98dx

i have a 98 civic dx 5spd and i believe that it has the original clutch. the car has 92000 miles on it now and a mechanic who drove the car said i shuld change it soon. this is my first car so i dont know what it feels like to have a bad clutch..is there a certain amount of miles i shuld change it at or is there a way to know when my clutch is failing before it just dies on me?

ScottDR

A clutch can last 5,000 to 350,000 miles. It all depends on how it's driven. Usually when they go, they go. I'm not sure what the mechanic felt as these are hydraulic actuated clutches. They usually give no warning before they go. It's really up to you...it may be something you wish to change before it does go out. Then inspect the old one when it's out and see how much life it had left. Then you can plan accordingly for the next time.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Generally a good warning sign is if the clutch starts slipping. Even hydraulic clutches will slip indicate the need for replacement. A good way to test clutch slip is to be going 20mph and shift into fifth and put the pedal to the floor. You will be at a very very low RPM and if the RPMS start shooting up but the car does not move you know your clutch is slipping. Another good way is to just do a burnout, if you can spin the tires your clutch should be okay because its gripping the flywheel, if the engine revs but the tires don't spin your clutch is slipping. I highly recommend the first way of testing it though

This is how your mechanic would know your clutch is going.

asianboy781

i remember when i first bought my 00 si
the clutch pedal is mad stiff
though it was all stock car was at 79k miles
after i change it using 7lbs flywheel and exedy street clutch
i notice the pedal got soft so now the car is at 139k miles
and the pedal is stiff again and i notice some slipping when im
pushing so can the stiffness of the pedal tell the story of how ur clutches is

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

The stiffness might mean that your fluid is getting old. I say slipping is the best indicator of a worn clutch.

speeeedddddfrea

As long as you don't ' ride the clutch' it is not uncommon to go 100,000 + miles. Trucks will be less if they are worked hard.

asianboy781

the fluid was there ever since i bought the car i didnt even bother to flushed it out when i change my clutch .
could it be the clutch slave cylinder getting old and sticky

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

It could be, but change your clutch fluid before you change the slave cylinder. Always start with the cheaper stuff first. As far as your clutch slipping, that means the disc is getting worn and needs replacement.

This is the way I'm looking at it.

80k miles the clutch was stiff, you changed the fluid it was okay for a while
140k miles the clutch is stiff again, change the fluid and it might be okay again??

I don't think the actual clutch system itself has anything to do with pedal stiffness, but I'm not completely sure.

asianboy781

anyway thanks for the info
this was base on my own experienced as of the stiffness of the clutch
but i will attempt to flush out the old fluid and add new ones and we will see it from there, also will be changing new clutch and fly wheel mid summer
this i will know for sure that new clutch would have soften the clutch pedal or not

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Good luck man.

The old way to check clutches was to check where it released from the floor on the pedal. As a clutch got older, the clutch would start to engage higher up in the pedal travel. I'm not sure about 6th gens, but 7th gens auto adjust themselves so the clutch engages at the same place on the pedal travel all the time, no matter how worn out the clutch disc is.

Tigerpunch

I have a 1997 Civic EX with 184,000 miles on it with the origional clutch. I just took it in today because the clutch didn't feel right. Don't know what is wrong with it yet but I had a hard time getting into 1st and 2nd gear while the car was cold. Seemed fine after it warmed up. The only things I've every replaced on the car (besides routine maintenance items of course) are the ignition, an oxogen sensor, and the a/c compressor.

Cgropp

brags

a stiff clutch is unheard of on a honda oem clutch & components unless theres a problem Always start with the basics 1st a small bottle of STP wallmart dot 3 brake fluid is only a couple of bucks do a test by syringing out the old fluid from the small resevoir and refilling it with fresh dot 3 brake fluid then pump the clutch 15-20 times then repeat process again a few times and see if that makes any difference if it does than you found your problem being that you had old broken down brake fluid and needed fresh fluid to make it operate smooth again. and Yes i do use and have used this kind of STP brake fluid before with no issues.

https://www.walmart.ca/en/ip/stp-bra.../6000162308241

rogerscivic

On my cap its listed dot3 or dot4 would dot4 be any better over dot3?

Colin42

either one is fine

brags

A clutch should last the Life of the Your Honda unless Your abusing it by Pulling Loaded Semi-tractor trailers like this guy did. i drive one for a living and beleive me they can way in up words of 80,000 pounds or more.using a honda or any car is Just asking for problems notice in the video the smoke coming off of it thats not just from the tires but also clutch slippage burning up. this guys Prelude is getting a clutch soon LOL

DX99

I have a 99 with 215,000 on it with original clutch. Still drives fine, no slipping. Treat it right and it will last a long time. I had a 96 Ranger that I got 286,000 out of the original clutch.

Swest5514

I know this is an old thread, but want to chime in and say I had a 2000 Accord that I sold with 285k miles and was shifting fine and I now own a 2013 Accord Sport and I currently have 242k miles. Clutch shifts fine with this one as well. It really depends on how you drive. My cousin had an Eclipse manual and because he downshifted through all the gears to stop (he had a fancy exhaust) his clutch went at 50k. I was taught to drive a manual at 15 by my dad an 18 wheeler driver. He has a 2006 Corolla with 320k and is just starting to have some slippage when shifting. I am an aggressive driver and routinely gun the engine, skip gears etc. Just gotta know how to shift.