Help with 97 Civic EX manual

EdtheChipmunk

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Okay so I bought a 2 door civic ex. I replaced the Clutch because it was beyond bad. It ran fine for a few days and then the Slave clutch cylinder blew so I replaced Both the Master and the Slave clutch Cylinder. Now, It will run but wont go anywhere. By that I mean the gears are there but I have no Pick up from 1st through 5th. For example I took it on the highway and it took me two exits to get to 55 mph. Reverse seems like it's a little high on the RPM side but it seems to work fine. So I ask what could possibly cause this?

Before I forget, I noticed that when I start the car and put it in first, then take my foot off the clutch it continues to run even though it should stall out. What would cause that to happen?

Any thoughts or ideas are greatly appreciated. At this point I'm completely at a loss. I was thinking possibly the linkage, but if it was the linkage it wouldn't be able to be put in gear right?
 

Joe Mason

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OK, well either way if the motor is revving up and that isn't being directly transferred to the wheels while in gear then you have a problem with the clutch not engaging. I assume you bled the system when you changed the slave and master cylinder. You may need to take it apart and reinstall that thing. Something in there is borked.
 

XpL0d3r

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Sounds like a bad clutch or clutch component to me. Did you replace just the clutch or get a clutch kit? Something in there isn't right.
 

EdtheChipmunk

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Someone i know mentioned roughing up the flywheel with sandpaper before I put the new clutch plate in. I didn't do that, could that possibly be the issue?

XpL0d3r said:
Sounds like a bad clutch or clutch component to me. Did you replace just the clutch or get a clutch kit? Something in there isn't right.
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I used a clutch kit.
 

XpL0d3r

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EdtheChipmunk said:
Someone i know mentioned roughing up the flywheel with sandpaper before I put the new clutch plate in. I didn't do that, could that possibly be the issue?
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It sounds like the clutch is constantly slipping, so when it's engaged it's not causing friction between the two plates as it should. As such, the RPMs won't drop, so the car won't stall.

Did your flywheel have a lot of hot spots on it? If so that can surely cause slipping. It's recommended to resurface a flywheel before reinstalling. I never did this myself, so when I boosted my vehicle, I had no power in first gear, since it kept slipping. I don't think this is your case though.

I would check clutch, pressure plate, and everything in between. Make sure everything is aligned with the tool that came with the clutch kit.

If all looks good, your input shaft / bearing might be toast.

Also you broke the clutch in properly right?
 

EdtheChipmunk

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Break the clutch in? I turned the car on while it was in the air and went through the gears. Seemed fine, I drove it for like three days and the slave clutch cylinder went. I used the alignment tool that came with the kit. When I pulled the old clutch out there was nothing left of it. Almost like the dude that sold it to me knew the clutch was gone and adjusted it so it would atleast drive off the lot and down the road. I knew i should have changed the input shaft bearing when I had it out of the car. Shoulda woulda coulda lol. How would I check the flywheel for hot spots?
 

Joe Mason

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EdtheChipmunk said:
Someone i know mentioned roughing up the flywheel with sandpaper before I put the new clutch plate in. I didn't do that, could that possibly be the issue?
Click to expand...
You're going to have to take it apart anyways. Might as well sand it down then.
 

XpL0d3r

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EdtheChipmunk said:
Break the clutch in? I turned the car on while it was in the air and went through the gears. Seemed fine, I drove it for like three days and the slave clutch cylinder went. I used the alignment tool that came with the kit. When I pulled the old clutch out there was nothing left of it. Almost like the dude that sold it to me knew the clutch was gone and adjusted it so it would atleast drive off the lot and down the road. I knew i should have changed the input shaft bearing when I had it out of the car. Shoulda woulda coulda lol. How would I check the flywheel for hot spots?
Click to expand...
Clutches have a break in period, aka drive like a granny for 300-500 miles or so lol. The purpose is to engage/disengage the clutch smoothly to get the friction pads to seat properly for the flywheel and pressure plate.

You can check for hotspots by taking it apart and inspecting the flywheel for glazed / shiny spots. Those spots are hot spots and can develop from overheating the flwheel by either not breaking in a clutch properly, constant hard shifts, an old clutch with no meant left (probably your reason here), or even just improper torque specs.
 

lethal6

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If it wasn't a NEW flywheel you need to have it resurfaced by a machine shop. Not just hitting it with sand paper. You need to get that glaze off and there needs to be a fresh surface for the new clutch to mesh with. The meshing of them together and making a good fit is the "break in" that XpL0d3r is talking about. You aren't going to get that break in with a nasty glazed flywheel. That would be my money on why yours is slipping.
 

EdtheChipmunk

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***UPDATE***

Tried to adjust the master clutch cylinder. Popped the ring out. Have to pull it out and put it back together again. Went all the way in while adjusting did nothing. Tried clockwise nothing. Tried counter clockwise still nothing. Figured I would try that before I moved on to pulling the tranny and checking the flywheel, plates and what not.

On another note, there appears to be some sort of switch that is pushed in when the clutch pedal has no pressure on it. The stick seems really loose. Could that possibly be the issue. Maybe the clutch isn't engaging properly because of something to do with the stick. First gear is really close to the edge of the boot. Almost like you have to push it into the plastic console to get it to go into gear. the same goes with reverse and fifth. However second, third, and fourth seem to be in the right spot.
 

Joe Mason

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EdtheChipmunk said:
***UPDATE***

Tried to adjust the master clutch cylinder. Popped the ring out. Have to pull it out and put it back together again. Went all the way in while adjusting did nothing. Tried clockwise nothing. Tried counter clockwise still nothing. Figured I would try that before I moved on to pulling the tranny and checking the flywheel, plates and what not.

On another note, there appears to be some sort of switch that is pushed in when the clutch pedal has no pressure on it. The stick seems really loose. Could that possibly be the issue. Maybe the clutch isn't engaging properly because of something to do with the stick. First gear is really close to the edge of the boot. Almost like you have to push it into the plastic console to get it to go into gear. the same goes with reverse and fifth. However second, third, and fourth seem to be in the right spot.
Click to expand...
Some pics would really help here.
 

EdtheChipmunk

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***UPDATE***

Okay lets start with images of the car itself.



***UPDATE***
Got the master clutch cylinder out again.


okay I got the cylinder back in and bled it again. Put the clutch pedal to the floor. Cracked the bleeder valve. Closed the bleeder. Pumped it. Repeat. Made sure the reservoir stayed full the whole time. Now it bogs when I put it in gear but it still doesn't stall. I tried adjusting the arm on the master cylinder again. Didn't really help much. I noticed a line going to nowhere. Not sure what it is or where its supposed to go. Maybe that has something to do with it.


Anyone have any clues? I also noticed that I now really have to push hard to get it to engage first gear. Bad linkage possibly?
 

EdtheChipmunk

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I pulled the iacv and cleaned it. Waiting for it to dry before I put it back in. I'll then be moving on to the linkage. Possibly the shifter bushing. Not sure yet. Pictures to come.
 

Joe Mason

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I still think it's the clutch install itself. Even if it was a bleed issue it wouldn't act like that. And def not a linkage issue.
 
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