Hey guys,

My clutch is completely gone - slipping like all hell in every gear - barely driveable.

Anyway, I rang Honda to get it replaced but the guy wanted to wait 10-14 days to get in an oil seal from Japan in case the current one was leaky.

All the stock clutch parts are readily available but he said in his experience the oil seal is often leaky - and if they ripped the car apart and it was leaky then they couldn't put it back together until they had that part.

Is there any truth in this? My car is at 46,000 km (original clutch) which is probably 29,000 miles. I can't drive my car at all and it's my only car so it's a slight concern for me obviously.

Should I get them to replace it without waiting for the oil seal and hope or is there a high likelihood it could be problematic?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

 

The only seal that would be replaced when the clutch is out is the rear main crankshaft oil seal. It's leaking most likely took out the clutch, oil and the friction disc don't get along well.

I wouldn't replace the clutch without replacing the leaky seal at the same time. Removing the transmission is too much work to have to do 2x, when you could only do it once.

 

How certain is it that the oil seal was the cause of the clutch dying as opposed to just wear and tear?

 

If the disc is oiled, it was definitely a contributing factor to the failure.

 

Which disc? All I know is my clutch is completely slipping right now.

 

The clutch is made up of a friction disc, pressure plate, flywheel and release bearing. The friction disc is similar to a brake pad, in that it can't have oil or grease to function. The pressure plate, disc and bearing are usually replaced when the clutch is slipping.

 

So what is the likelihood of the oil seal being a contributor? I've burnt the clutch quite a number of times trying to learn how to launch so I wouldn't be surprised if that was the cause of it.

Is it worth taking it in and getting the clutch replaced without the oil seal?

 

It's possible, but not likely. The tech is covering his ass should the seal leak later. Launching the car is a good way to shorten the clutch life, It's also your most likely cause of failure.

 

There have been reports of hundreds of failed slipping clutches and I don't remember a single incident of failed rear main seal.

 

If the main seal is leaking, you would have seen evidence of this on the ground and under the car by now.