89 Accord clutch

Hello,

My 89 Accord clutch pedal is stiff and won't returning to the up position on
its own. I had to pull it up with my toes. When I was driving and shifting I
only pushed the pedal halfway down and it worked ok and would return up on
its own. Well, I fooled with the clutch cable adjuster because there was no
free play at the release arm and now its starting to slip. I backed off the
adjuster and disconnected the clutch cable from the release arm and now the
pedal is nice and free and moves real easily but it still doesn't come up on
its own. I have to pull it back up. The cable seems nice and free with no
binding. There is still no free play in the release arm. I can't budge the
release arm by grabbing it and pulling up. I had my clutch replaced by a
relative two years ago. I bought the parts (clutch plate, pressure plate,
bearing). If he wimped out and didn't replace the release bearing and left
the original could this be causing my problem? Could the fingers (springs)
on the pressure plate be causing this problem? Should the pedal return up on
its own when not connected to the release arm? This is an old car and I hate
to spend too much money on it. I just bought two calipers today and will be
installing them tomorrow and I'm taking it to the garage on Thurday for its
annual inspection. I guess I'll wait til then and if the inspection goes
well and he doesn't run up a crazy estimate to get thru the inspection then
I'll get the clutch replaced. Parts $200 + labor $200 = $400. Not something
I wanna try myself because the tranny needs to come out, right?

Thanks for any info you might have to help out an old Honda Accord fan

 

There should be about 1/4" of free play at the end of the clutch release arm
(Honda specs 4mm for my '88 Civic). If there's too much, then it may be
hard to get the transmission in gear as the clutch will not disengage all of
the way. If there's to little, then it might slip. How much free play did
you give it when it started to slip? If you've been driving it for two
years without ever adjusting it since it was replaced, then that might
account for why it's slipping now. The free play needs to be checked at
every oil change especially when a clutch is new. How many miles did you
put on it in those two years?

What happens if you disconnect the cable from the top of the clutch pedal?
Do you still have to pull the pedal back up? If so, then the problem is in
the pedal cluster. You should be able to remove the clutch pedal so that
you can lube the bushings. Also check the return spring to make sure that
it hasn't stretched.

If the clutch pedal only hangs up when the cable is connected to it but
disconnected from the release arm, then you may need a new cable. Can you
see any sawing of the cable housing by the cable? Note that you'll need to
remove the rubber boot from the end in order to inspect it. It's not
uncommon to find that the cable has cut a long slot into the end of the
housing which can cause the cable to bind up under load.

Eric