how can you tell if your clutch is going out ? sometimes from first to second it does not shift unless it goes in twice. but from third to 6 its smooth sailing.

 

What you're describing involves shifting which may or may not have anything to do with your clutch. If I read your post correctly, it sounds as though you're trying to say that there are times when it take two attempts to get into second gear from first gear. Can you be a little more specific in your explanation of your problem?

As for how to tell if a clutch is starting to go out on you, what year is your car? How many miles does it have on it? And are you the original owner? (yes, these questions help). For a clutch that is beginning to fail, one of the early signs is the onset of slippage. This can be caused by non-clutch items such as a higher than normal initial engagement point and/or no toe play.

Give us a bit more detail so we can offer some insight.

 

from what i heard i am the third owner of the car and there is 48000 miles on. i have an 04 tl. there are times when i cant engage second gear.

 

Don't mean to hack your thread OP but anyone got some simple do it yourself tests we can try. I know I was paranoid about my clutch a week after I bought it. It felt softer then my boy's and cousins stock TSX's. Went to the dealer to check it out said everything looked and operated correctly. So I went back and test drove other TL's they had on the lot but they all felt the same as mine. By the way I have an 05 NBP (Yeah Hate On My Color) with 40k and I'm the second owner.

<---- Looking pretty with the color matched grilled!

Yeah I'm Sorry I Need To Stop I Know.........

 

Failing to engage a gear is almost always caused by one of the following three things. In order, they are;

o Failure to fully disengage the clutch.
o Wore synchronizers.
o Blocker rings failing.

There are a few other causes, too but these are generally the more common ones. Try this. Sitting parked in your car with the engine at idle and the transmission in neutral, depress the clutch then immediately shift into third gear. It is natural to feel some initial resistance to this (the synchronizsers are doing their work). Now try the other gears doing the same thing: from neutral to a gear, saving second gear for last. The resistance will vary between gears some, but you should be able to engage all of the gears. If second is the one that is causing your problem, did it do it while running this little test?

The clutch pedal on our TL's has a rather short travel with an even shorter take-up. Plus the point at which initial engagement occurs to that of having enough pressure exerted to move the car is really short. This is the primary reason people have problems getting used to the clutch on this car. Is your clutch still operating in this fashion? Does it begin to engage when the pedal is real close to the floor (actually the stop pad)?

What I am trying to separate here is whether or not the problem is being caused by you or your clutch, or if it is a problem with your transmission.

 

What you might be confusing is the resistance of the clutch pedal to your foot's actions versus the pressure exerted by the pressure plate. If your TL feels like all of the others, then you're probably Ok. If your clutch is not slipping and there are no strange noises, you are Ok. If it grabs securely and positively, you are Ok.

 

Thank You