New Clutch

[NSEXBC]

I originally planned to post this just to say that my 91's original clutch lasted 145,000 miles. But it gets worse. I hate leaving any of my cars at the shop. But I thought; how can I go wrong at a dealership? I usually use an independent mechanic. He's been awesome for the past 12 years. But he doesn't do clutches. So I called around and the dealer wasn't much more price wise than the independents that I spoke with. I dropped it off at the dealer on Thursday and the last thing I said to the service writer was "do you want me to move it into the bay"? Of course he said that they could handle it. An hour later I get the call. "Hey Ron, we had an accident with your car". I got a chance to look at it on Saturday and the wheel and the rocker panel were scatched. Arghh. My car isn't perfect, but I like to be the one damaging it.
Anyway, when I bought the car, I thought the clutch felt odd. The service rep at that dealership said that it was a hydraulic clutch and that they do feel different. He also said that at the mileage (50,000) my car had, it probably would need a clutch pretty soon. I got anothe 95,000 out of it. From what I can tell from most of the owners I have met, that's pretty high. What do you folks think? Ron

 

[omega2]

145k miles on the stock clutch is really a long time. I replaced mine at 107k and it was slipping really bad. I guess it depends on how your driving style is.

Sorry to hear about the damage to your car. At least they admitted to it, Some shops would not even do that.

 

[Dtrigg]

Sorry about your dammage.

Never heard of 145K on a clutch. Good for you.

 

[NSEXBC]

145k miles on the stock clutch is really a long time. I replaced mine at 107k and it was slipping really bad. I guess it depends on how your driving style is.

Sorry to hear about the damage to your car. At least they admitted to it, Some shops would not even do that.

Mine was doing well, unless I really put my foot in it in 4th or 5th. Ron

 

[ChopsJazz]

It sounds to me like you know how to drive a stick. If treated right, the OEM clutch can last a long time. I have about 95K miles on my OEM clutch (I replaced the original one, that the first owner abused, at 50K) and it is still very strong. But congratulations, 145K is a pretty long time!

 

[NSEXBC]

It sounds to me like you know how to drive a stick. If treated right, the OEM clutch can last a long time. I have about 95K miles on my OEM clutch (I replaced the original one, that the first owner abused, at 50K) and it is still very strong. But congratulations, 145K is a pretty long time!

Thanks. I have to say that I was pretty surprised when most of the members of the first NSX club that I joined said that they had changed their clutches around 25-35K miles. I have since met some folks in the 90's. I really don't baby the car, but I try to be easy on the clutch, if that makes sense. Ron

 

[davidf]

I think Honda should've designed it to last like that in the first place. People rave about Honda/NSX's reliability but when I read about unusual short clutch life and AC compressors replaced at under 50k, that really gets to me.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

I think Honda should've designed it to last like that in the first place. People rave about Honda/NSX's reliability but when I read about unusual short clutch life and AC compressors replaced at under 50k, that really gets to me.

As far as the clutch goes, this is primarily driver dependent. If your clutch life is unusually short, on any car, it is most likely due to the driver. Some folks are just "harder on the equipment".

I have done NSX clutches with tens of thousands of track miles and close to 100K street miles, that actually had additional life left. Operated by a driver who is "easy on the equipment".

The A/C compressor's short life (common on earlier models) is due to a lack of oil in the system from the get go. There is a service bulletin about adding additional oil to the system.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[davidf]

Larry, which oil would you recommend. My system is still R12, blows very cold and compressor is quiet as a mouse. {knocking on wood} Also with 57,000 would you recomend a new drier once I open the system? Thank's.

 

[Larry Bastanza]

Larry, which oil would you recommend. My system is still R12, blows very cold and compressor is quiet as a mouse. {knocking on wood} Also with 57,000 would you recomend a new drier once I open the system? Thank's.

You should use R12 compatible oil, But....if it is blowing cold, and quiet, I would leave it alone.

Regards,
LarryB

 

[davidf]

Will do.:smile: