Shaking During Clutch Engagment

[Tim Bowman]

Hi All,

I have a 2001 Honda Prelude Type SH with 125,000 miles. I’ve had a shaking problem when letting out the clutch (particulary in 1st gear). At certain rpm (around 1700 to 2000rpm) the shake is quite violent and shakes the whole drive train.

It started at about 90,000 miles. I figured it was just something wrong with the clutch. When the clutch wore out and I had it replaced things were pretty smooth for only about 300 to 500 miles. Then it began shaking upon engagement again just like before. It’s worse when taking off on a hill.

The only other small thing is it idles just a little rougher than it used to when warm. Has a recent tune up and I replaced the clutch master and slave cylinders which didn’t make a difference in the clutch.

I can’t figure out what could be wrong unless the mechanic shop did something wrong when installing the new clutch. The place I took it to said they were former Honda Dealership Mechanics

Has anyone experience this kind of shaking after a new clutch was installed and found something other than the clutch causing the problem?

Thanks,
Tim

Topic

[Dave Tidman]

My only suggestion would be to safely lift the vehicle and see if you can find the source of the vibration. There are a number of things that could cause vibration (CV shafts, output shaft bearings, bushings, etc.). If you are getting bad vibrations at 1700-2K RPM, that may point away from the clutch. Just be safe while diagnosing the issue.

[Tim Bowman]

Thanks for the reply. I’ll take a look at them. Maybe I forgot to mention this but I also started getting a little squeal noise when I let the clutch out 50% of the time

And just to be clear. It’s less of a vibration and more a shake. It shakes the whole front end badly when you get in the right rpm range and I notice it does it the worst when the car is warmed up.

I’ve been wondering is maybe the aftermarket master cylinder is faulty or if the whole hour of bleeding the system didn’t get all the air out causing slight slippage. I’ve never smelled any burning clutch though.

From what I’ve read on the internet it is most like a shotty mechanic job and the clutch needs to be redone. I took it to a reputable place which was more expensive. They would not do anything and I do not have the money to do it again. I spent all my saved money to get it fixed.

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