Hi all,

I have a '96 Civic with 160k mostly freeway miles. Recently it started to
stutter on take off. It feels like the clutch is catching, slipping,
catching, then slipping for the first 3 or 4 feet of the car's travel.

Is there a way to be sure it is the clutch before I start to disassemble the
transmission? Given the age of the car, I'm incline to think the clutch is
worn, but I want to be sure. It is a chore to replace the clutch.

Thanks in advance

"sam" <sam (AT) iam (DOT) com> wrote

It really doesn't sound like the clutch. It could be that oil has somehow
made its way inside the clutch, but that is rare. Other than that, worn
clutches behave just as though you were keeping the clutch pedal depressed
to the point the clutch was slipping a bit. Of course, if you hear the
engine race when the car is slowing it really does point to the clutch.

From your description I suspect the engine is getting balky when you try to
come off the line. On a manual transmission car that feels just like a
juddery clutch. A good place to start is with a bottle of fuel injector
cleaner in the tank; lots of people favor Techron but I've had good results
with the cheap brands, too. If there is no improvement in the next 100-200
miles (or if it's been a really long time since you last did a tune-up) move
on to replacing plugs, wires, cap and rotor. NGK plugs are okay, but for the
rest use genuine Honda parts. Several of us can tell you from personal
experience why :-( And, while we are at making the basics right, make sure
the coolant level is up to the cap in the radiator. Low coolant can make
Hondas squirrely... and I like doing cheap and easy things first.

Mike

sam wrote:
---------------------------------------

What Michael said, plus you need to make sure there's enough coolant in
the reservoir as well. Injector cleaner should be employed seasonally
unless you're in California, use it four times a year (joke).

'Curly'

"jim beam" <spamvortex (AT) bad (DOT) example.net> wrote in message

<snip>

Is the Shell "V-Power" similar to Techron? A couple of Texaco stations
opened up near me now - and they have Techron in their fuel which is what
Chevron uses. Nearest Chevron is way out of the way, so it's not worth
driving there.

-Dave