Hi everyone.

I am having a problem with my car and am hoping someone will help me.

I have an X reg Accord 1.8i Exec. For a while now I have been experiencing a loss of power for no apparent reason.

My car will work fine if it has been parked up for a while. But If I drive in a low gear for about 5 or 10 mins, something will happen to it and the revs will shoot up but the car will not pick up speed. It's like pressing the accelerator when the car is in neutra. If I press the accelarator slowly for a while then I can get the car moving. The longer I keep driving the less the car will pick up speed up. Each time I have to stop at lights or a junction it gets more and more difficult to get the car moving.

I can build up speed slowly but if i have to stop then it's really difficult to get it moving. The revs will go up but it will hardly move. It feels like the clutch has gone.

The thing is that if I drive in high gears for a while, say on a dual carriage way, then it will start to work as normal again. But then when I start driving in low gears again and stop and start the car the same problem occurs.

It even happens if I wait for abt 20 mins and leave the car running. The car will hardly move when I try to move off after waiting for abt 20 mins.

I really cant understand it. I have asked a few mechanics and they all say its the clutch but I have already had the clutch changed once but the problem has continued. I dont see how it can be the clutch because it goes back to normal when I drive it in a high gear for a while.

A friend of mine says it could be the catalytic converter but that does not make sense to me.


I dont want to have to change the clutch again unnecessarily as it is very expensive so I would be very grateful if anyone can help me with this.

Thank you in advance for your help.

 

Interesting... Sure as hell sounds like the clutch, are you sure the work was actually done?

One thing is for sure... Its not the "catalytic converter". Did your friend perhaps say "torque converter"?

 

Your language sounds like you're in the UK. Manual or automatic transmission?

It DOES sound like it's the clutch. But maybe its the hydraulic system? Was the master cylinder replaced? There's a couple things you can check...

 

The clutch was actually replaced. I have a 12 month warranty but the mechanic says that if they take it apart and find out the clutch is fine then I would have to pay for the labour, which is why I am reluctant to change the clutch unless I'm certain.

My friend defnitely said catalytic converter.

Yes i am in the UK. Its a manual car. It seems like the clutch but I dont understand why it starts to work fine if I drive in a high gear for a while. Its only if I drive in low gears or slowly or if I'm waiting for a while that this thing happens. if I drive in a high gear then it'll be fine until I have to drive slowly again. Otherwise I can drive on a motorway for ages without any problems. Seems to be either to do with using low gears or changing gears a lot, like when in traffic. Is checking the hydraulic system a big job?

 

Was the clutch master cylinder replaced? Mis-adjusted pushrod from pedal to MC can cause something similar to this.

Have a helper work the pedal while you watch in the engine bay. Find the clutch slave cylinder and the throw-out fork (lever) coming out of the bellhousing. Mid-height between the bellhousing & the radiator fan. When pumping the pedal, that lever should move back & forth about 12mm.

With the clutch pedal NOT pressed down, you should be able to press that lever towards the slave cylinder. That will compress the piston-rod into the slave. Especially during whatever situation/condition causes it to slip.

What I'm looking for is this... (warning - long explanation)
When the pedal is up, there's a vent inside the master cylinder, that opens a connection to the reservoir. That allows the hydraulic system to automatically adjust itself as the clutch wears out. By pressing in the slave piston, you are pushing brake fluid back into the master reservoir. If that vent is closed, you won't be able to push it in. And the system is a bit pressurized; similar to when you hold the clutch pedal partway down.

Or maybe there's crud in the hydraulic system, blocking that vent??

 

Another (less likely) idea is if the flywheel was resurfaced, maybe the pressure-plate doesn't have enough clamping force? That would happen if the friction surface were machined down, but the mounting/bolting surface for the pressure plate was NOT machined down by the corresponding amount.

Less likely because I think(?) the bolting for the pressure plate is actually an extension of the same surface. So it would be real inconvenient for a machine shop to grind them to different heights.