So it was brought to my attention last week that my '''clutch''' engages super '''low''' in the '''pedal''' travel. If I was in gear, as soon as I started letting the '''clutch''' '''pedal''' out the '''clutch''' started to grab and the car would start to move. I did tons of research on here and couldn't seem to come up with a definitive answer of what was wrong. Until now.[br]
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'''Symptoms:'''
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1) '''Clutch''' '''engagement''' point is nearly at the floor.[br]
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2) The '''clutch''' is not slipping. You can test slippage by conducting a stress test. Drive at 45mph in 4th gear at WOT (wide open throttle). Then push the '''clutch''' in quickly and release it quickly a single time while maintaining WOT. If the '''clutch''' is able to fully reengage and the engine doesn't slip to redline, your '''clutch''' surface should be in good shape.[br]
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3) Your '''clutch''' fluid reservoir is filled correctly. The reservoir location is circled in red in the picture below. If the reservoir '''low''', you won't get proper hydraulic pressure when pushing in the '''pedal''' and there won't be enough force to fully disengage the '''clutch'''. You can top it off with standard brake fluid.[br]
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4) Your '''clutch''' '''pedal''' bracket is intact. You'll have to get up under the driver side dash to check this out. Remove the lower plastic panel by removing the single screw about where your right knee would be. Then pull on the plastic panel to disengage the 3 clips that hold it in place. This requires a little force.[br]
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5) Your master and slave cylinders are not leaking fluid. (I don't know the details on this, but the dealer checked and said they were in good shape).[br]
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'''The Findings'''[br]
I checked as much as I could and couldn't figure out what was going on so I took it to the dealerTook them ab. out 3 hours, and they determined....that my '''clutch''' surface was worn. And it would cost $2000 parts and labor to put in the new '''clutch''' and flywheel. Holy !&&*![br]
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At the same time I was wondering, if the '''clutch''' surface is worn, how come it ain't slippin'? From what I've read the '''clutch''' will slip or engage high when the surface is worn out. I was a bit perplexed, so I came back to the board. I finally stumbled upon a thread where Jtso had recommended the following trick.[br]
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The TSX '''clutch''' is self adjusting; however, there is a small adjustment you can still make yourself. Here's what you do.[br]
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'''''The Fix'''''[br]
Here's the '''pedal''' and the push rod that it attaches to:[br]
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Look near the hinge of the '''clutch''' '''pedal''':[br]
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Notice the brass bracket. On the back side of the bracket is a 12mm nut:[br]
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Use a crescent wrench turning clockwise to loose this nut. It took a bit of force to loosen. Once the nut is loosened you can twist the push rod clockwise to change the '''engagement''' point of the '''clutch''' '''pedal'''.[br]
I found the easiest way to turn the rod is to spin the 12mm nut all the way to the end and use it to turn the rod with your fingers. Then use a pair of pliers to hold the rod from counter-rotating, loosen the nut from the end and tighten the nut back down against the bracket.[br]
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I would guess I gave the rod about 2 complete twists. The '''engagement''' point is now a decent ways off the floor and feels very normal. Be careful not to move the '''engagement''' point too far out as this may lead to the '''clutch''' not fully engaging when you let the '''pedal''' all the way out. I haven't had time to test this for myself, but I plan on doing the '''clutch''' stress test tomorrow to ensure I'm not getting any slippage. As long as I don't have any slippage I'm going to assume I'm ok.[br]
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So I'm fairly confident that I have a long term, reliable fix in place, I saved two grand, and I'm once again shooting to keep the '''clutch''' for 200k+ miles![br]