My 1993 Si is going to roll 174,000 miles within the week and it's got the original clutch. From what the previous owner told me, at least 100,000 miles are highway miles. The clutch doesn't slip at all, unless I've been driving for over an hour and it's heated up. Last night, I bled the clutch. Took it for a test drive. The results: I can now chirp 1st-2nd and 2nd-3rd. This morning, on the way to work: no chirping. Last night the clutch pedal felt nice and strong, and this morning it feels somewhat weak. I checked the fluid level on the master cylinder and there's not a trace of leakage anywhere. So...what could it be? Do I just need to break down and buy a new clutch? Could it be my clutch line? Are the master and/or slave cylinders worn out? Do I just suck at driving that much ?
In a couple of months, I'm going to be making a 12 hour drive from Kentucky to Arkansas. Over the period of a week, I'm going to be doing some pretty hard racing here and there. I know that any kind of racing is going to wear on my clutch, but after a long drive like that, even with a nights cooling, am I going to put insane stress on my clutch?
I've always been pretty hard on manual transmission cars...my last Miata went through 4 clutches and I was finishing off the last one and the transmission when I sold the car. Should I consider a Stage 1 or higher clutch if I do replace? Should I not even worry about it and just wait for an h22 swap? There's no doubt in my mind that I could easier make 250,000 miles on my h23, but I don't want to change my clutch and blow my engine apart a week later.
I guess I'm just overly concerned about the condition of my clutch as of now. Any suggestions?
I could probably buy the clutch kit no problem...but paying for someone to install it or convincing my father to help me change it out would be a problem. There's no lack of knowledge on how to do it, but there's a question of laziness (with him).
Yeah, I'm sure I closed it. I did bleed it again the other day, and got the same results: fine for a few hours, and back to goofy. I drove around in 70 degree weather today for 3 hours on and off, and when I finally came back home, the clutch was catching waaaay up, instead of somewhat down. Moved it a few hours later, and it's back down to normal.
I got an exedy stage1 organic race clutch .. there are times when I wish I was stage2 for hard shifts... otherwise, it feels like stock to me .. when I changed it I also changed from H23 to H22 so I couldn't tell you a direct difference ... myclutch also chirped like hell because it was down to the rivets ...
Well...does anyone have suggestions for a new clutch? I'll probably go with a stage 1. I've looked on eBay before and have seen clutches together with flywheels for like $265. Is that something I should stray away from? I always thought flywheels were a bit more expensive.
Depends on what your looking to do... will depend on the clutch you should get. Exedy is good, ACT is good, OEM is good. You want something more aggggggggggggggressive?
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Well, I'm keeping the h23. The only mods I'm going to do are a different intake and a skunk2 exhaust. I won't be doing much racing, but I do drive the car hard 50% of the time. Not a lot of launches, but like gettin' on it 2nd gear+. Don't go over 120mph very often. I shift hard/fast if that makes a difference.
Exedy stage 1 for basic bolt-ons is what I would recommend. I have it and its pretty good. I aslo went with the ACT streelite flywheel (12lbs).
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Originally Posted by yohan420
myclutch also chirped like hell because it was down to the rivets ...
Interesting. So having the car not chirp is a good thing right. I thought something was wrong since I could never chirp any gear with my new clutch after the break-in period.
How hard is clutch installation on a Prelude? I've never changed a clutch, but on a mechanical level, I'd say the hardest thing I've ever done is swap out a differential on a Miata. Possible that I could perform the task in a reasonable amount of time?
When I do the clutch, should I go ahead and change the master and slave cylinders just to be safe? Remember, 174,000 miles.
As long as you have a hoist for the tranny and a extra set of hands to guide it off and back in after you change the clutch. Whatever clutch you get should come with the centering tool for the specific application. You can do it in your garage following the procedures from a manual and keeping the parts organized as you take everything off and out of the tranny and putting it back togehter. Take your time and don't rush yourself. It's tedious and time consuming, but better than paying someone else to do it. I did my 93VTEC like that. It was the third clutch I did on my back like that. 86 Chevy Sprint, 91 hyundai scoupe, 93 Prelude VTEC
I still haven't replaced my clutch. I'm beginning to think it's not the clutch itself. I do trust everyone's opinion that it's worn out, but I'd like to explore other options before I just into it. The past few days, the clutch has been driving like complete crap. I can't get it to start out without shaking and inbetween gears, it would slip like a mother. Then I go out today, and it feels much better, and it drives pretty much like it should, just a little weak. So I bled the clutch again, topped off the fluid, and went on a test drive. It drove like a nearly new clutch. Two hours later, I go out to drive it again, and the clutch is ****ted back out. The fluid levels haven't changed a bit.
Your fluid level might not have drastically have changed, but your may be leaking fluid. More importantly, air maybe seeping into the hydraulic lines. The obvious places to check are at the master cylinder (on the firewall inside the cabin and in the engine bay) and the slave cylinder.
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I don't see any fluid leaking. The master cylinder is VERY dirty...but that's about it. Would replacing the stock clutch line(s)? with stainless steel braided ones help improve feel? Also, with the mileage that I have, would it just maybe be a good idea to go ahead and replace the master and slave cylinders? The master makes a bit of squeaking noises, but only sometimes and not very loud.
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