Hi, I have a 96 and my clutch just starting slipping pretty badly. It just started happening very suddenly. I've never had a clutch go out in a Prelude before.
Well, I've contacted 3 dealerships and they've each estimated about $1000 to replace it. That seems a little steep to me. I don't know, I guess that's why I'm here. Anyone have any alternative suggestions or is this my fate? I'm moving to Portland in 2 months to go to school and I need a good (fun) reliable car. Any suggestions would be really appreciated.
thanks
Clutch replacement (help please)
Moderators: RedRacer, spiffyguido
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jellofluff
- Prelude Enthusiast
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Sat Jun 09, 2007 2:11 pm
- Location: Oregon
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spiffyguido
- Moderator
- Posts: 2196
- Joined: Fri Nov 11, 2005 2:55 am
- Prelude Model: 1991 SE-SR
- Location: Alberta, Canada
- Contact:
Hey Jello,
First of all, welcome to PreludeDriver.com. We're thrilled to have you here.
Very sorry to hear that your clutch has gone out; it's always a pain in the rear when that happens.
You do have some options that would save you having to spend $1000.
How mechanically capable are you? If you do a lot of work on your Lude, don't be afraid to undertake changing the clutch by yourself; it's not as hard as you might think.
What engine is in your lude? If you have an H-series engine I know for a fact that you can change your clutch without having to remove the engine. My buddy and I once dropped the tranny off his H22 right out the bottom of the car without ever having to unbolt the engine. This makes for an easy clutch job.
If you want to try doing the clutch yourself, here's what you need:
Tools:
-Two jackstands
-A good floor jack (or tranny jack)
-A torque wrench
-Complete set of metric wrenches
-A 36mm socket (I think) for your hub nuts
-Joint fork or ball joint puller
-Rubber mallet (optional, but in my experience invaluable when it comes time to put the axles back in)
-A hammer
Effort:
-A day of work if you know what you're doing. It's a good idea to have a buddy when you pull the tranny off the block as the tranny is pretty heavy.
Supplies:
-4 litres of Tranny Fluid. (I suggest Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic)
-A new clutch set
-Clutch alignment tool (usually comes with the clutch)
-Brake Cleaner in an aerosol
In all, you should only need to spend about $250 in supplies, the rest is just the effort required to do the job. If you think you'd like to take this on yourself hit us back and we'll give suggestions and point you to some formal documentation on the procedure.
Let us know, and good luck.
First of all, welcome to PreludeDriver.com. We're thrilled to have you here.
Very sorry to hear that your clutch has gone out; it's always a pain in the rear when that happens.
You do have some options that would save you having to spend $1000.
How mechanically capable are you? If you do a lot of work on your Lude, don't be afraid to undertake changing the clutch by yourself; it's not as hard as you might think.
What engine is in your lude? If you have an H-series engine I know for a fact that you can change your clutch without having to remove the engine. My buddy and I once dropped the tranny off his H22 right out the bottom of the car without ever having to unbolt the engine. This makes for an easy clutch job.
If you want to try doing the clutch yourself, here's what you need:
Tools:
-Two jackstands
-A good floor jack (or tranny jack)
-A torque wrench
-Complete set of metric wrenches
-A 36mm socket (I think) for your hub nuts
-Joint fork or ball joint puller
-Rubber mallet (optional, but in my experience invaluable when it comes time to put the axles back in)
-A hammer
Effort:
-A day of work if you know what you're doing. It's a good idea to have a buddy when you pull the tranny off the block as the tranny is pretty heavy.
Supplies:
-4 litres of Tranny Fluid. (I suggest Mobil 1 5W30 synthetic)
-A new clutch set
-Clutch alignment tool (usually comes with the clutch)
-Brake Cleaner in an aerosol
In all, you should only need to spend about $250 in supplies, the rest is just the effort required to do the job. If you think you'd like to take this on yourself hit us back and we'll give suggestions and point you to some formal documentation on the procedure.
Let us know, and good luck.
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RedRacer
- Moderator
- Posts: 532
- Joined: Sat Nov 19, 2005 10:38 pm
- Prelude Model: 1995 Si w/mods
- Location: Alabama
Those prices are about right for dealership pricing. If you know a reputable mechanic in a shop you can find a few out there who can bring it in under 900 dollars. Just make sure they use Honda parts.....in fact, demand that they use Honda parts or Honda re-boxed parts. (honda parts boxed to sell outside of the US)
You can do it, as Spiffy has suggested, but it can be daunting if you don't have experience and you have never done work like this on your car before.
All in all I suggest a couple of things:
1. It's a major repair for the car and a necessity if you want to keep driving it. It's not something you will have to do again for a long time (if it is done right) and it's not something that is faulty....it's just like brakes....this is a replacement that all manual drivers go through at some point in time.....so, find a reputable repair shop or person, dealer or otherwise and put down your hard earned cash and have it done.
2. If you know anyone who can do the work for you, you buy the parts and supplies and you watch them and work with them and learn to do it yourself that way. Pay them for their work and you're still going to come out cheaper than a dealer.
Good luck.
Josh
PS....make damn sure, before you sign ANY papers allowing any work to be done, that you are getting a decent warranty. Should be at least a year in most cases. Anything like 90 days...walk out the door.
and only use a franchised transmission shop, like Mr Transmission or Meineke, etc, as a last resort.......unless you know the owner personally and the mechanics. Those places are like Firestone and Goodyear...not a good idea to use them.
You can do it, as Spiffy has suggested, but it can be daunting if you don't have experience and you have never done work like this on your car before.
All in all I suggest a couple of things:
1. It's a major repair for the car and a necessity if you want to keep driving it. It's not something you will have to do again for a long time (if it is done right) and it's not something that is faulty....it's just like brakes....this is a replacement that all manual drivers go through at some point in time.....so, find a reputable repair shop or person, dealer or otherwise and put down your hard earned cash and have it done.
2. If you know anyone who can do the work for you, you buy the parts and supplies and you watch them and work with them and learn to do it yourself that way. Pay them for their work and you're still going to come out cheaper than a dealer.
Good luck.
Josh
PS....make damn sure, before you sign ANY papers allowing any work to be done, that you are getting a decent warranty. Should be at least a year in most cases. Anything like 90 days...walk out the door.
and only use a franchised transmission shop, like Mr Transmission or Meineke, etc, as a last resort.......unless you know the owner personally and the mechanics. Those places are like Firestone and Goodyear...not a good idea to use them.