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So i am driving home from work and the worst happens. I am shifting into second, getting ready to make a turn, and i push the clutch in. but instead of stopping at the normal point, it keeps going. Then my car stalls and i end up having to be towed. I had it towed to the Honda dealer and they tell me that my clutch is burned. Im not sure how this happened but i guess i dont drive right, so i need to figure out what i did to blow it, so i dont do it again. Btw, I only have 13k miles on my car.
They want to charge me 900 dollars to install the new clutch. this price doesn"t seem right to me. My questions are:
Is there any way that the clutch is not the problem?
Is this price normal for a new clutch install?
If I decide to get an aftermarket clutch, what kind should i get?
PLEASE HELP ME OUT WITH ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ANYTHING. THANKS

 
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I bought an aftermarket clutch for my 01 EX I had for $150 and installed it myself. Its not that hard to install. I've never done one before mine, it just took a good amount of time to install. 13 hours.

 
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The price sounds about right. I bet a Honda Clutch is at least $350, maybe more, then all the labor to drop the transaxle resurface the flywheel, install the new clutch and put it all back together is quite a few hours of labor.... plus it's dealer rates.

 
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You must be riding on your clutch everytime you let go your gas RIGHT? That is the only way, at least I know of, to fry the clutch. Labor and parts for $900 dealer price sounds about right. But, you really don't want to spend that money at the dealers if you are going to fry another one after the install. Go to a performance shop and get a better clutch for that price. Just remember, DO NOT RIDE on your clutch. You only clutch when you change gears or stop at a light.

 
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13 hours is a long azz time

 
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Well we had a lot to drink, and like I said it was the first time doing it.

 
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A friend of mine went through 2 clutches in like 60k miles. I mean, he would ride the clutch in first for like a 100ft before he would let it out.

Anyhow, my 5sp accord had 150k on the oem clutch when I sold her.

Only use the clutch with the gas in first gear to get ya rolling. After that there really is no need to apply the gas when shifting. Don't ever rest your foot on the clutch when driving either. Dropping the clutch launching and spinning the tires is another sure way to burn it up quick, and I mean quick.

That's sounds right for an oem clutch and labor at the dealer. You are paying for a honda mechanic to do it. It's all labor for the most part. If it were me, I would let the dealer do it.

You could definately find someone to do it cheaper than the dealer though.

 
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what's a good aftermarket clutch? i am looking for a new one.....

 
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I ended up having the dealer do it. I get it back on wednesday. The only way i think i burned the clutch is i dont think i let the clutch out all the way and i ride it in between gears. ( does that sound right). It was something i did with out really knowing i did it. Im not sure how that could have burned my clutch that quick, but im sure that i will not be driving like that anymore. I am out of town, and i have just been communicating with the dealer by phone. They said that the clutch was totally burned. But im not sure if it wasn;t the pressure plate or something with the flywheel. I figure that if they messed up and it was only the flywheel or something small that needed replacing, or it was covered by warranty, i could fight them and get my money. Also i didn;t have much choice of getting it done somewhere else because i would have to have it towed to another place, i am out of town so i couldn;t deal with it until i got back, and it would cost me more money to cancel the order they had already put in for a new clutch. Plus i would have no car to drive. It sucks cuz it is costing me 900 bucks that i wanted to spend towards some rims and coilovers. Now i need to learn how to drive so i dont burn another clutch in 10k miles.

 
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Tell them you want the old one back (So you're sure they changed it). Then take a pic and show it to us.... I just wanna see it.

 
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not even a little gas when shifting?

 
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Ya, what do you mean by this? Are you saying you don't give gas until the clutch is ALL the way out?

 
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question, do you burn out alot? or abuse the car? or is this your first 5 speed?

i am hitting 80k in about 2 weeks, and i have the orriginal clutch and brakes, and everything feels like new to me still.

 
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Nope, Not a lot of burn out's and no abuse. It is my first 5 speed, and i guess I didn't learn how to drive right. The thing is, i had no warning of it happening, no funny sounds, no clicks or anything. It was a big surprise. I will def. ask for the old clutch back. I want to get all the parts they took out and stuff. Anyone know what parts come out besides the clutch ( if any ). Also what does a clutch look like? Thanks

 
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After first gear, yes. The only reason for gas is to smooth out the shift. However, you can have just as smooth a shift w/o using any gas whatsoever. Now, I am just talking about taking off from a stop and shifting up through the gears, not necessarily down shifting while going down the road.

I mean, I'll apply gas but just after the clutch in fully engaged. At that point the pedal still has a few inches until completely back in its stationary position.

 
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You didn't notice the rpms going up while you were hardly accelerating? Like the engine is revving but the car just isn't accelerating like it should? This is what usually happens but NOT always when the clutch is on the verge of going out. Sometimes they just go out w/o warning.

Yeah, if I am understanding you correctly, you were resting your foot on the clutch pedal. This keeps the clutch slightly disengaged and will wear it out in a heart beat like you have discovered. O'well, poopoo happens....

 
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Ok, now I understand what you were saying. Yes, this is what I do also... but I thought that you can also burn out the clutch by leaving it at the friction point too long, even without giving any gas (in the higher gears)... which is why some people rev match, by giving gas.

And you mentioned that you can have smooth shifts w/o using any gas, but again, this requires that you leave the clutch at the friction point longer, which would also wear out the clutch, wouldn't it?

Two conflicting styles here... on how to prevent wear on the clutch. Any thoughts here?

 
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No, it's all about the timing off the shift. I push it in and let it out. I don't release it slowly or anything.

After first, off gas/push in clutch/shift/release clutch/apply gas and so on.

I also only push the pedal in far enough to disengage the clutch. This means I am letting it out a lot quicker and while the revs are still high from the prior gear.

Hope I made sense.

 
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And the shifts aren't jerky with your method of not using gas?

I was always under the impression that not pushing it in all the way is bad for the clutch.


edit: And so you think rev-matching does more harm than good?

 
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No, give it a try and with a little practice you want need to use any gas. Push it in and let it out.

I don't see how it could hurt anything. If the clutch is disengaged, it's disengaged. Pushing the pedal all the way to the floor just positively says that it is completely disengaged.

You get used to the engagement point and will push it just far enough everytime. Like you'll be thinking about something else and shift as it is just second nature.

Plus, when you push it just far enough, you let it out so much quicker that the rpms are still high enough to produce a smooth shift w/o aid of the gas pedal.

It depends on the situation. If you are just shifting up through the gears from a stop light, yes. It's not necessary in that situation to begin with so I don't know that it matters. If you are downshifting from 5th to 3rd at 55mph, then no.

 
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thats alright for a first time driver. my retarded friend had his parents buy him a 02 celica gt 5 spd. he had to fork over $800 to the dealer to get a new clutch put in at only 8000 miles!!!! i just laughed. i never let him drive my car.

 
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that is not true... just cause u can shift gears and u think the clutch is disengaged doesnt mean it is... Your causing more wear on the clutch by not depressing it all the way... just cause u can disengage it half way through the pedal doesnt mean its all the way disengaged...
picture this...
you have a metal ball tryin to spin ... and its depressed against sand paper... if you let up slightly on the metal ball it will begin to spin slowing... but because your not removing the ball completely from the sand paper your still causing friction and wearing the sand paper and the ball at the same time.... while the the ball is still spining your still actually causing wear to both objects... thats basically the same principal with the clutch.. just cause u can switch gears with the pedal half way down... doesnt mean your supposed to... I hope that cleared some things up... i have almost 60k on my car with OEM clutch still in perfect condition... and I do drive hard , but i know how to drive.

 
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Umm...Yeah, it is completely disengaged. If there was friction you would be able to feel it in the pedel. Pushing it to the floor is completely unnecessary. The clutch is disengaged LONG before the pedal ever meets the floor. Pushing it to the floor just takes the guess work out of it.

I put 150k on the oem clutch in my 93 accord 5sp. She was still going strong when I sold her. Wife put 156k on the oem clutch in her 91 accord 5spd. Again, still running strong when she totaled it. We both just push it far enough to change gears.

Like I said earlier, the clutch is completely disengaged LONG before it reaches the floor. It's just easier to push it to the floor than to get used to just pushing the pedel past the disengagement point.

 
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nope thats not true... wheres a honda tec when u need one.

 
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I'm not saying your opinion is wrong Mbow cuz obviously your clutches have lasted you a long time, but from what I have learned from other drivers and from various other sources (i.e., books and internet), the rule of pushing your clutch in all the way to save it from wear has been near universal (regardless of how early you feel the friction end).

For what it's worth, even the word of God (i.e., our owner's manual ) says to push the clutch in all the way to the floor.

 
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Well, I have never met anyone that pushed the clutch all the way to the floor. You don't have to push it all the way to the floor to get it to disengage.


Edit: I bet the "honda tech" will tell the same thing that I am saying. It disengages just pass the halfway point of travel. Once it is disengaged, going all the way to the floor is just for your assurance. If it had to go all the way to the floor, you wouldn't be able to shift gears w/o doing so. Obviously, if the clutch was sligtly engaged you would feel some resistance/grinding with the shift.

And of course the owner's manual tells you to put it the floor. Some people just don't have the coordination to do otherwise. It's so much easier to push it until it stops than to push 4"s by feeling. I have been doing it for years and have NEVER know anyone to push it to the floor.

Absolutely unnecessary.

 
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hey guys, not as bad as riding the clutch, but we should also always keep in netural and let it out at stop lights.

 
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yeah you can kinda feel when i clutch goes. Gets real soft, alot of play before it engages. Also rpms MAY jump around, and may run higher then usual.

Just go onto any good performence site, look for a clutch picture. They all look about the same. (well racing ones are more extreme)

 
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Well i got it all done and it ended up being 970 bucks. They put in a new clutch, flywheel, pressure plate, and some other " essential parts. " I thought all they were putting in was a new clutch, but apparently they dont work with old parts. Whatever im done with it. I am just confused on why i had no warning of my clutch burning or anything. It just seems like it was a big surprise, and i thought i would have known when my clutch was going out. I tried to post a pic, but the file was way to big. Any ideas??

 
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Did they return your old parts?

I'm surprised you didn't feel it slipping before it gave out... it's rare that a clutch would fail so suddenly.

Easy way to reduce files is to use Windows Paint... use the stretch/skew under the Image menu item.