Question about my 5 speed.

[Kenny]

My car was perfect last week. The clutch wasn't slipping at all, and the gears were changing very smoothly.

At the parking lot of my work place, the clutch starts to slip a little bit; the engagement point being close to the floor. My clutch master cylinder was out, and I replaced it today, along with the slave master cylinder. I drove it maybe 10 miles while I knew this problem was occurring.

The clutch is going OK right now. It feels like it's slipping a little bit at first gear, but there's another problem. When I'm switching gears, it's hard to do so. It used to be smooth as silk, but is hard and rocky now. I really don't think my clutch is going out, and would not like to get that sort of conclusion, as the parts and labor is going to cost me $600.

Is there something else I should ask the shop to do? I remember an oil stop that recommended flushing the transmission, so I hope it's something as simple as that.

BTW: The car is a 1994 Acura Integra GS-R (hydraulic clutch system, not cable).

 

[Kenny]

 

[George P Burdell]

 

[yhelothar]

 

[Ikonomi]

Edit:

 

[BadNewsBears]

Might me a torque setting on the linkage at the cluth. Or try bleeding the system for the hell of it, I doubt this will help but its worth a try. A new clutch and a flywheel resurfacing could be in your future.

 

[Eli]

When the clutch engages close to the floor, doesen't that mean you have plenty of clutch left? The thinner the clutch gets, the farther out the pedal will travel before engagement.....

Sounds like a problem with the clutch mechanics, not the clutch itself.

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

No, the sooner it engages, the more worn down the clutch. Im not sure how to explain it, so I leave you to hit Google and see what you find. I know, its totally counter-intuitive.

As for the OP... there's a bunch of things that can be responsible for slippage. Usually a worn out clutch facing or disc tho. Trust in your mechanic.

 

[Eli]

WTF?

Ok..

When you get a new clutch, it is often described as "tight".. the clutch engages closer to the floor because there is less space between the new clutch and flywheel surface.

Right?

It's just a simple lever mechanism, regardless of whether it's hydraulic or not.

If pressing the pedal to the floor puts the clutch at X" away from the flywheel with a new clutch, as the clutch wears that distance will increase, causing the clutch pedal to need to be released closer to the top of its travel before engagement.

Pressing the pedal moves the clutch away from the flywheel, not closer.. How can a wearing clutch cause engagement closer to the floor?

 

[TheLonelyPhoenix]

Originally posted by: Eli
WTF?

Ok..

When you get a new clutch, it is often described as "tight".. the clutch engages closer to the floor because there is less space between the new clutch and flywheel surface.

Right?

It's just a simple lever mechanism, regardless of whether it's hydraulic or not.

If pressing the pedal to the floor puts the clutch at X" away from the flywheel with a new clutch, as the clutch wears that distance will increase, causing the clutch pedal to need to be released closer to the top of its travel before engagement.

Pressing the pedal moves the clutch away from the flywheel, not closer.. How can a wearing clutch cause engagement closer to the floor?

Explains better than I could: Link

Like I said, not terribly intuitive.

I was under the impression that new clutches were described as tight b/c they responded better when they did engage, not having to do with where they engaged.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: TheLonelyPhoenix

Originally posted by: Eli
WTF?

Ok..

When you get a new clutch, it is often described as "tight".. the clutch engages closer to the floor because there is less space between the new clutch and flywheel surface.

Right?

It's just a simple lever mechanism, regardless of whether it's hydraulic or not.

If pressing the pedal to the floor puts the clutch at X" away from the flywheel with a new clutch, as the clutch wears that distance will increase, causing the clutch pedal to need to be released closer to the top of its travel before engagement.

Pressing the pedal moves the clutch away from the flywheel, not closer.. How can a wearing clutch cause engagement closer to the floor?

Explains better than I could: Link

Like I said, not terribly intuitive.

I was under the impression that new clutches were described as tight b/c they responded better when they did engage, not having to do with where they engaged.

...

Yeah. That diagram just confirms what I believe.

Pushing the pedal down moves the release fork forward, allowing the clutch to cease contact with the flywheel.

If the friction material on a new clutch is 0.5" thick, and the pedal pressed to the floor releases it 0.5" from the surface of the flywheel, and the engagement point is in the middle of pedal travel...

As the clutch wears, the distance between the clutch and flywheel will increase at the maximum pedal travel. Let's say after 80,000 miles, you've lost 0.25" of the friction material's thickness. Now the distance between the flywheel and the clutch is 0.75" when the pedal is on the floor.

Engagement will no longer be in the middle of pedal travel, because due to the increased clearance from wear, it is still 0.25" away from the surface at that point now. So you have to release the pedal additionally for it to make contact.

Geesh, why is it so hard to explain things that you can see perfectly in your mind? lol. Like I said, it's just a simple lever mechanism.

 

[imported_Phil]

I agree with Eli - when my clutch went on my other car, the biting point shot up to almost the last amount of the upwards pedal travel. As soon as it was replaced, the biting point dropped back to nearer to the floor.

 

[DurocShark]

If you were slipping even for a short time there's a chance you've glazed the clutch disk and/or the flywheel.

New clutch time.

 

[KMurphy]

Eli's logic is correct in that as the clutch disk wears the peddle disengages further* from the floor.
Note that this is only the case with a pure mechanical clutch linkage arrangement. Hydraulic clutches work the same in principle, but the peddle distance remains the same regardless of clutch disk wear. The slack is made up in the master cyclinder as more hydraulic fluild fills the gap. That is why as the clutch wears, the hydraulic fluid level goes down. The same is true for brakes, as the brakes wear, more fluid is required to fill the void as the piston moves out.

The OP could have engine or transmission oil leaking onto the clutch surface for the slipping sensation and the gear synchronizers could be worn for the rough shift. You really should have a reputable mechanic look at it.

 

[p1800volvo]

Bleed it again.