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The Barbelith Auto Garage

02:06 / 25.02.04

So the clutch went out on my Honda Prelude today. Before I get it to a repair shop, I'm hoping someone can tell me what a clutch is, what it does and what happens when it goes out (I seem to remember something about the asbestos) so I won't look like a complete chump when talking to the greasemonkeys.

06:34 / 25.02.04

The clutch sits between the engine and the wheels, as it were, and allows the vehicle to remain still while the engine's in gear and also allows you to feed power in gradually, so that the engine doesn't simply stall when you try to move. It also makes changing gear easier.

Most clutches consist of several plates which are pressed together by strong springs. When you push the clutch pedal, the plates are moved apart, disengaging the drive.

Your clutch may or may not need replacing, depending on exactly what's wrong with it. If it's just a spring or plate that's broken, it may not be too hard to fix. It can be expensive, though, because clutches often take quite a while to remove.

Good luck!

14:11 / 25.02.04

So I went in for an oil change yesterday, because I found a coupon for a $9.95 oil change/lube/oil filter. Ordinarily I change my own oil, but it costs me more than ten dollars just to buy oil, not to mention the hassle of disposing of the used oil. I take in at 12:39 and the guy says it'll take about an hour (all their bays are full, so I figure they're busy. I go & have lunch and come back at 2:20. When I ask whether it's ready, it takes the guy 10 minutes to find my paperwork, and then he charges me $17 -- fine print on coupon (add'l charge for supplies). My car has not been moved from where I parked it, and if it has, they've managed to put it back in exactly the same spot. There's no little sticker on the window saying 'next oil change due...' and most damningly, NO dust has been disturbed on the oil cap.

So did Harry Houdini change my fucking oil or what? Before I go back and yell at them (more) I want to make sure that there isn't some other spot into which a shop would add new oil which wouldn't leave fingermarks.

15:18 / 25.02.04

to check, you'll have to open the aforementioned cap. (btw, unless your car was built by Starfleet and has multiple backup systems, it's not going to have more than one spot to pour oil, AFAIK) Pull out the dip stick, wipe off the oil onto a rag, replace the dipstick and pull it back out again. Check the colour of the oil. Black = old. translucent brown = new. With new oil, you should be able to still see the hatchmarks on the dipstick. And if there's enough dust on the cap to make you wonder, your oil should be black if it hasn't been changed.

Oh, and the oil level should be, y'know, full.

15:52 / 25.02.04

On the clutch thing, quite often it's the bushing (uh, nylon padding stuff) under the shifter that makes shifting hard, or the cable from the pedal to the clutch itself that needs tightening, if the pedal feels soft. Both repairs are cheaper than a new clutch.

When a clutch goes out, typically it gets kinda hard to get your car either into or out of gear. You can get stuck in second, for example.

15:55 / 25.02.04

Yeah. That's exactly what's happened, grant. I was lucky enough to be able to coast into my apartment parking lot at the last minute. But it was a full-on fight with the gear shift the whole time. So is that the entire clutch that needs replacing?

whothehell@where?

15:56 / 25.02.04

does the clutch pedal feel as if it has no resistance? if that preludes older, you may have snapped the wire, which is a quick fix, follow the wire from the top of the clutch pedal, through the firewall, into the engine compartment, it'll lead you to the clutch lever.

the car will still drive if that's the problem, just start it in first and slip it into and out of gear by gently pulling and pushing against the different positions until you feel it slip into gear. stop lights are the bitch of it

whothehell@where?

16:00 / 25.02.04

oops too slow on that question i guess, definately not the cable

16:01 / 25.02.04

does the clutch pedal feel as if it has no resistance?

It's incredibly weak. Almost feels non-existant. I've been feeling it grow less and less resistant the last few months and having had a clutch go out on me before on a previous car, figured it was only a matter of time. It ground a bit when I was putting my foot down (hard) on the clutch pedal and trying to shift gears last night.

It's near impossible to get it into any gear right now.

whothehell@where?

16:11 / 25.02.04

you'll have a bitch of a time trying to replace that clutch yourself. gotta dismantle the suspension, break the hub bolts, pull the drive axels, just to get the fucker. gonna have to do it to my civic here soon, i dogged the piss out of it and it's started slippin' a bit

16:15 / 25.02.04

Yeah. I figure I'll have to find out a way to get it hauled to a shop and let them put the screws to me. For money I don't have. No way I'm doing it myself.

whothehell@where?

16:22 / 25.02.04

might want to check the cable anyway, just in case, i had a 83 civic when i was a kid that went through clutch cables bimonthly, and for a week before they'd finally snap, they would make shifting a holy hell of a thing, it'll save you a shit load of money if it is the cable. should be a nut on the clutch side of the cable, try adjusting that down, so the lever raises farther when the clutch pedal is floored

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

14:25 / 26.02.04

Your Prelude has a hydraulic clutch. Check the fluid in the reservoir. It should be under the hood on the firewall in front of the driver, somewhere near the brake master cylinder. The reservoir should be small and cylindrical. The cap should have some truck about DOT 3 brake fluid on it. If the reservoir is empty, it will suck air into the lines and cause the clutch not to work. If filling the reservoir works, keep an eye on the fluid levels. If they fall noticibly over the course of a few weeks, you have a leak in the system and need to have whatever is leaking fixed.

Cheap. Easy. Cruel.

14:29 / 26.02.04

When your clutch needs to be replaced, it will slip. To check this, put your car in gear (1st gear) while it is running. Let the clutch out while pressing the brakes. If the car dies, your clutch should be okay. If it does not kill the car, your clutch is slipping pretty significantly and should be replaced.