Honda Car Forum

On 30 Jul 2003 13:51:47 -0700, subhamoy_pal@yahoo.com (Paulithegreat)
wrote:

>Hi,
>
>I was curious about how serious my problem is. My '92 Honda Accord
>has a weeping Master Cylinder that leaks clutch fluid internally, i.e.
>the fluid does not fall out into the ground. The car drives
>beautifully, except that every once in a while, I need to top up the
>clutch fluid level. This is very occassional though. . .maybe once in
>2-3 months. The feel of the clutch pedal varies over time, and once
>the clutch became very soft (going in almost all the way before
>disengaging the engine) and that problem was fixed by topping up the
>fluid level.

The fluid has to be going somewhere - it does not evaporate easily either
since it has a very high boiling point and low vapor pressure. See Chip's
suggestion and check the carpet below the pedal.

>The car mechanic I went to suggested a 320$ repair job consisting of
>the changing of the Master and Slave cylinders (apparently both need
>to be changed together)+ Hydraulics fluid flush+ Labor. Does this
>sound reasonable? And how necessary is this repair?
>
>The car runs just fine. And if it is just a question of regularly
>checking the oil levels, I am prepared to do that.
>
>What do you guys recommend?

I assume the seals have gone bad due to "neglect" - one of my pet peeves
that Honda does not have a clutch fluid change on its maintenance schedule.
It seems that, more and more, maintenance is focussed on mainly safety
equipment and the longevity maintenence is left up to the owner's
preference.

Anyway, the clutch hydraulic seals have a "hard life" - much worse than
brake fluid - and if they're leaking, it's only gonna get worse to the
point that you may lose the clutch one day. Do you know the procedure for
driving without a clutch - starting and gear changing?:-) The constant new
fluid may slow that deterioration but I'd change the master cylinder first
and maybe the slave. BTW a clutch hydraulic fluid flush takes about
15mins.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??

fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com (George Macdonald) decided to join the
conversation on 02 Aug 2003 with message news:3f2b05ef.29925867
@news.tellurian.com:

> Do you know the procedure for
> driving without a clutch - starting and gear changing?

i hate to go off-topic here, but..

i know how to change gears (both up and downshift) w/o the clutch..

but i'm REAL curious as to how one starts moving w/o clutch.. only way i
can think is push the car, jump in and hope it's fast enough to match up
with the idle rpms in 1st

--
-Chris

http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://starwars.chrisgarcia.com <- Centerpoint Station, the "ghost-town" of
the Star Wars Universe!

"'Curly Q. Links'" <motsco_@_interbaun.com> decided to join the
conversation on 02 Aug 2003 with message news:3F2BF78B.EE628183
@_interbaun.com:

> I drove a Volvo without a starter for a month when I was 18, but I
> worked at a shopping mall where I could park at the far edge of the lot,
> and just 'let it roll' for a few seconds, turn on key, then pop the
> clutch momentarily in 2nd or 3rd and it would start great every time. I
> had to make sure I had a friend or two along if I wanted to park
> downtown.

i meant how does one get moving from a standstill w/o a clutch.. i know
about that trick

--
-Chris

http://www.ChrisGarcia.com <- My Homepage
http://starwars.chrisgarcia.com <- Centerpoint Station, the "ghost-town" of
the Star Wars Universe!

Chris Garcia wrote:
> "'Curly Q. Links'" <motsco_@_interbaun.com> decided to join the
> conversation on 02 Aug 2003 with message news:3F2BF78B.EE628183
> @_interbaun.com:
>
>
>>I drove a Volvo without a starter for a month when I was 18, but I
>>worked at a shopping mall where I could park at the far edge of the lot,
>>and just 'let it roll' for a few seconds, turn on key, then pop the
>>clutch momentarily in 2nd or 3rd and it would start great every time. I
>>had to make sure I had a friend or two along if I wanted to park
>>downtown.
>
>
> i meant how does one get moving from a standstill w/o a clutch.. i know
> about that trick
>

the starter motor is enough to get the car moving. You press down the
clutch anyway to disable the interlock

On Sat, 02 Aug 2003 14:51:43 GMT, Chris Garcia
<NcOhSrPiAsM@chrisgarcia.com> wrote:

>fammacd=!SPAM^nothanks@tellurian.com (George Macdonald) decided to join the
>conversation on 02 Aug 2003 with message news:3f2b05ef.29925867
>@news.tellurian.com:
>
>> Do you know the procedure for
>> driving without a clutch - starting and gear changing?
>
>i hate to go off-topic here, but..
>
>i know how to change gears (both up and downshift) w/o the clutch..
>
>but i'm REAL curious as to how one starts moving w/o clutch.. only way i
>can think is push the car, jump in and hope it's fast enough to match up
>with the idle rpms in 1st

Well apart from searching out conveniently placed hills, there's the
starter - kinda brutal of course and not what I'd want to do for long but
it works.

Rgds, George Macdonald

"Just because they're paranoid doesn't mean you're not psychotic" - Who, me??