Clutch feels stiffer, occasionally

[ebeldesign]

Hey guys, I followed Xviper over, and have a question for the experts.

My AP2 has begun to have a clutch issue. Occasionally, once a week or so, when I first start the car, the clutch pedal is much stiffer than usual. This goes away within 30 seconds or so and it returns to the normal effort. It happens very sporadically and the car is never hard to get into gear, the clutch just feels stiff.

Is this something that any of you have experienced, is it a slave cylinder going bad or the clutch itself, or what? I hate to take it into my mechanic without any ideas because it is so hard to predict whether it will happen or not.

My car is a 2005 with 40,000 miles. I do 3 hours of stop and go driving a day, so the clutch has been cycled God knows how many times.

Thanks for any help. :thumbsup:

[shamowfski]

Have you changed the fluid?

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=118878

Xviper's how-to, very easy once you have everything you need...

[griffon]

When the clutch feels stiff is it on a cold day?

[ebeldesign]

I have not changed the fluid. Does the fact that it comes and goes make you think it could be a fluid issue? It does not seem to be temperature dependent. It usually happens when I have been driving the car and park it at a store or something for short periods of time (30 minutes to an hour) and then come back out to drive it. When it sits overnight, it has never done it.

[repiv]

If the clutch fluid has not been changed in a couple of years, this is never a bad idea. It may or may not resolve your issue.
I've heard of this odd behavior in several other S2000s. The reasons are varied and many. I'll just list off the ones that I know of and you can investigate each (process of elimination) to see if and when the problem gets resolved.
1. Begin with the clutch fluid bleed if it hasn't been done in a while.
2. Check out the area of the clutch slave cylinder (on the tranny casing).
a. Your "ball and socket" between the slave cylinder plunger end and the end of the release fork may be corroded and/or have built up some hard deposits on it, making the ball not move easily inside the socket when you push the clutch down. Removing the rubber cover, inspecting and cleaning off the deposits and lubing should fix this.
b. Your release fork may be poorly lubricated where it actuates the release bearing. During certain conditions, the lubrication may be inadequate and the fork won't slide easily as it tries to move the release bearing. Some have noted that pulling off the rubber over, reaching in with a heavy spray lubricant with a straw nozzle and squirting the fork will resolve the issue.
3. Your release bearing (throw out bearing) may not have been properly lubricated when put in. This has been noted in a few cars right from the factory. Lubing this up properly can only be done by pulling the trany, however, it may be possible to get just enough lubricant by using the method in (2b) to alleviate the problem. Much care must be taken so as to NOT get this lubricant onto the friction surfaces of you clutch assembly or you'll get a really bad slipping clutch.
4. You may be developing a damaged plunger seal in either (or both) of the clutch cylinders (master or slave).

[ebeldesign]

Thank you Dave. Its good to get some sage advice from you again.;)

I am going to do the clutch fluid replacement this weekend and start there. Unfortunately, since it is so sporadic, it may take a while to tell whether it is the correct solution or not.

[repiv]

Yet another thought .................... take a look under your dash at the clutch pedal itself with a flashlight. Make sure the floor mat is not riding up and getting in the way of the pedal travel. Also see that nothing is dangling from under the dash that might occasionally obstruct pedal movement. Operate the pedal by hand and observe.
The clutch fluid bleed is not difficult, but can be tricky. Here is the "How To" I did years ago on it that might be of assistance to you.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=118878

(I'll be gradually duplicating those threads to this board.)

[ebeldesign]

I looked for any obstruction issues and found none, so it is on the clutch fluid replacement. I have already printed out your tutorial and will be doing it asap.
Thanks again, glad I found your new haunt.

[griffon]

Hey guys, I followed Xviper over, and have a question for the experts.

My AP2 has begun to have a clutch issue. Occasionally, once a week or so, when I first start the car, the clutch pedal is much stiffer than usual. This goes away within 30 seconds or so and it returns to the normal effort. It happens very sporadically and the car is never hard to get into gear, the clutch just feels stiff.

Is this something that any of you have experienced, is it a slave cylinder going bad or the clutch itself, or what? I hate to take it into my mechanic without any ideas because it is so hard to predict whether it will happen or not.

My car is a 2005 with 40,000 miles. I do 3 hours of stop and go driving a day, so the clutch has been cycled God knows how many times.

Thanks for any help. :thumbsup:

You don't happen to have an extended warranty, do you?:D

[ebeldesign]

No, I dont have an extended warranty. Plus, I have an intake, header and exhaust. And those will void the hondacare warranty. So, its up to me at this point.:cool:

[2NR Werks]

We just did this on a customer's car this past Monday. Clutch master cylinder was bad. Look around the rod that attaches the clutch pedal to the master. At the base where the rod goes throught he firewall, you may see some grease. If so, the seal is bad. This need to be replaced.

[ebeldesign]

We just did this on a customer's car this past Monday. Clutch master cylinder was bad. Look around the rod that attaches the clutch pedal to the master. At the base where the rod goes throught he firewall, you may see some grease. If so, the seal is bad. This need to be replaced.


I will look for that, thanks for the advice. When you say this needs to be replaced, you were able to just replace the seal, or the entire cylinder assembly?

[2NR Werks]

I will look for that, thanks for the advice. When you say this needs to be replaced, you were able to just replace the seal, or the entire cylinder assembly?

No, we replace the entire clutch master cylinder. This runs around $95 at Honda plus labor.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.