Hi everyone,

I have a 2005 TL, 6-speed manual, with 255K miles. I bought it at 172K miles and have not replaced the clutch, and do not know if it was ever replaced before. I've driven manuals all my life and do not launch in 1st gear or abuse the clutch in anyway. Within the past 20K miles or so, I will have difficulty getting the car into or out of 1st/2nd gear. I have to double clutch, and then it will be fine. Also, there's times when the clutch friction point is very low...close to the floor..and if I'm not paying attention it will stall because of that. I would say the need to double clutch happens maybe 1 out of 15 times (but only in 1st/2nd gear). The low pickup point on the clutch happens less frequently than that. I have flushed my manual trans fluid 2x. About 15K miles ago i replaced it with the GM syncromesh fluid that everyone raves about and also replaced the master slave cylinder. I didn't notice much of a difference. And a couple weeks ago I flushed it again, and replaced it with OEM Honda fluid. Again...no difference that I can notice.

Anyone else experience something like this? It's weird. The clutch doesn't slip....if I sit at a red light i will push the clutch in sometimes and it feels weird...i'll pump it a few times then it feels more normal. I don't get it.

 

Check your clutch fluid. If it hasn't been changed in a long time, the contaminated fluid will leak past the seals.

Check the level. If needed, flush/bleed the hydraulics.

Try that first.

 

100% clutch master cylinder is failing. 2 hour job and a $50-$100 part, so your looking at like a $200-$300 bill. i highly recommend getting the clutch slave cylinder replaced at this time too.

 

Thank you...As I mentioned, I've flushed/refilled the manual transmission fluid twice, within the past 10K miles...and also replaced the Clutch Master Slave Cylinder 10K miles ago when I did the first fluid flush. The clutch Master Cylinder has not been replaced though....You think that's it? I'll look into that..Thank you!

 

you said you replaced clutch master slave cylinder 10k miles ago, I'm assuming you meant the slave cylinder that attaches to the bell housnig of the tranny, thats the slave. the master is on your firewall, driver side, way up under the dash, like way way up there.

replace the clutch master cylinder. you can get them on rockauto for like $50, and its billed as a 2 hour job by the book, so depending on the hourly labor rate for the shop you go to, your price may vary.

 

Push the clutch in and hold it about 10+ seconds in neutral and then try to put it in gear. You can check if the master cylinder is leaking internally.

 

WDPanda, can you expand on that....I'm holding the clutch in for 10+ seconds in neutral, then try to put it in gear......how can i check to see if the master cylinder is leaking internally?

 

After 10 seconds, does it allow you to go into gear?
If not, you could be losing pressure. Usually the fluid in the reservoir should be mucked up by that point. This is rare unless you contaminated the fluid in the reservoir.

 

WD Panda, I think you're onto something. It does happen frequently, if I'm sitting at a red light, and I've had my foot down on the clutch for a bit. I usually have to let up off it, pump it once or twice, then it's fine. Assuming, this is my issue, what's the fix for it? I haven't needed to add fluid to it, or not much anyways...so it doesn't seem to be leaking externally. Would the slave cylinder solve this issue?

 

You already replaced the slave cylinder.

He's suggesting replacing the master cylinder (the one on the firewall).

Make sure you PROPERLY adjust freeplay once it is installed. I think Acura calls for 6mm.

Also...its not good practice to hold your foot down on the clutch at stoplights. Just put it in neutral until you're ready to shift. In general, you should avoid pressing the clutch unless its time to start the car or shift gears.

 

You should never sit on the clutch, ever. Its time in operation is 1-2 seconds. If you hold it too long, you could be causing the synchros to work harder making getting into certain gears hard and unnecessary wear on the throw out bearing and clutch. That's why they double clutch, to match up the spinning gears. Fluid change is the first step when it gets choppy getting into gear.

Also, when you have the clutch at the floor problem, have you just recently accelerated WOT? That would indicate the aging pressure plate self adjusting for the next gear to engage quicker for the high rpm drop. I never had a problem with it once i figure out why it would be "heavy/on the floor" sometimes.