Jsmply

Well I just went out and gave it some trial runs. It doesn't hang anywhere, just drops kinda slow from 8000rpms back down to 6000 (or wherever the RPMs land after a 1st - 2nd shift).

Is this what your experiancing? Can any other AP2 owner verify with a video? I'm going to try to get a video of mine posted.

What other conditions can show premature clutch wear other than a high RPM shift?

koala

What you're describing sounds exactly like the clutch delay valve, and not a slipping clutch.

If your clutch is slipping, you should be able to put it into a high gear at a low speed (say, 5th @ 35 mph), and when you give it some gas the RPM's should shoot up quite a bit quicker than they normally would.

Jsmply

I tried going in 5th tonight around 40 MPH and I floored it and the RPMs went NO-WHERE! They climbed at a turtle-like rate (as they should). Does this mean I'm good?

I also read in another thread to put the car in third gear and pulling the E-brake all the way up and then let the clutch out. If the car stalls its good but if the engine stays on for a bit then the clutch is slipping. My car stalled immediatly.

I also read that a post of a member suggesting to put the e-brake up and try to start out of 4th-6th and if you can move the car the clutch is slipping. I didn't try this one as it sounds like it CANT be good for the clutch.

So in conclusion, I think the mechanic at the Honda dealer might be wrong. Granted it seemed like the RPMs dropped a little faster in the new 2006 he compared it to, but I'm not positive on that. Again another member did tell me my clutch felt softer than his AP2, would stiffneses or softness of the clutch be any indication? I'm assuming they might just vary a little?

Incubus

I've had the clutch slip...but the slip was caused by the delay valve. While on the interstate, I shifted into sixth pretty briskly. At first, the engine speed was higher than it shouldh have been for that speed. I reallized this and immediately (but momentarilly) released the throttle. The RMP dropped and the engine speed returned to normal.

I know that my shifting wasn't perfect, that's why the engine speed wasn't at the right spot when I completed my shift. However, 45,000 miles of my MY2000 and I never had a slipping clutch.

Please convince me further that getting a new slave cylinder will not void my warranty. I'm just not able to fork over "differential" money right now.

NEODYMIUM

Seems to me this is the exact reason the delay valve is in there, it puts the abuse the differential would normaly see to the clutch, a non-warranted part.

Wisconsin S2k

exactly. the clutch delay is to help prevent improper driving technique from destroying the diff.

unfortunately, this can make it difficult to determine if your clutch slipping is being caused by the delay valve or by a worn clutch.

hkspwrsche

koala is exactly right.. it will normally slip in 5th gear before any other gear. It's the difference in the leverage you could say. If it's not slipping in 5th it's the hydraulic delay system built into you clutch S/cylinder.

PoweredByCamry

If the clutch will not slip in the 5th gear test described above, but feels different than it used to on engagement, I recommend you try bleeding the fluid. The clutch fluid on our cars turns black very quickly, I've seen cars where it happens withing 5k miles. Roasting the clutch doesn't seem to help. The clutch delay will cause the symptoms you noticed on hard or quick engagements but the feel in daily driving should be the same as when you bought the car.

My clutch started to feel a little "soft" on engagement at around 16k miles. It did not slip when I tried the 5th gear test. So I bled the fluid, and after a day or two there was a small but definite improvement. In my searches I found I am not the only that saw an improvement. After looking at the diagram of the slave cylinder in the service manual, I noticed there is a filter cup in the fluid path. My half assed theory is that when the clutch fluid gets very dirty, it clogs the filter and slows the return of fluid to the master.

It is definitely worth trying, because it's easy and costs almost nothing. All you need is a small bottle of DOT3 or 4 brake fluid, an assistant, a means to safely lift your car and jack stands. You can search for how-tos here.

HTH
Peter

DouglaS2000

I removed the delay valve on my 05 awhile back. But I think driving the car for over 16k miles WITH the delay valve on caused the clutch to wear prematurely because it does slip during quick shifts at high rpms. Going from 1-2 and 2-3, the RPM stays up for a bit until it grabs and goes back down before building momentum and climbing again. Not something I had ever experienced in my ap1. This is even after removal of the delay valve.

Jsmply

I've looked at it more closely. My car does not "hold up" there at all on 1-2 shifts or 2-3 shifts, it just goes down slower than a normal low RPM shift would. The RPMS fall from redline back down to their level (6000-ish) at about half the speed a casual 4000 rpm shift would.

This might be a little different than the above poster. Mine doesn't really "hang", just falls slow. Sounds more like delay valve to me.

I did the 5th and 6th gear tests last night at about 55 MPH. The RPMS climb up and so does the MPH. In 5th gear I punched it at 55 MPH and was at 70 mph in no time. If my clutch was indeed "burned" as the dealer mechanic said (becuase of the way it shifts at redline), this would not be so, correct?