93 Civic LX - accelerating issues/wont gas right/slips

Hello everyone,

I drive a 1993 Honda Civic LX (stick)

The car worked wonders in the past, but the clutch went out at about

180,000 miles, so my good friend of mine who is a car mechanic replaced the clutch (flywheel) and a new Clutch Slave Cylinder, about 10,000 miles ago the Clutch Master Cylinder was replaced too.

There was a issue, the O'ring on the distributor cap was broken, caused oil to leak into the transmission and got onto the clutch, and when the clutch got very warm.. would slip.. and after 2 weeks of driving it.. the clutch burnt out.

My buddy installed another clutch, this is now the 3rd one and the o'ring was replaced, and he cleaned up all the oil, but now I am having similar issues when the car gets warm.

I live in Atlanta, and it has been in the mid 40's/50's in the morning. The car is cold, so when I start up the car works fine, the clutch shifts fine, and the car accelerates pretty well, about 3K RPM going at about 55 mph/ 60 mph... but as the engine gets warmer... it starts to have issues... like yesterday... I left home at 3pm and it was 75 degrees outside... I get on the expressway... everything is fine.... once I am driving.. about 15 miles later.. the car does not want to accelerate.... I push on the gas.... and in 4th gear trying to hit 70 mph... the RPM hits 5.5 RPM..... which is worrying me... the gas is struggling... and the car just does not want to accelerate whatsoever.... as I am coasting on the expressway, the car goes 80 mph.... and the car is close to red lining it....

So I finally get off my exit which is 45 minutes from my house... and as I get off the express to the light.. I go into 1st gear.. it pulls.. then the light is green.. and I go into second... and the car does not move.. except from the force of going down hill a bit.. I do my u-turn like I always do.. and I go into 1st gear... move a bit with the force of gravity and able to roll down the hill to my job and park...

I get off work at 3am... and its freezing outside... I get in the car and drive home like nothing happened... As long as it is very cold outside.. everything works. What could be causing the car not to want to accelerate? and not move? This is so very scary, and I am worried for my safety now, because once It gets hot again... I just won't be able to drive like this.

For whoever might know what the issue is, thank you sooo very much. I greatly appreciate you all for taking the time to read my post, and for your replies. THANK YOU!

Janos snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com

Reply to
mopa
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Reply to
mopa

well, if he doesn't know what he's doing wrong, and clearly there's something up, how is he going to know enough to discover the problem?

friction plates hold less when they're hot - in brakes, that's known as "fade".

hydraulic clutches are self-adjusting. generally, they either work or they don't.

yeah, got that. if you can't do this stuff yourself, you need to take it to someone that knows what they're doing. with respect to your buddy, the unfortunate truth is that he doesn't know as much as he should or this would be fixed - by definition. i think you need a second opinion. it may cost you quite a bit more, but it's cheaper than buying a new car, and the fact that your motor clearly still has guts, means this car's got sufficient life in it to justify the expense. see if you can find an experienced independent honda mechanic, or a dealer that's got some enthusiasts on staff.

Reply to
jim beam

one more thing - look at your buddy's last invoice for this alleged flywheel. the genuine article from honda is $200+, the friction and pressure plates, ~$150. if your invoice doesn't have those items on it, there's a problem with the story you're being told.

Reply to
jim beam

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Thanks for the reply Jim. It was $250 for all the parts. We spoke today, and he believes it is the Master Cylinder (about 10 months old) from Autozone, for some reason he said those do not always work the best, so he told me to get a new one from O'Reilly Auto Parts.

Do you think it could be the Master Cylinder? or a defective cable adjuster?

Thank you!

Reply to
mopa

well, I don't know how it relates to your particular symptoms, but sometimes you can replace both cylinders but crud in the line keeps the pressure from releasing so the clutch slips for a while after you shift. Just another thing to check. (goes for brake lines too).

Reply to
z

so it's /highly/ unlikely he replaced the flywheel, simply skimmed it.

unless there's something seriously wrong, like it's completely the wrong component, i think a cylinder causing this problem is most unlikely.

no cable in the clutch of the 93 civic. and it's unlikely to be the clutch cylinders. the normal problem is that you fail to achieve sufficient release pressure. a slipping clutch would be excess clutch pressure - something i've never seen.

again, you need a second opinion from someone /other/ than the guy that has repeatedly failed to fix it.

Reply to
jim beam

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Thanks Jim.

Yes, my friend John replaced the flywheel, he showed me the oil burn marks from the last one as a result of the oil dripping on the wheel and leaving these marks on it. What would cause the car not to pull? I drove it to his shop today, and it worked fine in 1st and 2nd gear, but when I put it into 3rd gear, the gas pedal just hit the floor and the RPM's went way up... and went no where....

I don't know much about the details of how a clutch works, but I would think after letting go of the clutch... and hitting the gas the clutch would no longer be used. I guess the clutch always works, no matter if its being pressed in or out... or just sitting.

Reply to
mopa

I bought the new master cylinder, and will see how that works. He's doing all of this work free of charge, just as a good friend, so I am pretty lucky. Of course, it would be better if it worked without no problems.

Reply to
mopa

Reply to
loewent via CarKB.com

Well, there is an adjuster between the pedal and the cylinder, up under the dash. It could be adjusted so that the clutch never really goes all the way "out". easy to tell by lack of slack in the pedal, I would imagine.

Reply to
z

Things can happen. the throwout bearing has to slid up and down on the transmission shaft, if there's some roughness it can hang up. Your symptoms are certainly consistent with slight clutch slipping; since the transmission puts more load on the engine in higher gears, that's where the slipping is seen first, even if it doesn't slip in lower gears. Where the warmup sensitivity comes in is an open question, though.

could even be a defective clutch, I suppose.

Reply to
z

there is no lack of slack in the pedals at all, the master and slave cylinders work perfectly find, there is plenty of pressure in both the gas and clutch pedals. That is what makes no sense... the car just won't accelerate when its warm outside, it works perfect at 3am when its 40 degrees..

Reply to
mopa

Thanks for your help Z, I sure hope not. This is the 2nd clutch in 1 month. The flywheel has been resurfaced, so that should not be a issue. I am so frustrated.

Reply to
mopa

but that /is/ the issue. like i said right back at the beginning, if the flywheel has been resurfaced [skimmed], and too much material removed, the new clutch can't apply enough pressure to hold tight.

replace the flywheel, replace the clutch and pressure plate, make sure the clutch plate is fitted the right way around, and don't let your "friend" do the work. seriously dude, he may not be charging you labor, but how much is your own time worth to have the car in the shop like this? it's like you're letting the local drunk babysit your kids because he's "a nice guy". cough up the dough to take the car to someone that knows what they're doing. that way, you can have the car guaranteed on the road for another 15 trouble-free years.

Reply to
jim beam

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Thanks for the help Jim. I was hoping my buddy was right, he changed out the Master Cylinder Clutch and it has been working fine, for the past 2 days now, no issues with the accelerating. He said something about air being in the old one, I have no idea how that could of happen.

Thanks again man, your always a big help to those here in the group!

Reply to
mopa

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