Ok, I have pretty much determined now it is time for my clutch to be replaced. It doesn't really slip. I also have a very minor rear main seal leak, so....you see where I am going.

So, question is.....it is making some kind of grinding noise when I am shifting. It is NOT grinding gears, but something possibly related to the throwout bearing. If I ride the clutch I will hear it 90% of that time. Is there much chance that I could be damaging any non-clutch parts when this happens. I really want to put off the clutch replacement for another week or two if I can--but not at the expense of tearing up something that I wouldn't normally be replacing.

 

when you are riding the clutch you are pushing the throwout bearing into the pressure plate. It shouldn't matter over a couple of weeks.
But you say there is no clutch slippage? Is the hydraulic system failing?
But when you get your new clutch disc,pressure plate, and throw out bearing; Quit riding the clutch!
Good idea to have the rear main replaced when doing the clutch job.

 

I don't usually ride the clutch, that was somewhat of a test. I hear the same noise when the clutch is engaging between gears or even more when I am starting in 1st. But only for a second, while if I ride the clutch you can distinctly hear it.

Hydraulics seem to be fine. It doesn't really slip when I go through the tests we discussed in the earlier post (drop the clutch and all that). It jerks the car around like crazy and goes. It seems to slip on 1st gear starts sometimes, feels more like a vibration though.

I just need to put this off for a couple weeks for financial and convenience reasons.....I don't really want to do it myself (don't really have time right now) and I can drive brother's car when he is out of town in a couple weeks so I won't have to be in a big hurry and be stuck begging rides for a couple days.

Also, I talked to the dealer few days ago....does $900 sound like a reasonable price for the clutch and the main seal parts/replacement. I still haven't called any other places yet. I hate to spend that much $$$ on my car for something but I don't usually work on stuff that involves removing large parts of the engine [&:]

 

woooooooo$ 900 way way too much, get a LUK clutch kit a lot cheaper than dealer parts and very reliable ,, use a Honda rear main seal

labor wise should be around 5-6 hrs .. so price depends on the hourly rate ,,,

 

Ok, I hate to keep asking somewhat dumb questions.....but I have another one--my level of knowledge drops off the table when you start getting around the bottom end of the engine. Does the oil pan gasket have to come off to replace the rear main seal? It seems that I have 2 very small leaks from the oilpan gasket and the rear main seal. I will go ahead and have them replace that seal as well but I don't want to find them trying to charge me an extra $50 for something that comes off anyway. Heck, I would rather put a new seal on than the old one anyway. If they try to get a bunch of cash from me I will just do it myself.

I am planning to get my own parts and then get the shop to do the work, they did a nice job with my brother's tranny rebuild and they specialize in transmission so I don't figure to have any problems.....and it looks like I will save about $300 from the dealer's price

 

You should seriously consider getting a factory shop manual for your car.
I installed a newhonda clutchand pressure plate but at first i cannot find theclutchbolt torque settings anywhere. i used clutchpilot tool to line everything up, and tighten the bolts evenly to avoid distorting the pressure plate cover.

 

I have found that dealers always inflate the crap out of their repair prices.A few weeks agoI was shopping around to get my t-belt, H2O pump, balancer belt, & seals changed. First I called all 3 Honda dealers in town. They all quoted me $750. Then I calledseveral Honda certified shops. They all quoted me $600. Needless to say I took it to one of the shops that quoted the $600.