I was wondering what was wrong with my civic. I have to release the clutch, near to letting it go just to grab on.

 

Reword that a lil better

 

as far as i know, all civics are that way, i have driven three of them and they were all that way. yes if your not used to driving like that, it may seem odd, but its nice when you get used to it. also, if you have to release it almost the whole way, than you also do not have to push it in the whole way to shift, i think it makes for a quiker shift.

 

my 93 teg is the same way i adjusted it to do it that way

 

How many miles are on your clutch? You have a hyrdaulic clutch, which is self-adjusting for wear, so if it doesn't engage until you're nearly at the top of pedal travel, then your friction disc may be worn and probably needs replacing. You may want to replace pressure plate and pilot/release bearings while you're at it. You may also want to get your flywheel resurfaced or opt for a lighter one.

 

umm..I bought the civic used. I'm not sure how many miles have been on the clutch. All I remember the seller saying was that the spring(something like that broke), and that they replaced it around 85K. I'm not sure if he replaced the clutch with that. Yes it is a hydro clutch. Also another thing is that the clutch fluid is leaking. He told me about it, but he said he's not sure if it's just a leak in the hose, or the master cylinder. How would I know? The fluid needs to be filled like every month or 2 depending if you're driving in the city, or on the highway..his words Well I have 3 civic before, and none of their pedal travel is like this one. I usually can let it go in the middle. This one requires close to letting the pedal goes before it grabs the clutch. Wasn't there a cable where I could tighten it up, or would I have to replace the clutch soon?

 

97civic123,
Aha, your MC is leaking...
Here's what you should do:
1.Clean up the area around the MC and the flex hose. Once that's clean you should be able to pinpoint the source of the leak.
2.If the hose is leaking (which I doubt unless the rubber is cracked or cut) then you just have to swap it out. Make sure to hose down the connectors with PBBlaster so you won't strip anything out. Be nice to the next owner and put anti-seize on the threads as you replace. Bleed the system when done.
3.If it's the MC you'll have to see where the problem is. Is the reservoir cracked? Has a seal gone inside the MC. In any case, it's prolly easier just to swap it out instead of rebuilding it. On my wife's 1996 Civic it would be a bear to get to the MC, not sure what year you have (97?), hopefully you can get to it pretty easily.

Now, the reason that you have a high pedal is because there is air in the clutch hydraulic system. Soon, it might get to the point where you have to double pump the pedal in order to shift. If your cylinder wasn't leaking, I'd just suggest bleeding the system out, but with a leak, you have to fix that first, then bleed once you install the new MC.

Now, you mentioned the PO said that the spring or something broke? What could that be? The return spring on the pedal?

IMO you need to fix this pronto before you can't shift.
Bogatyr

 

Fix that leak.

 

thanks Bogatyr, I think your advice will help out alot. I'll check it out.

 

oh yeah, I forgot to mention, it locked me out of first gear when I was test driving it. He said all I have to do is shift to second, then back to first, then it would let me into first, is that a sign of air?