BobSaget

Hey guys, last day or two I've had to shift below 5-6K to avoid grinding. At least once or twice a day I like to hit VTEC. Anyway, lately I've been grinding my 2nd and 3rd gears while shifting in VTEC. I thought it was driver error, but I purposely revved up today and held the clutch in for more than enough time and tried to send it to second and all I got was a grinding sound in return. 3rd was the same way. 4th and up is kind of hard to test for me because I don't want to get caught speeding.

Every time I grind I have to slow down to at least 4-5K to be able to shift properly.

Car was warmed up after good 20 minutes of driving around town.

Can anyone confirm that it's the clutch so I can sleep easy tonight?

sillyboybmxer

did you try just changing the clutch fluid????
seemed to help mine ....i started autocrossing last summer and then all of a sudden i was grinding while slamming second at 8k,...changed the fluid and it hasnt done it since.

BobSaget

I was dreading that too but the fluid costs like $2 so it can't hurt to try. Clutch fluid is 12 years old and the only one that hasn't been changed on the this car so far.

Ever since I started autox everything has been going to shit on my car: blinker fell out after a spin, I hit a whole tire on the freeway and my splitter was ripped straight off, CEL came back on after I supposedly rested it forever with 2 defoulers, my 12v, horn, and radio suddenly went out...I think my car is just cursed.

I'm seriously fed up with it and I want to get rid of it and get a cheap car again. Knowing my luck my diff would fall off or something on the way to meet a potential buyer so I won't even bother.

sillyboybmxer

for the longest time when i read "did you change your clutch fluid?" i thought it was always a joke thinking there was no such thing as "clutch fluid" lol but i finally started researching and realized it was real. Good thing cuz my clutch fluid was black.
i just used cooking syringe and sucked it out, added new fluid, pumped the pedal about 30times, repeated about 7 times till no dirty fluid was showing up.
better than going under the car

BobSaget

Yup I'm gonna do mine the lazy way as well.

HarryD

12 YEAR OLD CLUTCH (BRAKE) FLUID?!!!

Dude, the car is going to feel wonderful once that crap is out of there.

Do it once this month. Do it again in a month. And again a month after that. Your fluid (color/dirtiness) should stabilize by then and the feel will be phenomenal.

Honda DOT 3, btw.

emdzey01

I hope that by now it isn't any more than just clutch fluid.

12 year old clutch fluid also carries 12 years worth of contaminants. Hopefully the only issue is that the fluid has absorbed too much moisture for it to work properly.

Worse, the old fluid might have picked up sludge/dirt and has ruined your seals. Check inside your car and follow the clutch pedal to the master cylinder rod. Hopefully your cmc isn't leaking yet.

You should also check the slave cylinder for damage. If the piston is leaking, the fork might not be getting pushed in properly and could also be the cause of your problems.

A liter of DOT3 fluid costs around 10$. A new cmc is 100$. A little maintenance goes a long way in preventing more costly repairs.

BobSaget

Thanks guys. What worries me more than my 12 year old clutch fluid and this burning sensation when I pee is that everything was fine...TWO WEEKS AGO. Is it possible that everything I ever loved went to shit in two weeks? The tranny shifted beautifully at any RPM, the pedal felt smooth and I didn't grind in every gear but 1st. I'm going to replace the cluthc fluid regardless ($10 for a quart LOL...I should be 99c at any dollar store).

I've refinished my master cylinder nipple a few weeks ago. It was more of a pain the ass to remove the 3 bolts that hold it than to actually sand it down and relube it (they were seized just like every other bolt on my shit car).

emdzey01

Im not familiar with having to refinish the master cylinder nipple, i thought it was the slave cylinder rod that had to be sanded and refinished (the one attached by 2 bolts attached to the tranny underneath the car)

If it was fine two weeks ago and then suddenly went south, i would suspect a leak in the master cylinder via a ruptured seal. However, if you've already checked you master cylinder then i'd suggest checking out the slave.

As for the burning sensation, see your doctor so he can prescribe some antibiotics

BobSaget

Thanks guys, I will prescribe my clap (penis cold) some DOT 3 and flush my cluthc with some penicillin, that should cure the grind.