Transmission clutch release bearing.

[woolz]

had this changed just before my warrenty ran out. its been a problem on ever type r i have had. if it fails in 6months or so will the part be covered under a 1yr guarentee?

[DPG87]

I would think so! But I'm sure Honda will try to shaft you out of it in some way

[maxxtro]

If its been changed under warranty and you have not paid for it and the car goes out of warranty it wont be covered.

[culasse]

Did you have a good look at the bearing that came out of the car Woolz?
Reputedly there have been a batch of faulty release bearings. They even appeared in aftermarket clutch kits.

The faulty bearings are:
Nachi (red) 55SCRN34P-8
Nachi (Honda black) 55SCRN34P-5

What you need is bearing:
Nachi (black) 55SCRN36P-1 Honda part.nr. 22810-ppt-003 or
Honda part.nr. 22810-rpn-003

[woolz]

no i didnt see it mate, nor did u get the part numbers

[culasse]

I sell the Exedy stage 1 clutch through my webshop and found that the clutch kits provided by Exedy Europe sometimes comes with the wrong release bearing. They also come without grease, pilot bearing and alignment tool, rendering them useless when ordered from the continent.

That`s why I switched to an American supplier, they provide the correct bearings and the kits come with all necessary components.

[dahools]

how do you know if this is on its way out or is knackered, what are the exact symptoms?

[cjcha4]

I was wondering as well, since my clutch when i reach biting point in 1st gear it makes this rattling whistling noise.

[woolz]

im not sure about all symptons but they squeak and squeal like made at biting point when getting old. put ** car in second and pull away slowly always a good test- its mostly likely to squeak under pressure, or another expample, pull away slowly on a hill- youll most likely to hear it then aswel.

[The Vision]

would this affect the gear selection problems some people have, like changing down the box, i'm starting to think the box is not the problem, but something in the clutch, my knowledge of these, is at best useless, ??

[culasse]

You hit the nail on the head. It`s indeed the clutch mechanism which can be the cause of grinding at gearchanging. Basically our clutch mater cylinders are of poor quality with small piston volume, thus low vacuüm for applying the clutch release bearing. This is especially apparent when changing gear at high rpm, sometimes giving gear lockout, preventing you to shift from 3rd into 2nd, or 1st into 2nd.

One possible remedy is to adjust the rod which connects the clutch pedal to the clutch master cylinder. Loosen the nut and turn the rod counter clockwise untill there is more disengagement. In my case I could only turn the rod 3/4 turn but it was enough for the clutch to fully disengage at high revs and provide faultless shifting. I`m now using an Exedy stage 1 clutch and together with my short shifter it shifts beautifully and lightning quick.




This is a picture from the rod coming out of the clutch master cylinder from an American Civic SI to show how it looks like.
Our European FN2`s have a different looking clutch mechanism but the principle is the same.

After adjustment the clutch engages considerably higher on the clutch pedal, something to get used to.
Also, the clutch pedal height adjustment nut needs to be loosened to the point where the pedal allows about 1mm freeplay, in order to avoid preload of the clutch release bearing, leading to premature squealing noises and wear on the bearing.

It`s a matter of experimenting and finding out at which adjustment the clutch is working best, but it`s totallly worth it, especially with an aftermarket clutch.

[The Vision]

thanks for that info, my car is going to a different dealer to be checked out on saturday, will mention the bearing & cylinder and see what response i get, it better be a good one !! would those part numbers be the same for my car or just the type r ??

[culasse]

Unfortunately I`m not familiar with the r18 engine, so don`t know if the clutch release bearings are the same.