So....

04 TL with 87k miles, purchased it a year ago, and including myself, 4 people learned how to drive a manual on it, so this is kind of deserved. Looking back, the clutch started slipping in high RPM's about a month ago, but with my inexperience I didnt know exactly what it was, but had my suspicions about the clutch.

Within the last week and a half, the clutch has degraded significantly. The current situation is that I do not have to press the clutch pedal in very far to shift, and above 3k RPM's its steady slippin, and quite obvious.

Yesterday I ordered a new Clutch Kit from www.acuraoemparts.com for half of what the repair shops I got quotes from quoted it at. I am going to have an indie repair shop do the install, and have been quoted from 8.5-10.5 hrs for the job, plus flywheel resurfacing.

So questions I have are, does anyone have a semi-official source for the time estimate to do the clutch replacement?

The shop also mentioned flywheel resurfacing costs could increase if the flywheel is stepped, anyone know what this means?

A lesson learned:
Don't teach girls how to drive a manual on your car unless getting laid that night for sure is hanging in the balance. In the last 2 months, I taught 2 girls how to drive, definitely contributing a lot to the destruction of my clutch.

Thanks for reading.

 

With the flywheel construction, heat generated, I say you're better off getting a new flywheel. They aren't ceap, net $483, but well worth the cost. A stepped flywheel is one that the surface is of 2 different levels to put it simply and therefore requires 2 different setups when the flywheel is resurfaced e.g. Honda. There are a few manufacturers that recommend a flywheel replacement and not to have the flywheel resurfaced. Honda is not one of them though.
Not certain as to what comes in the clutch kit, but make certain you have a new throwout bearing as well as a pilot bearing.

Phoenix Friction has a new DM flywheel for $419.

 

I had my clutch installed at an indie shop for $400
just the clutch set, I didnt have to replace the flywheel.


:smack: for teaching girls how to drive stick on your car....
No one ever drives my car, the clutch is so finicky.

 

lol I guess it didnt happen for you

 

So how much time did all of you spend to learn on your car? I am just curious.

I had my ex g/f drive mine for 10 mintues this one time. She had some kind of an idea about driving a manual from previous experience. All she did wrong was stalled the car to get it going, and fortunately no grinding.

 

Zero. I've been operating manual transmissions for 50 years. Check some of my posts on this website and you'll see how I do this. Might help you out.

 

The TL was the hardest car for me to learn on.

I'm young and in my limited driving experience, I've been driving manuals for at least 6 years.
shit was so hard to get a silky smooth transition from 1st to 2nd.

 

If the flywheel is too badly worn, I will replace it. I wont know until wednesday when they pull it off. Since they pull the flywheel off anyways, it shouldnt add any labor costs if I do decide to replace it. Hopefully...

Its a work in progress....

New clutch comes Wednesday.

 

That dual mass flywheel takes a beating and if worn have found that Acura does not recommend it to be resurfaced but to be replaced.
Good luck

 

 

rtibbitts07,

What happened to you is why NO ONE except an experienced stick driver is allowed behind the wheel of my car. It would have been a shitload cheaper to pay a driving school to teach those chicks to drive a stick.

At least you had the common sense to use OEM parts, and now you'll never teach on it again, right?
.
.

 

and COMMON Sense says:

You shouldn't turbocharge a TL
You can't do engine management on a TL
Installing factory nav is next to impossible.
and White Men can't jump.

OP. I would do it all. Especially if teaching can get you what you want or need .

 

^but it didnt

 

I taught my sister to drive stick in my 1989 Sunbird. That was rough go.

Only 2 other people have driven my car, both very good manual drivers. One was my brother, who starting out driving very tentatively. I complained to him that it felt like he was driving an 18 wheeler. Well, at the next stop sign, he prompty chirped the wheels getting into 2nd.

 

Going to take this to the shop and have them determine if the flywheel is any good.

Work in progress damnit! lol...


Got the clutch today, going to the shop in a few hours. If the flywheel ends up being no good, gonna grab a lightweight flywheel. Thanks for the tips guys, I'll have pics of the clutch and assorted parts eventually.

 

^ good luck with the repairs ... hope it works out for u smoothly

 

good luck, sir...on all accounts, the clutch and the girls!

 

I'm pretty sure you can't mix a lwfw with oem pp and disc. There are no springs in the disc.

 

So went to inspect the work last night when the car was fully disassembled for the job.

Oh boy, glad I didn't decide to DIY the TL clutch replacement since I've never done one...

Both front wheels off
Downpipe off
Heatshielding off
Motor mounts off
Aluminum subframe off
Transmission bell housing off
Clutch, flywheel removed.

My big concern was the condition of the flywheel, and it was surprisingly not too bad. Only light discoloration from heat, and no scoring or gouges luckily, but still had them send it off to the machine shop for inspection and resurfacing if appropriate.

Throwout bearing was trashed, and they showed my the play that is the tell-tale sign of it being bad, plus I already knew it was dying from the very light squealing it would make for a second or two after gearchanges.

Pilot bearing was still great, and they said 95% of the transmission jobs they do, that is the case, and they mostly deal with older domestics.

This morning I got a call from the shop, and they said that after the machine shop inspected the flywheel, they determined it did not need resurfacing, and that only light buffing was required, which the shop will do in-house. Also interesting, they said that the reason that Acura/Honda does not reccommend resurfacing the flywheels is because taking material off has an affect on clutch pedal travel... interesting.

So in a couple hours here I am going back to the shop to see the progress, and *hopefully* getting my vehicle back today.

Not to rag on domestics, because Ford is making great strides with quality and have very competitive products, but the shop manager who I got to bullshit with for quite a while said that if they made all the cars they usually deal with in there like our Acura's/Honda's, they probably wouldnt be in business.

 

How much did they charge?

 

I dont have the final bill yet since it isnt done.

 

But you didnt get a quote?
my mechanic told me $400, but when the job was said and done it came out to be $470.

 

They quoted me at $735, 10.5hrs @ $70/hour.