Help! clutch will not slip!

I have my engine and tranny out of the car. I have a `88 crx si
flywheel, clutch, pressureplate, throwout bearing, and tranny. The
clutch is brand new and the flywheel I had grinded down. I put
everything together and decided to test it out before putting it in
the car. I put a couple axels in the tranny and had someone hold them
in place, when I pull up on the clutch lever (its mechanical type) and
turn the crank with a wrench the axels move and cannot keep them
still. The clutch won't slip. I took everything apart, and double
checked but everything seems ok. I am sure I have the right clutch.
What am I doing wrong???? The lever has minimal resistance right until
it gets 1/2" from its stopping point.

 

It's possible the flywheel is too thin, that would cause an increase in
travel. Also, an incorrect pressure plate or throw out bearing can cause a
problem.

 

The pressure plate, clutch and throwout bearing came as a kit, and are
ment to fit the `88 flywheel

 

Still sounds as if you're not getting enough travel. Did you compare the
new and old clutch parts? Is the throw out lever moving the entire length
of the shaft? Is the clutch disc installed correctly, most cannot be
reversed, but it happens. Did you hook up the clutch cable and try it with
the pedal?

 

Honda fly wheels are stepped, and must be cut by someone that knows how to
cut them.

 

Yes it is stepped, I had NAPA resurface it...I hope they would have
done it right hehe. The lever travels completely over, so the piolet
bearing might not be coming out far enough??? Can I correct that any
way...at what point in pulling up on the lever should I feel
resistance ie 1/2 way. right now I get a little tension almost all the
way up.

 

The cable is usually adjusted so that there is about a quarter inch of free
play in the lever at the transmission.

 

a 1/4" from the levers resting point or a 1/4" from its maximum height?

 

Hope you have already figured this out, but if not:
Most of the pertinent scenarios that make a clutch not completely
release (if it was working before) are as follows - From the crank
out:

Some Hondas have an alignment pin in the crank flange that sticks up
about 1/8 - if not aligned and seated it will throw off the
operational dimensional characteristics of the clutch system.

If the proper lo-profile head bolts are mixed up with stock head
height, they will catch on the springs plates of the clutch disk.

If the clutch disk is in backward, same thing with catching on the
lo-profile bolt heads.
*both of these issues are more critical as the clutch disk moves
slightly closer the crank when the flywheel is resurfaced. I doubt
NAPA would cut it beyond acceptable tolerances but this is also
possible.

If you get the clutch fork situated on top of the throwout bearing
Return Spring, the feel will act 'funny' and may cause your issue.
Make sure the fork is on the flange and not the spring tines. (this
happened to me once.. somehow...) This also gives you a huge cable
adjustment factor over the old clutch cable position.
*Note that the clutch fork only moves the throwout bearing approx
..06-.12 inches (1/16 - 1/8) over the entire pedal throw. Needless to
say this amount of leverage pretty much prevents you from actuating
the clutch fork by hand at the transmission clutch cable interface.

Bad pressure plate. Improperly matched parts, defect in
manufacturing, etc. Just make sure the Clutch disk will have free
play when the pressure plate is mounted to the flywheel. A mismatched
pressure plate can clamp the edges of the clutch disk when installed -
this is not always evident until you look at the setup and imagine the
position of the Disk and look for clearances in the pressure plate
housing. (chalk one of these up on my board in hell).

Wrong pressure plate/clutch/bearing kit. The fingers of the pressure
plate don't have the proper operational dimensional characteristics
for the clutch system to operate. (pretty rare, especially if you
matched up the parts visually). This also assumes you inspected all
the parts for operation as much as possible. (throw out bearing
actually spins, etc.)

Cable, fork lever, pedal issues. Something was bent, broken during
removal. On other transmissions I have been into the fork lever was
worn so much that it had to be replace along with fork. However, this
would not 'just show up' now.

Last and probably the most important: I have NEVER been able to
rotate (by hand) a clutch disk in a rebuilt set up when I resurface
the flywheel. The hone on the Flywheel, combined with the hone on the
pressure plate make it pretty sticky. This goes away immediately once
you fire the car up and cause the clutch to 'seat' on these surfaces.
I have commonly adjusted the clutch and found that as soon as it
starts to seat, I have adjusted it too far. I always keep the wheels
in the air during this process. Typically the wheels turn with the
clutch depressed until I hit the brakes to hold the wheels.
Exercising the clutch several times will give you a better feel for
adjusting the cable. Adjust the clutch until the pedal has the proper
free play at the top of the travel per your manual.

Good luck.