Clutch arm too long?

[Bass Man]

Hmm... I don't know if it's just my clutch, or most 3G's, but I noticed my clutch is very stiff, but not very grippy...

If I am not all the way down on the pedal, it doesn't release and let me shift very easily. But problem with power shifting. BUT! My clutch only has about an half an inch of free-play before I hit pressure plate.

When I had the engine out, I resurfaced the flywheel and checked out all the clutch components. Everything looked good... I pushed the clutch and it was very easy to push. I moved the clutch lever in and out. That was easy. I guess my pressure plate is pretty stiff...



BUT the reason for this post is...
Would it be bad to Customize the clutch lever, as in shorten it?

[russiankid]

Is the clutch adjusted correctly? My clutch is very picky. The free play at the release arm that Honda suggests doesn't work for me. I need it to be tighter.

Only time I have to have the pedal all the way down is when I am shifting into reverse. Otherwise, I usually push it down 3/4th of the way and slide it into the next gear.

[Bass Man]

Yep, that's the same for me! I need to floor it to put it in reverse, but if I start it in Neutral and then push the clutch, then I need to put it in first then reverse, and that is extremely annoying. And my syncros feal like they are going out. If I go 6k+ in 1st and try to quick shift into 2nd, it takes about 3/4 of a second to shift, when I can do it in an 1/8th

[russiankid]

I never really tried timing myself. I usually drive normally without the quick shifts but if I do shift quickly I never have a problem except with 3rd. 3rd just feels a little iffy from all the other gears.

[Bass Man]

Second hates me... I think will go check out if I can do this fairly easy (I love portable welders )

[A18A]

umm wouldnt shortening the arm make it even harder to push?

[russiankid]

umm wouldnt shortening the arm make it even harder to push?

Very true, you may end up snapping the clutch cable. Then, you will need to take the tranny off to replace the arm.

[Bass Man]

Yeah... I guess it would cause too much tension on that little cable. I wish I could afford a clutchnet setup

[MessyHonda]

Yeah... I guess it would cause too much tension on that little cable. I wish I could afford a clutchnet setup

i might sell my whole set up soon soo keep an eye out.

[2oodoor]

what kind of oil is in your tranny bass?
also when you have your tranny out you should clean up the shaft and housing so things move smoothly.

Sometimes discs get installed backwards and create weird pedalness, not that anybody would do that..

[cygnus x-1]

Yep, that's the same for me! I need to floor it to put it in reverse, but if I start it in Neutral and then push the clutch, then I need to put it in first then reverse, and that is extremely annoying. And my syncros feal like they are going out. If I go 6k+ in 1st and try to quick shift into 2nd, it takes about 3/4 of a second to shift, when I can do it in an 1/8th

Reverse doesn't have a synchro so sometimes you might need to shift into another gear to get the shafts to move a bit so it can slide into reverse. When backing out of the driveway I usually go to 4th, then reverse because it's the fastest. Or if I'm parked on a hill let the car start rolling and then go to reverse.

The slow shift to 2nd I also noticed when I took the car up to the dragstrip a couple weeks ago. I even bungled the the 1-2 shift a couple times making for some really great ETs. After a few runs though I found that it would shift faster if I put some force behind it. At first I was worried that it would grind or just not shift, but it shifted ok with no complaining. If it grinds going into gear then the synchros probably are worn out.

Oh, and I'm using Honda MTF for oil.

C|

[russiankid]

I found out if you come to a complete stop, then put it into 2nd or 4th then into reverse you shouldn't grind. It works for me, shifts smooth in all other gears. Only thing that is weird is when I am in first for to long on a stand still, the car kind of slightly jerks forward.

[2oodoor]

I cant explain that one Russiankid
I used to have a Plymouth Roadrunner with pistol grip shifer and the linkage was on the side of , outside the tranny. I just got into a habit of "clearing the gate" of the shift pattern to keep it from hanging up when I had to shift across the neutral gate, so I alway work the shifter to make sure I am across the gate before going into reverse. I never speed shift into fifth, LOL
The reason I ask about what oil, is I noticed a drastic improvment in how well the tranny went into gears after I changed the oil, and vicosity has something to do with how well it shifts IMO> Honda MTF , not just 90w.

[russiankid]

I cant explain that one Russiankid
I used to have a Plymouth Roadrunner with pistol grip shifer and the linkage was on the side of , outside the tranny. I just got into a habit of "clearing the gate" of the shift pattern to keep it from hanging up when I had to shift across the neutral gate, so I alway work the shifter to make sure I am across the gate before going into reverse. I never speed shift into fifth, LOL
The reason I ask about what oil, is I noticed a drastic improvment in how well the tranny went into gears after I changed the oil, and vicosity has something to do with how well it shifts IMO> Honda MTF , not just 90w.

I figure if I don't stay in first to long its ok. I won't tighten the clutch up anymore as I already have about 1-2mm of play on the release arm, which is less than the manual says.

[Bass Man]

I used 10w30. Same stuff as in my motor. It's what I had at the time, so I used it to get places. No one around me sells Honda MTF

I can make for a quicker 1/4 mile by shifting at about 5k instead of 6-6.2k power shifting.

[greentee76]

Honda MTF FTW!

[Bass Man]

Does it make that big of a difference??

[russiankid]

Does it make that big of a difference??

From what I hear it does. When my brother drove my car, he changed the fluid with Honda MTF and he said there was an improvement. I've been using Honda MTF ever since, I would only use 10w30 oil if I couldn't get Honda MTF.

[greentee76]

Does it make that big of a difference??

It certainly did for me. I noticed the difference immediatly. Smoother and more direct shifts. I did not change mine out fully but added alittle over a quart due to losses when I changed my driverside cv axle.

Also with the notorious fifth gear failure in these transmission I figured it was cheap insurance at 7$ a quart. I'm not really into racing mine that much(although it's alot more fun now with the weber) but I do want it to last along time.

[Civic Accord Honda]

WTF this forum is messed up

Bass Man

Last Online: 12-31-1969
Posts: n/a

[gfrg88]

WTF this forum is messed up

Bass Man

Last Online: 12-31-1969
Posts: n/a

x2... wtf is that all about