How does the clutch pedal itself feel?????
If the pedal is soft and engagement at the VERY bottom, near the floor,
then you have air in the lines. Bleed the air out and maintain proper fluid
level. A leaky CMC will still have enough fluid to last 3000 miles between
oil changes.

Yes it is common for the springs to pop out of the clutch disc. More common
on Integras than Hondas.

I'm "D" tranny guru, I specialize in 92-95 Civic trannys, but also play with
88-91 and 96-00 Civic trannys.

http://home.cinci.rr.com/mistab0ne/tranny.html

Email me if you have any questions.

"User38221" <user38221@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040614205343.15909.00000912@mb-m16.aol.com...
> Here is a brief summary of the problem on my '94 Civic EX coupe (93k
miles):
>
> -6 months ago: mechanic mentioned that clutch master cylinder has a leak
> -shortly thereafter noticed that the car was harder to shift through the
gears
> -a couple of days ago: the clutch suddenly started having trouble engaging
and
> disengaging. e.g. i'd be in 2nd or 3rd and it would be locked there even
with
> the clutch depressed. after a few seconds i'd eventually be able to shift
out
> of those gears. Also, after shifting into 1st or 2nd it would sometimes
> "klunk" as it engaged. i imagine the same would happen in higher gears
but I
> never shifted that high.
>
> The clutch doesnt seem to be slipping once the transmission is in gear.
Only
> when I tried to shift in or out of gears would I have a problem....maybe
on
> about 25% of the shifts I had to make. I've only driven the car for about
15
> minutes since the clutch suddenly got worse so this is what I'm going by.
>
> Since I already knew that the clutch master cylinder was leaking I thought
that
> that would be the extent of my repairs.
>
> However, I took the car for the first time to this new garage (non-dealer
honda
> shop) and they, after a short test drive, said I need a new clutch. They
were
> certain that it was not the clutch master cylinder. They said most of them
leak
> a bit at that age, but he didnt have a satisfying answer when I said that
since
> the cylinder only has a little bit of oil in it to begin with, any
> leakage--even a small bit--would likely necessitate replacing it. On the
> other hand, the clutch fluid in the reservoir has barely dropped at all.
>
> They're convinced that my problem resides with the springs in the clutch
disc,
> saying how common this is with Civics and Accords, how one of the
mechanics in
> the shop had to have the same repair done 3 times, yadda yadda yadda.
>
> Is this guy a good mechanic or is he trying to make me overhaul my clutch
when
> merely replacing the clutch master cylinder will do? I thought my clutch
still
> had lots of life in it: i dont race, pop the clutch, nor shift
crappily....but
> i do drive it "enthusiastically". The clutch is still engaging at about
the
> halfway point of the clutch pedal's travel--nowhere near the top which is
what
> I expected.
>
> I'm on a very tight student budget and want to sell the car within a few
months
> so obviously I'm trying to keep my repair costs low.
>
> thanks in advance for any advice
>
>