ntenseone

I just installed a new clutch in my S and I can't get it to disengage the disc. If I accidentally overtorqued the pressure player bolts, will it cause this issue? Some say yes, the clutch manufacturer said no.

Anyone have any experience with this?

ahrmike

No. Clutch pressure plate is mounted to a rigid plate (the flywheel). If the pressure plate was mounted on springs like a motorcycle clutch, possibly. Overtorquing the PP bolts will not do anything other than possibly warp the PP. I'd be willing to bet the problem is a misaligned fork or a improperly bled slave.

Billman250

Over torqued pp bolts are definitely not your problem.

Does the clutch pedal "feel" normal?

ntenseone

Let me be more specific.

For starters, I've probably forgotten more about cars than most people know, so no beginner talk needed here.

I've installed more clutches than most people as well.

I've never installed a pull-type clutch, however.

On ls1tech (Camaros and such with pull style clutches), there are people that have said that they're having the SAME issue with the SAME clutch, and that taking the trans back out and using a torque wrench to tighten the bolts to the exact spec has solved their problem.

The fork is installed just as it was when I took it out. I've looked at it and watched it actuate the pressure plate fingers.

I DID install a Science of Speed slave line, and at first, I did have pedal problems. I eventually took the slave off the trans, flipped it upside down (bleeder facing up) and used a power bleeder to suck the line clear of air. After that, perfect pedal, just like before the clutch swap. I had my friend's S2000 with the exact same clutch installed come over for pedal reference...mine feels just like his, except I've always had a small amount of pedal play at the top of the stroke, so I took that out, since my friend's car didn't have any play, and now the two cars are identical in pedal feel.

I'd like to know if anyone could tell me how much travel the fork is supposed to have in order to use for reference against mine, as it moves a fair distance.

I can easily take the slave off and flip it over to bleed it some more, but I've gone through 64oz of brake fluid already, via different bleeding methods, so considering my pedal feels great, I don't think that's my issue.

Everyone keeps saying
-Are you sure you didn't install the disc backwards? Yes.
-Are you sure the fork is installed correctly? Yes.
-Are you sure you got all the air out of the lines? I've bled the soul out of this clutch line, so unless it's holding it's breathe when I crack the bleeder, there should be no air left in this bastard.

So, once again...can anyone give me a measurement for the fork travel distance? It's not in my Helms.

ahrmike

looked through my scanned FSM - no mention of how far the fork needs to travel, only pedal (so master) travel. IIRC, my clutch moved in/out about 1" +/- 0.5". This is all from a few years ago so don't take it as truth but it should be around that much. Did you notice unusual wear on the pivot of the fork? Mine had a good deal of it at 60K miles - its POSSIBLE though improbable that the pivot is so worn that it wont pull the release bearing far enough...

CoolGuy094

Pretty sure I have the original pivot fork at 120k miles. Just had it out today cleaning it up to make sure I didn't need to buy a new one during my clutch swap. Couple of minutes with some brake cleaner and a dremel wire wheel cleaned it right up. Hardly any noticeable marks on the pivot pin, and the wire wheel and buff pad cleared those right up.

ntenseone

Well, I measured my friend's car that has the exact same clutch as I do, and his measured at 9/16", and when I measured my fork travel, it was the exact same.

I talked with a very experienced Honda builder in the area who recommended I take everything back out and see if the back side of the hub is coming into contact with the flywheel bolts, as he's seen this happen on a few occasions with aftermarket clutches and said that by removing the spacer ring and switching to B-series flywheel bolts I can remedy the problem.

Personally, I'm suspect of the flywheel...I had it resurfaced, and they only took .005" off, but they also resurfaced the ring around the friction area where the pressure plate bolts to the flywheel, and I'm concerned that they may have removed more than .005" from that surface, making it impossible for the pressure plate to let go of the disc.

Either way, I've eliminated the hydraulics as a possibility, so everything must now come back out again.