and shift at higher rpm's to see if the problem would come back. Unfortunately, it did (of course I wasen't surprised).

Since then, it just keeps getting better, then worse, then better, then worse...

SO...

I've been told it's probably my clutch master cylinder. But reading about that problem, I noticed that in most case the clutch pedal would stay to the floor after being pushed down. And mine always comes back with the same kind of pressure as usual.

I checked my clutch fluid reservoir, and it's missing some. I know the first thing I have to do is add some, but I'm just wondering if it really is just the clutch master cylinder.

Can anyone tell me if they think it's the clutch master cylinder, the slave cylinder, or the clutch itself that seems to be defect?

THANKS!

Provocateur

Sounds like what my clutch was doing when it was totally shot. Part of the clutch disk had melted off and gotten between the clutch and pressure plate and it wasn't allowing the clutch to disengage. You could check for leaks at the master and slave cylinder and bleed the system but it sounds like your clutch is dead.

streetgrind

thanks... i added the little bit of fluid that was missing to the reservoir, didn't change a thing....

just one question : when you had the problem, was your clutch slipping? cause when mine actually works, it grips just the same as usual, no slipping at all... I just really have a hard time shifting at high rpm's

Provocateur

Yes, it was gripping fine, so I didn't know that the clutch was bad until my mechanic told me. I was just grinding every gear because the clutch wasn't disengaging.

streetgrind

yeah, seems to be the problem for me too... oh well, i ordered a new clutch kit a couple of days ago off ebay (before I heard of the master cyl. possibility), so i guess i'll just get the new clutch installed and if it still does the same thing i'll install a new master and slave cylinder myself (they're not too expensive when bought all together)... The good old "trial and error" strategy

thanks again for your time :thumbup:

If anyone else has an idea, I still have time before I get the work done next weekend

Provocateur

No problem.

The master cylinder is only to blame when there are visible leaks or when everything else functions well, but the pedal stroke is too small. I had a very small amount of pedal stroke before engagement when my clutch went out, so if you have that problem, I would definitely replace the clutch since that is what is bad.

Good luck with everything. I just finished my first clutch job this last weekend and it wasn't fun, so I hope you have better luck.

streetgrind

yeah, most of the time I almost have no pedal stroke at all before engagement... I have the clutch pressed down fully and as soon as I let off the pedal a bit, the car wants to move... Then shifting through gears is a hassle.

It just happens once in a while (rarely) that I have the regular pedal stroke. But when I have that, shifting is pretty easy.

I wasen't thinking of doing the clutch myself... I like doing most of the work myself on my car, but to be honest, I don't trust myself that much around the tranny, even for the clutch. I just don't know enough about it.

Provocateur

Wow, that sounds exactly like mine when it melted on me. I don't think yours will be quite as bad, but don't be too surprised when you find something bizarre going on when the tranny is removed.

Good idea getting someone else to do it. If it just an OEM clutch job, save yourself the energy and have someone else do it.

streetgrind

I'm going for an Exedy OEM clutch, it's a pretty decent brand and I got it on Ebay for half the price I got anywhere else for a cheap clutch (even with the shipping costs from the US to Canada). I'm not thinking of doing any "hardcore" performance modifications on my Prelude for at least the next year so I won't be needing a racing clutch and the price difference is huge!

Just out of curiosity, how does a clutch actually melt

Provocateur

A clutch melts by hard slips because of burnouts and what not. I wasn't doing any of that, so I really don't know why mine clutch melted.

The Exedy should be fine for you. I would have gone with the Exedy but I have heard much better things about ACT, so I picked up the HDSS clutch with 9 lb flywheel.