I really couldn't find much info on changing a clutch on the GD so i figured I'd chime in and give my experience.

I bought my 07 sport with 42k miles. At 50k it started getting notchy going into gear. When hot it would get so bad I had to really force it into gear. I tried adjusting the clutch master rod, but once I got it shifting smoothly, it started to slip. I backed off and dealt with it but finally it started slipping again so it was time to get in there and have a look.

If you have ever done a clutch before, this is just as straightforward as any other job. You don't have to drop the subframe, don't have to disconnect any coolant lines and you dont even have to unbolt the starter from the engine. One starter bolt passes through from the transmission side so just take that one out. Once you get the intake and battery out of the way, you have lots of room to work with. You could even leave the pass side axle in place, but I didn't want to risk damaging the boot so I took it out. It gave me the opportunity to lubricate the splines to make sure it comes apart in the future. The clutch slave unbolts and once you unbolt the line you can lift it up and out of the way. The worst part of the job was separating the tranny from the engine. The dowels that held it together where so corroded that I had to literally hammer screwdrivers between the block and tranny, wedging them in place to spread it apart. I show the location in the attached pic for reference. You want to make sure to spray penetrant in that area pry close to area to get it free. I have done lots of clutches but this was the worst I have dealt with.
I used lots of long extensions to get to the motor mounts and engine to transmission bolts and that definitely makes the job easier. I did it on a lift so I used a screw jack to support the engine while I did the job. The kit i used came with a pilot bearing. I made a small tool to pull it out using a slide hammer. Any pilot bearing removal tool would work. It doesnt take much force to pull it out, I just didn't have one. One other issue I ran into was with the Sustec lower tie bar that is on the car. It was in the way, so I had to unbolt it. Unfortunately, the previous owner didnt grease the lower control arm pivot bolts. The driver side came out easy, but the pass side was siezed to the bushing sleeve. Luckily I was able to unbolt the rear pivot of the LCA and the lower ball joint, then swing the arm and tie bar down enough to get it out of the way. The hole in the tie bar is big, and water must have gotten in between the bar and the subframe causing the rust. I will have to deal with that some day, but I will be prepared when that time comes. That lower bar is a flimsy thing. I could literally bend it with my hands. I cant even see how it even does anything.

Once I pulled out the clutch I looked at the disk and it was in really good shape. I was shocked and was kind of worried. It was about 6.5mm thick and my new one was about 7.5mm thick. I was worried I ripped into it for no reason and may have had a hydraulic issue and overlooked it. Then I noticed that the springs on the diaphragm weren't flat. A few of them were collapsed. Who knows what caused it, but that was the reason the clutch was dragging causing it not to disengage and shift smoothly. Relief.

I ended going with an Exedy hck1006. I resurfaced the flywheel and changed the pilot and throw out bearing. While I was in there I changed a noisy axle and 3 of the 4 motor mounts. When the previous owner did the lowering springs, he pinched the axle boot and grease was slowly getting out and moisture was probably getting in. When cold it would click, but would go away after 10 min of driving. After it went back together I filled it with 1.6 qts of new Honda fluid.

I'm really happy with the hck1006. I should be able to get 200k out of it. I never go through clutches on my daily drivers.
I have attached a few pics.
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask.

 

I found a photo as I was putting the trans back in. You can see how I was able to maneuver it around the lower tie bar since I couldn't get it out.

 

Thanks for your input and advice. I plan to change my clutch on mine soon also. Mine has 200k miles on it now, so I'm sure it's getting tired. Just got done with my s2000 clutch job 2 weeks ago. So im just going to wait for now since I'm all clutched out

 

Great write-up, dude. I want you or your hologram standing next to me if I ever have to do a clutch.

 

I think a RWD clutch is usually a little easier than a FWD, but if you have done one, you can basically do them all. I'm the type of person that says "if it isn't broken, then dont try to fix it". At 200k if its still going strong, then leave it alone. At that mileage chances are that other things are going to make the job more difficult. Axles may not come out of the hubs, bolts may break or get stripped etc.

Why create unnecessary hassle in life. Its already complicated enough isn't it?

 

Just be prepared with all the right tools and the necessary parts and youll be fine. If I can help in any way let me know.

 

Nice work. This sounds like my situation exactly. I just hijacked an older thread trying to figure it out - wish I'd seen this one first. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...ml#post1364344

I feel dumb, but I can't really discern the difference in the fingers on the diaphragm in your photo.

My thinking as well. The kid is currently $125 online; those are all the parts you should need right?

 

Now I get it plain as day. I tried to take better photos but yours are still better than mine. Maybe I'll try to get some better before and after at the same exact angle with a gage on there or something. Seeing the difference in person shows the night-and-day difference. The tips of the new spring steel fingers is probably 1/4" extended out from those of the old plate. You can easily feel the spring motion while pushing down on one of the fingers in the new one whereas on the old one it just feels like a flat piece of steel. Hard to explain but obviously different.

I just finished ripping it apart tonight and will let my wounds mend for a few days before I crawl back under there...

Here is my pressure plate with 100k miles (I assume it is original)




Old Plate with collapsed fingers



new plate with fingers extending up out of assembly

 

In my case there are a few fingers that are "stepped" relative to the ones next to it. What it caused in mine was the inability to even adjust the pedal height to compensate for the deterioration. i would think if they all deformed evenly you could just compensate by adjusting the pedal height. That worked for me for a few miles and then just got worse again.

I am surprised to see this with such low mileage. 100k on a clutch isnt much at all. I have had cars with 225k on the stock clutch and still functioning fine.

 

Roger; makes sense. Mine has felt funny since my day number 1 @ ~85k miles. I think it was on the brink of failure at that point. disengagement has always resulted in release right before hitting the floor. Starting from a stop has always been tricky.

The master link to pedal adjustment is all the way out! My loaner car, a 1998 Honda Civic with 260k miles and original clutch, feels MUCH better than this one ever did.

 

oh dang... after we played with it in the office a bit this morning we found the ultimate failure. The one-piece spring steel ring fractured and split. Check it out.

 

Oh Yeah you can even see where those 2 fingers have a wider spacing than the others. Not sure if that happened to mine. Good find.

 

Thanks for the helpful post. The rear trans mount is a royal pain! I think we spent as much time on it as all the rest of the disassembly up to that point. Even the axles were easy!

Took almost four hours (I'd estimated 3) to be ready to remove the final bolts to the engine and separate. If we finish in 10, including an hour to get axle nuts and the flywheel turned, I'll be happy.

 

Update on this.

The rear mount is def a pain to do without the subframe removed. Youll need some long extensions, 14mm swivel socket and some gearwrenches. To just replace the mount either the tranny or subframe need to be removed, so definitely change that when the tranny is out.

I just pulled the tranny again at 113k miles. Ever since i bought the car with 42k miles it sounded like it had very loud engine valvetrain. At about 100k miles the noise got much louder. The throwout bearing from the Exedy kit started making some really loud noises so I knew that was another issue. By 110k the transmission sounded scary. The engine speed related whining and ticking had now gotten to the point that it sounded like you could hear each gear of the input shaft mesh and scrape. I bought a new EXEDY clutch, OE throwout bearing, fluid and found a 3000 mile transmission.

When I drained the fluid I was expecting chunks to come out but it wasnt that bad. The fluid definitely had alot of metal in it. The throwout bearing was shot and the clutch springs were rattling around. This made me hesitant to use the Exedy again, but since I already bought it I used it.

***DO NOT USE THE EXEDY THROW OUT BEARING!!!! BUY OE***

I changed the mounts again, swapped in the replacement tranny and the car has never sounded so quiet or driven so smooth. I cant even imagine how the previous owner caused so much damage, but its obvious that if he broke a clutch and destroyed a honda transmission in 42k miles he was beating the shit out of it.

Another note. I used an Anchor transmissoin mount, and when bolted in place the mount was completely misaligned. I had to use a stack of washers and a longer bolt in order to get it to line up properly and not tear the mount.

 

I think it is possible to change the rear mount without as much pain, having done the clutch once. I used an engine bay frame to hold up the trans, and once the front and driver side mounts were loose, and the main bolt out of the rear mount, it was fairly easy to pry the whole engine an inch or two forward to get to the mount-to-engine bolts (3).

Of course to get the main bolt out of the mount you have to have the passenger drive axle out, and the hoop. I used a 1/2" ratchet to get the main bolt out, working from behind the engine. With all that room, it just takes a 3/8" ratchet and short extension to remove the rear mount bolts (2 from the top, working in the gap behind the engine, and one easy one from below.

When taking it apart, it was a real cusser, even with the help from this thread. Reinstalling, it's a little tricky but wasn't really hard at all. The whole clutch job took too long, with much time on my back, but to me none of it was uncharacteristically difficult.

On myFit, a pressure plate spring had broken at 150K miles. I was a little disappointed since the previous clutch had lasted 195K (I had the dealer replace that one, as I was in a hurry, but that's the only dealer trip the car ever saw). I can't much complain about a car that has 345K on the odometer since I bought it new, and has never left me stranded, with only routine maintenance and replacement of expected items like alternator, starter, AC condenser, AC compressor clutch, coil packs, and valve adjustments every 100K miles.

Eventually the engine or trans will simply have to die.......already it's by far the most reliable car I've owned, though.

 

Thanks for this write up! My '08 has 230k on the original clutch, and while I don't have any of the shifting issues you experienced, engagement is far from smooth. I guess I'll start collecting parts for this job!