drj2110

07 TL-S, 55,000 miles

Hey guys, my clutch was slipping pretty bad so I bought a clutch kit from acura (clutch, flywheel, etc). My father was supposed to drop the car off at a mechanic friends shop but decided to do it change it himself with one of his workers. I snapped when I found out they were doing it and by the time I got down there (I'm away at school) it was too late and they had the transmission off and were putting everything in.

He didn't use any special tools other than some universal centering tool. He said they tightened the bolts really evenly. I went down there the other day when he told me it was done. I find my steering wheel upside down (I guess it needs to come off for this job?) and the gears shifting really rough. Kind of like the 3rd gear issue, but in every gear and worse. It barely even wanted to go into 5th, 6th or reverse.

After flipping out again I had to go back to school. Before the job I ordered 3 quarts of GM FM fluid. My father is hoping would like to think that fluid was lost during the job, which might be the case, however he doesn't know b/c his 18 year old Ecuadorian illegal immigrant was doing the job (a mechanic in his country so he should be more than capable right lol).

Long story short, my father is bringing the car to his friend who owns a transmission shop. He thinks the clutch job was done right and he hopes its a fluid issue. I was wondering if you guys had any ideas on what would be going on. Was fluid most likely lost? Could misalignment of the clutch cause this? Did the steering wheel need to come off? Is there any tricks to getting the steering wheel lined up right (they moved it and now when it's straight the car goes slightly right - they said they think an alignment job would fix it but I think they need to pull it off again - the car drives straight when you let go of the wheel). Any good Acura mechanics in NJ/NYC?

I love my car, maybe more than my girlfriend of 7 years, and he completely went behind my back on this one and I'm really pissed about this. I just want to get it right. Sorry for such a long post. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Doug

ez12a

I dont know the relationship between you and your father, but i would assume he had good intentions in mind when he did all this. In the end he's your father, and it's just a car. I was pissed when my dad drove my car while I was on vacation instead of taking his bmw and ended up curbing one of my wheels..but got over it.

I would have it looked at a pro, but i dont believe the steering wheel needs to come off for this job. That's a little weird.

Other than the PP being damaged from the lack of special tools, other things that could cause difficult shifting is air in the clutch lines. When it's taken to the shop have them bleed the clutch system too.

drj2110

I know and you're right. It's just been the pattern with him since day one, always trying to saving a few dollars.

One last detail I forgot - after the clutch had been done it was catching about an inch off the floor. After driving a total of about 1-2 miles it now catches at least 4 off the floor. He thought that have to do with air in lines. Anyone know where it should catch?

Thanks for the advice man and the perspective. You're right. Just getting sick of feeling like I'm being taking advantage of by my family.

ez12a

here are the specs from a 2004 6MT manual:
Clutch Pedal Stroke: 130-140 mm (5.12-5.51 in.)
Clutch Pedal Free Play: 10-18 mm (0.39-0.71 in.)
Clutch Pedal Height: 191 mm (7.52 in.)
Clutch Pedal Disengagement Height: 90.5 mm (3.56 in.)

the actual clutch disengagement point though can vary, due to the self adjusting nature of the PP. Mine seems to grab fairly late/high in the pedal stroke. At least it feels high. I havent actually looked at my foot..

SouthernBoy

Initial engagement commonly occurs within the first two inches of travel and generally less than that. I'm betting he didn't do the proper adjustment to the self-adjusting pressure plate and it has caused the engagement point to grow. THIS IS VERY BAD. The reason you are experiencing a lot of resistance to your shifts is because there is still some engine torque being passed to the transmission input shaft because full clutch disengagement is not taking place. This is going to severely wear your synchronizers since they are going to be working really hard to match shaft speeds. GET THIS FIXED.

BTW, I could be wrong with this assessment but it does sound like the crux of your problem.

SouthernBoy

Afternoon there;

The pedal disengagement height is also the initial engagement point when releasing the clutch and the reason it is 3.56" is because it is measured to the center point of the pedal pad and not the back of the pedal which contacts the stop pad on the firewall. The distance between the pedal center point and the point at which the pedal arm contacts the stop pad is approximately two inches (I just now measured it). This means that the initial engagement point is around two inches from the stop pad.

drj2110

Thank you for your reply. I spoke with my father and he was wondering what the proper procedure is to putting the pressure plate in. Does that consist of using a centering tool from Acura and the tool for compressing the pressure plate? He says that he saw no adjustments on the pressure plate and I explained that I believe that you mean how he put it in. He says it went in "evenly". He was also wondering what your advice would be from here. Thank you again.

ez12a

Cool good to know. It seems like a fairly long distance when i was thinking about it from the pedal position, but yeah, from the pedal arm is a much shorter distance.

JETSPD1477

clutch job on a TL isn't special. its no different from a 1992 honda.

a lot of questions need to be asked... the steering is probably my main concern.

was the steering wheel removed? did your father remove the steering wheel to reorient its position? the steering wheel doesn't have to come off at all for a clutch replacement. if it was ever removed make sure that it is properly oriented on the steering shaft using the line on the shaft and steering wheel itself. when they were removing the axles were the tie rods removed for some reason? if so the car will need to be aligned. fwiw the tie rods don't need to be removed from the steering knuckle for a clutch job.

the pressure plate doesn't require any adjustment during installation. it will always be naturally engaged (pedal up). as you tighten the clutch plate bolts it will apply pressure to the clutch plate. the centering tool is used to keep the clutch plate centered when tightening the pressure plate. a universal one will work perfectly fine with the input shaft from the transmission finishing the job when the transmission is mounted if its not perfectly aligned. the transmission would have never mated to the block if the clutch plate was grossly off center.

with the problem you are describing theres probably air in clutch line. most likely because the slave cylinder line was disconnected and reconnected without bleeding. there can be a couple of other things but let's give your father the benefit of the doubt.