So this is a quick thread to mention my attempt at the Clutch Delay Valve delete for the 3rd gen fit. There isn't too much out there on this from what I saw- a few forums and a technically supported mod by HonedDevelopments.

My experience started after work at 5:30 and didn't end until about 2:00 in the morning. This was partially due to a moving situation and tools etc. but without those issues I believe I would have been at it for at least 5 hours. The intake and battery have to come out at a minimum. I didn't want to remove the brake booster since I didn't have time to jack up the car bleed the brakes etc. Maybe this would have gone different if it had been removed.

I bought the HonedDevelopments kit and paid for express shipping. It got lost in shipping for a few weeks and I had accepted my fate that it wouldn't show up. It was then that I bought the EM2 CMC as suggested by another user on another thread. His attempt with that CMC seemed to have worked well. Eventually, the HonedDevelopments kit showed up so then I had both options. I started off attempting the HonedDevelopments kit as I thought it would be easier to pull the CMC out partially and swap out the triangle plate. This was going smoothly until I realized how much taller the plate from the kit is. The bolts have integrated washers and are the same length as the stock ones, but the plate is much taller. It simply would not fit back without removing the brake booster. I eventually gave in and loosened all the bolts from the brake booster and tried to scoot it forward as much as possible without disconnecting the hard lines. The vacuum hoses are simple and without clamps- just remove by hand. Unfortunately, it still didn't fit.

At this point I decided to move on to the EM2 CMC and swapped over the U clip and pedal clamp from the original. After connecting the two lines to it I realized that the other thread mentioning this swap required drilling the holes out with 1/2" bits. This is much tougher than expected. The pedal mount drills through fairly easy but the firewall is tough. Would definitely recommend cobalt bits and not the cheap stuff I was using. Eventually got it to fit barely enough. Hooked everything up and bled the clutch. Then disaster struck- the new EM2 CMC was leaking from the inside. I saw the brake fluid coming down the firewall from inside the CMC. At this point I cut my losses and pulled everything back out and moved over the pieces back to the original CMC. Hooked everything back up and did a quick bleed job. For reference, I bought a LUK EM2 Master Cylinder off RockAuto. They won't warranty because application isn't for an 01-05 civic. Oh well.

Moral of the story- highly recommend getting the 116 plug set from harbor freight if you're gonna try this. It stops the lines from leaking very well. The 3/16" gray 'cap' fits perfectly on the hard line ends and the 1/4" yellow 'plug' fits perfectly in the rubber line from the master cylinder. One of the bigger challenges in comparison to the other gens is that the same master cylinder reservoir is used for the brakes and clutch. The yellow plug mitigates this problem. If you plan on removing the brake booster, the HonedDevelopments kit should be a nice and quick fix. The EM2 route is certainly cheaper, but you may get unlucky like I did with a faulty one. Apologies if this thread is repetitive, but wanted to share my experience and see if anyone has attempted the CDV delete on this gen recently.

 

Interested in this as I just ordered the Honed delete kit (it's en route). I don't have the tools/space/skill to DIY so I'll have to pay (local Honda guru shop) and it would be nice to get an idea of how much labor is involved. I also need to account for the likelihood that they probably haven't done a CDV delete in a long time, never mind this particular one. Don't know how much labor typically would be involved with pulling the brake booster. But I really don't like how the Fit drives with the CDV in place.

 

Funny you mention this as I called my local transmission shop who I had gone to previously for another car and they had never heard of such a thing. I asked them if they would be willing to install something like this and they declined.

I got the AllDataDIY subscription for a month for this car and printed all of the service bulletins for the various part removals. According to Honda, you must remove the intake, the grille cover, the brake master cylinder, and the brake booster (but not the battery?). Realistically speaking, the brake booster isn't too difficult to get off for someone with some basic mechanical experience. I would have likely had the whole thing out if not for having to bleed the brakes afterwards.

As far as your local shop goes, I'm guessing it depends on how they plan to tackle it. Realistically with proper tools such as a lift and experience I don't see why this job would take more than a few hours including the brake and clutch bleed. I had the CMC out within an hour. Trying to reinstall it was a different story. I 100% agree that the CDV delete is the way to go as I've driven a 2nd gen with it done and must say the difference is noticeable. One of these days I'll try to tackle it again with more time and prep.