I ordered Exedy clutch kit but neither I nor the distributor knew that the Exedy pressure plate doesn't bolt onto the stock flywheel. Not wanting to wait 3 days to exchange parts, I examined the clutch and determined it was the same size as my worn clutch. I installed the new clutch with my old pressure plate. (Before anyone says it, I know this was probably not the best idea!)

The car runs and drives, but the clutch doesn't completely disengage even when I put the pedal to the floor, causing shifts into 1 and reverse to be difficult. I bled the clutch slave cylinder, added fluid, and tried to adjust the pedal to get a little more travel. None of these things helped with the problem. Next I added a shim at the end of the piston that pushes on the clutch fork and shifts the throwout bearing. Even this did not fix the problem.

I'm not sure what's wrong, possibly the pressure plate is worn out, the new clutch isn't compatible with the old pressure plate, or I have an issue with the clutch hydraulics. Any help is appreciated!

Finally, could it be that the 750mi break-in period for this clutch will solve the problem?

 

Shouldn't be any issue with Exedy bolting to OEM Flywheel.. Exedy is usually OEM supplier to Honda. Perhaps the issue is that you have received the wrong or counterfeit parts?

 

There is some uncertainty about the part compatibility, HCK1006 is listed as fitting 07-08 models on some websites, others say 07-22 models. I find HCK1010 as the proper part elsewhere. When I called a local shop, they said "you have to buy a flywheel with this clutch kit". The outside diameter and bolt pattern on the pressure plate I received was simply smaller by an inch. The thickness of the clutch was the same, but now that I examine it closely it seems the splined shaft is less deep by a mm?

I've heard of shimming clutch slave cylinders before, it would be nice if that would fix the problem... I sure hate to do this job again.

 

HCK1010 should Fit to the OEM flywheel no problem.

 

problem is I was sent HCK1006. Clutch seems to have the same thickness and radius but pressure plate was smaller.

 

Can you adjust your clutch pedal up to temporarily resolve the issue while yuh get ready to.. get into it again?

I'm pretty baffled by the fault. The new clutch should be thicker than the OEM one was, but it shouldn't be out of spec. I wonder if proportions of the OE clutch were different v. aftermarket. Like, if the clutch disc and such on the exedy is thicker than stock new, but would have had a thinner pressure plate. Or if the aftermarket clutch was thicker, and aftermarket flywheel was thinner. I know the luck flywheel was more than half an lb. lighter. but that's not much.

I can confirm that a full exedy clutch paired with a luk flywheel fits, and I have my pedal set to the lowest position. Sometimes I can't throw into reverse and need to rock forward in first, but I figured that's just gears and such lining up.
I don't think what you're experiencing is part of break-in. it just seems like your assembly is thick. Weird sh*t.

Yeah, see if you can save yourself by raising the pedal. unless you.. never lowered it.

 

Thats for the GD model fits.. they have different engines. So basically you installed the wrong part on the wrong car.

 

Will try it. I adjusted it up pretty high and the mostly it just increased the pedal play. Shimming the slave cylinder piston was another try to push that clutch out a fraction of a mm more. For some reason its a no-go. Adding hydraulic fluid makes the problem WORSE, which is interesting...

I think I'll open up the inspection port on the bell housing too. Who knows what I might find. Exedy's website says the 1006 and 1010 clutches are identical radius and thickness. The mystery continues.

 

I did a bit of searching regarding your issue.. it appears that the HCK1006 and HCK1010 both share the same clutch disk part number, but the clutch pressure plate obviously is not the same. So I am that thinking the old pressure plate diaphragm spring has been worn to (match) compensate for the old worn clutch disk thickness and that the current thickness of new clutch is always in full contact with both surfaces only way to test this is install new clutch pressure plate.

 

Thanks for that, this is what I'm leaning toward too. Worn pressure plate has exactly the symptoms I'm experiencing so its likely the cause. Also since jamming the clutch fork further in didn't help the problem I think I've got my diagnosis. I didn't want to pull the whole trans again but my fate is sealed. Part coming in today. I will put the new/old pressure plates side by side and upload a photo if people are interested.

Big thanks to everyone who contributed here!

 

clutches and pressure plates

I learned that pressure plates are a wear item

clutches are identical

car is running great. if anybody needs some time saving tips on clutch job, its fresh in my mind

 

Nice work!!!
The fingers on the old pressure plate have some grinding marks, and on two fingers it's uneven/out of round. what's up with that? Is it from the throw out bearing and was the TOB all beat up? (clutches are NOT fresh in my mind)

I'd also like to ask if you identified the issue with the old one. I'm not familiar with how they wear.
Any observations you've got about the state of your old one would be appreciated. In my case, it was actually the springs in my stock clutch that got compressed to the point of rattling around in their sockets. I assume that to be the result of my sloppy clutch work, and I still worry about that a bit.

Edit: If I recall correctly, the TOB was 5/8", and those grind marks look substantially larger than that. so, what's up?

 

TOB looked OK. I think the wear on the old pressure plate was probably from when I tried to shim the slave cylinder piston, causing more force on the pressure plate? The shim wasn't perfect so it probably wore unevenly.

I really couldn't tell where the pressure plate was worn! I suspect that the clutch and PP break in and wear out together? But to the naked eye they looked identical. I didn't measure the heights exactly but they were pretty close. Looking at the design, the throwout bearing pushes down on the "fingers" which disengages the clutch by pulling the PP out. Its likely this distance is pretty small. There is a guy on YouTube who tests a pressure plate with a hydraulic press. He says the travel distance of the PP is just a few mm.