cpl_allen

So I'm not going to take full blame since I suspected that something was funny with my car when I got it. I've only had it a few weeks and I've been driving it pretty carefull. Its a used 2003 with 61,000 miles on it.

I've only pushed it hard a few times on open country road when nobody else was around, and I would get the RPM's up high before shifting. I would notice that any time I shifted after the car hit VTEC the clutch would slip a little bit before catching.

So the other night I was dropping my car off at my dads so I could borrow his truck for the weekend and I took him out for a ride. He wanted me to do a burnout.... so I went along with it. Ive done burnouts in plenty of cars before, so I dont THINK that I did anything wrong.. but when I dropped the clutch all I got was slipping until it picked up and the car launched off pretty fast, but no burnout. I was kind of scared that I messed up something, and when I got back to the house to park just down the road, I could smell that sweet smell of burnt clutch.

I'll be honest and say that I dont know a whole lot about cars, but I am learning. I picked up the car today and I immediately noticed something wrong.

1st gear, anything above 4,500 rpm did nothing
2nd gear, anything above 4,000 rpm did nothing
so on and so on. 6th gear anything above 3,000 rpm would give me no power, but the engine would rev up freely.

I could barely get the car above 55mph, and getting it to 50 was a task in itself.

I'm gonna take a guess and say that the clutch is burnt. I consulted a few friends and they agreed and suggested that i check stuff out to see if maybe the flywheel is jacked as well.


So what is the MOST LIKELY problem here, how much am I looking at spending, what do I need to buy, what DIY guides can I consult, and what recommended parts are there as replacements.

I'm ready to see if i can follow a DIY guide and take out the OEM clutch and get some pictures and whatnot so long as I can do this job with a few jackstands and a couple of jacks.

This sucks.

CKit

It's nothing "wrong." It's normal wear of a clutch... accelerated by you using up the last bit of clutch pad with your attempted burnout.

That's like saying "it sucks" that you have to get new tires or brakes.

When you buy a used car, that's one of the things you have to budget for.

Especially if the car was city driven. We went through a full clutch before 50k miles with the kind of use we were seeing.

Other people have gotten over 100k if they have mostly highway miles.

That your clutch was slipping before all of this makes me think you were at pad end-of-life anyway.

You can DIY (look in the FAQ) and there are threads here. It's a little bit of a PITA, though.

Getting it done at the dealership is ~$1k with parts and labor.

Nickamsweet

I think someone said there was a test... 4th gear and just foot to the floor... if the engine revs freely then it's a clutch slip... (which sounds exactly what it is like). The amount of slippage might have caused hot spots etc on the flywheel so that may need resurfaced...



Friction plate, Pressure plate, release bearing and the flywheel being resurfaced... not sure how much money it costs in America, but UK =

srl311too

What surprised me is how little abuse the clutch will take before it will glaze and slip. I did two or three burnouts one night before it would not transmit high power and started to slip. I thought, "wow 10k miles and I need a new clutch." With no more abuse it came back but if I ever replace the clutch I'm going kevlar which I have in another car which I thrash and have no clutch issues.

cpl_allen

Thanks for the tips. I talked with a few engine savvy friends tonight and they said they would be willing to help me out if I get stuck. The big question now is what clutch should I get? Anyone have any recommendations or know where i can go for a good deal? I'm doing this myself to learn/save money and I have an entire week of nothing to do anyways.

ahrmike

I recommend one of the sponsors on this site. got me clutch + lightened flywheel for <500 bucks! Good luck with the hunting!

foxy_s2k

Mine needed clutch straight away too. Car is abeast when it has a new clutch. Enjoy.

iam7head

I am on my second one at 134k, it's still holding strong

it's how you drive it, you can eat thru a clutch in one day if you are stupid enough

s2kAtTracks

I had 107k on my s2k when I sold it and it was doing just fine. I never noticed any slipping. Im not sure how many miles the car ahs now, but I know he is still driving it and he has not said anything about replacing the clutch.

deathsled

I see you have an AP2, do you still have your CDV installed? That would almost certainly be why you had some trouble with the clutch glazing over when doing burnouts. I've had days at the track where I've done 10+ burnouts without any effect on the clutch, but my CDV was removed, so there was no initial slipping to start with.