clutch wearing out?

[mcajr]

i have an 02, a daily commuter with almost 81k miles on it now. the clutch catches with the pedal all the way up. i've driven a ton of these cars at work and most of the ones i've driven the clutch catches with the pedal much lower. the clutch never slips while driveing, but the honda dealership that repaired some front end damage for me told me that the clutch is almost worn out and that i should consider changeing it. opinions?

[mcajr]

p.s. i dont trust this honda dealership as far as i can spit, they are totally unprofessional and the car has been back 3 times to repair a check engine light for the air pump after the car got hit, and they still can't figure it out. it's going back again next week.

[shamowfski]

Adjust your clutch pedal. Here is xviper's how to on the other site:

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=275064&st=0&#entry5234269

[Jasonoff]

I would be VERY careful messing with the plunger position.

BTW Xviper was no ware to be seen in that thread you posted.

Here's the helms page if anyone is interested.

http://jasonoff.iroque.com/S2KClutchAdjust.gif

[repiv]

At 81K miles, your clutch might be well worn but may not be "worn out". If you don't drive aggressively and the clutch doesn't slip, you may still get some service out of it. Yes, the pedal adjustment may be all you need to bring the friction point back to a decent location on the pedal travel.
However, I do caution you that this may only give a false sense of security. A well worn clutch may still work OK for you but if you are getting close to the rivets on the disc, you may do irreparable damage to the flywheel and PP, necesitating the purchase of new parts. When the disc rivets start gouging into the flywheel and PP, those will not be machinable. On the other hand, if you are planning to get all new parts anyway, then it doesn't really matter.

[Yvette]

Funny this was posted. I was just wondering yesterday what the life of my clutch would be. Sometimes she's a little pissy about going into 4th gear.

[repiv]

Funny this was posted. I was just wondering yesterday what the life of my clutch would be. Sometimes she's a little pissy about going into 4th gear.

I've heard of original clutches on S2000s still going at 100K mile.
If yours is tough to go into 4th gear, this is not an indication necessarily that your clutch is worn. It may, in fact, be an indication that your clutch is not fully disengaging or that there is something worn in the tranny (4th gear linkage or 4th gear itself). You can't tell if it's in the tranny unless you take it apart but you can do something about it if it's the clutch not fully disengaging.
Have you ever flushed the clutch fluid? This should be done every 2 to 3 years. How's the pedal friction point? Is it moving further and further up the travel like what's been discussed in the last few posts? If so, do the fluid change and have a look at the pedal adjustment as a last resort. This is not to say that your clutch isn't at the end of its life, just that there are other things to look at before making the decision to put in a new one. A new one would be a choice only after some "slip" tests have been done.

[JH03S2K]

my clutch lets out at the top too is adjusting the pedal not a good idea?my tranny dose not give me any problem i just don't like it releasing at the top.my s is 03 with 83,00 on it.

[repiv]

my clutch lets out at the top too is adjusting the pedal not a good idea?my tranny dose not give me any problem i just don't like it releasing at the top.my s is 03 with 83,00 on it.

Doing the pedal rod adjustment is the last thing you want to do AFTER you've determined that all other aspects of the clutch have been taken care of (clutch fluid, master and slave cylinder condition, etc) without having to actually take the tranny out. If you've got a worn out clutch, then a pedal adjustment is NOT what you do to fix this. It's only to make the car more drivable until you get it in for a clutch job.
A pedal rod adjustment is a dangerous thing to do, especially if you're not quite sure of what it is you're doing. It's easy to make things far worse. Even when you know what you're doing, some precautions must be taken. First, mark a line along the rod with a Sharpie. This will help you to count the number of turns so you can undo what you did if you went in the wrong direction. Next only do about 1/2 turn to begin with so you can tell if that's the right direction. Go check the friction point with engine running and in gear after each little adjustment so you have a real world indication of where you put the friction point. When you think you're all done, lock it down and go for a test drive to make sure it's OK. ALWAYS remember how many turns you did and in what direction so you can undo it if something went wrong.

Generally speaking, over the lifespan of a clutch, that pedal rod should be just fine. If the friction point has moved significantly, look to other things first.

[JH03S2K]

I think i will leave my pedal alone. As they say if its not broken don't fix it.I will just save my money and get a new clutch.Thanks for your advice repiv

[mcajr]

i know on the prelude there's a little rubber plug that you can pull out to take a peak at the clutch disc from the side, is there any such thing on the s2000?

whats the aproximate cost of an oem clutch replacement?, how about with an upgraded clutch and a replacement flywheel?, or an upgraded clutch and a lighter flywheel?

i was planning on buying some wheels with my tax return but i may have to hold off on that. i remember my first car was an 88 accord with 183k on it and the clutch was still perfect, guess it's a different animal.

[repiv]

i know on the prelude there's a little rubber plug that you can pull out to take a peak at the clutch disc from the side, is there any such thing on the s2000?

whats the aproximate cost of an oem clutch replacement?, how about with an upgraded clutch and a replacement flywheel?, or an upgraded clutch and a lighter flywheel?

i was planning on buying some wheels with my tax return but i may have to hold off on that. i remember my first car was an 88 accord with 183k on it and the clutch was still perfect, guess it's a different animal.

A clutch job on this car is booked in as a 8 to 10 hour job at the dealer. Go to Hardtopguy's site to get the low down on the price of parts. He also sells a kit that includes a lightweight flywheel and HD PP. You're probable looking at around $1000.00 if you stick with OEM parts and well over that for the kit.