Clutch "drag" is a condition where the friction surfaces in the clutch assembly (flywheel, clutch disc and/or pressure plate) have too much friction with each other even when the pedal is on the floor. On a normal clutch, even with the pedal to the floor, the friction surfaces may still actually touch each other, but they freely slip without incurring much heat. Somewhat like your brake pads and rotors. Even when you don't have your foot on the brake pedal, the pads still touch the rotor surface to a small extent, but they don't impede the rotor movement in any way. However, if the friction surface is in poor shape or the clutch hydraulics is not working right, there is sufficient friction to impede movement between the surfaces. "Poor shape" usually means worn out and slipping but in some cases, it could mean they grab too much.

 

Very interesting, did not know any of that (except for the brake stuff). Then that basically settles it, the problem lies in the clutch "system." Any possibility that my synchro or any other tranny component is at fault here?

 

The possibility is always there, so I won't tell you otherwise. You could still have a shift fork issue, but I would tend to think you can eliminate this by rowing through the gears with the engine off.

How old and how many miles on your clutch anyway?

 

I bought the car used, but I'm pretty sure the clutch is original since it has the buzzing during decelerating between 3000 and 4000 rpms. The car is approaching 52K now, and I can row through the gears with the car off with no problem whatsoever.
Ok, so been schooling myself all about clutches and what not, so please bear with me because I am somewhat new to all this. Ok, I have deduced that my throw out bearing is worn as well because I experience violent shuddering when the clutch engages especially when I don't wind up the revs a bit (which is weird for me, I swear I don't remember ever passing 1300 rpms when the clutch fully engages in first in any other car), and a very awful noise when launching on say a hill (I know that if the revs drop low when launching that the car shudders, this is different though since the car has never came close to stalling), I mean the noise is beyond just the engine about to die. Ok, so here;s my newbie brain theorizing, perhaps since the throw out bearing is worn, it's affecting the way the clutch disengages since it is pushing against the diaphram spring which in turns disengages the clutch. Any thoughts?

 

OK, you can mostly rule out the tranny. Sounds to me that it's fine.
A throw out bearing doesn't "wear" in the manner that you are likely thinking that it does. It wears in a rotational sense (it's a bearing after all). Your situation would stem from a T.O. bearing that's not working the pressure plate fully and this is highly unlikely unless it's not sliding on the spindle, in which case, you should feel stiffness in the clutch pedal movement.
You can't compare other cars in where the rpm is at full engagement. You must keep in mind that we have a 9000 rpm rev range and the torque is minimal, especially down low. You need way more revs to get 3000 lbs of car moving. Typically, people use anywhere from 2000 rpm to as high as 3500 rpm for a "normal" take off.
Although your T.O. bearing is worn to the tune of 52K miles, I doubt this is what the problem may be. Also, the "buzzing" may not be an indication that you have the original clutch. The buzz has been known to come back very shortly after a clutch job. At such low rpm starts, your clutch is tending to "grab" very hard. This can induce a lot of disc spring chatter (normal). I would suggest you alter your driving technique to incorporate more rpms when taking off from a dead stop.

As for not being able to engage 1st easily, you have done the "put into 4th first, then immediately into 1st", right? How does this work? Same goes for reverse. You need to stop the tranny from spinning before trying to shove it into such a high ratio gear (1st and reverse). If this still presents an issue of getting into gear, you must continue to focus on the clutch actuation system. This would involve fluid, pedal rod adjustment, release fork. Your release fork may also have moved slightly from its full seated position. This is also a reported issue. Additionally, it might be a good idea to grease the release fork pivot and fingers.

 

THAT'S THE EQUATION!

I was wondering why my clutch action felt worse after my bleed this weekend.

XV you are a National Treasure!!

Thanks,
BD

 

I help where I can. Not always right, but I try.

 

Thanks again for schooling me Viper, learning so much about this car. Yeah, I altered my driving technique, just wanted to make sure that this was indeed normal. I don't use the 4th to first, but rather 3rd to first, and it works well for me, so if this is indeed normal, then I guess I don't have a problem. I have no problem putting it into first directly when the car is moving (like almost stopped, like in traffic for isntance) but rather my problem comes when the car is at a dead stop, and then I push the pedal down and then try to engage first. Also, reverse is never an issue, if it is a bit notchy at times.
Also, another theory (sorry, I keep throwing my newbie theories at you, but it's jsut the way my slow butt learns), could it be the clutch slave cylinder?

 

It could be anything but before we go too much further on this pursuit, let's get a few things clear.

What's the clutch action like? I mean, do you have the proper amount of free play at both the bottom of the pedal and at the top? When you begin to lift up on the clutch, is there about 1.5" to 2" before it begins to engage? And at the top, when you are just driving around, can you push the pedal down an inch or two and have nothing happen? If so when the clutch is cold (first couple of miles of the first drive of the day), your clutch actuation is pretty normal.

How is the fluid level in the reservoir? Is it pretty stable or has it changed? Gone down?

Difficulty in 1st gear and reverse selection from a dead stop is not unusual if you understand what's going on. Here is a post I did that may help you to decide if your situation resembles this:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showt...246243&hl=thunk

If after reading all this, you still deem that there may be something wrong with your car, then go back to the earlier posts in this thread and look at some of those things. I began my earlier responses based on the premise that you actually had a problem. As we have progressed into this thread, I'm beginning to think that perhaps what you are seeing are only characteristics that are unique to the way you drive.

 

Yeah, I'm slowly starting to realize this as well, since the car drives perfectly fine, and I did the 4th to first thing that you mentioned and yeah, goes into first liek a dream.
So in the end, perhaps there is no problem, I just need to get used to the quirks of driving this car. But in the pursuit of fully understanding this car, I just want to know whats causing this problem is all, makes me feel better knowing what's causing it. Looking around, most people experiencing the problem also had problems with their reverse gears and grind second, both of which I haven't encountered, and the techs at Honda didn't mention anything about it either, so I guess it just comes with the territory.