I've been looking on the forums to try and find how to adjust the clutch on my 2001 Maxim comma but I can't seem to find a how to on it. I get the feeling that since this one I bought is such an epic fail, it's going to be a bad clutch instead of just being in need of a clutch adjustment, but I'd rather try to adjust the clutch first before I go doing that. Can anybody explain the process for me? Or at least direct me to an explanation online?

 

What makes you feel like your clutch needs adjusting? Put it in 3rd, 4th, and 5th at a decent rpm and floor it, you will know when you slip.

 

There's no adjustment to make up for a worn clutch.

There's an adjustment for the pedal position and travel but you shouldn't have to do it unless you replace the master cylinder or swap in a clutch of a different strength. It wont do anything to help a weak clutch.

 

The first thing I did when I was test driving the car before I bought it a week ago is floor it through several of the gears to make sure the clutch wasn't slipping. So my only conclusion was that the pedal adjustment is way off, or the pressure plate teeth are worn down so that it takes a lot of travel to get it to disengage. I'm afraid it might be the latter.

Also, the rear main and/or the transmission seal are leaking inside the bell housing, but I don't think that'll affect the clutch. I bought a great car, didn't I? lol [insert emoji with a gun to a smiley about to commit suicide]

- Brian

 

Lets start from the beginning, What symptoms are you having with the clutch? If it's slipping it's most likely a worn clutch. If it won't fully disengage with the pedal all the way down there are several things to check.

The oil leaking from the bell housing is most likely the rear main bearing. At this point most of these cars are either leaking from the main bearings or they've been replaced. It's just a matter of time and mileage on a 15 year old car. It generally doesn't contaminate the clutch and cause slipping though. Replacing the rear main seal is a pretty heavy repair.

How many miles on the car?

 

161k

I figured rear main since valve cover gaskets are leaking. If I pull the bell housing, it better be for a clutch replacement. I hate doing it just for a leaky seal...

Only clutch symptom is that you have to put the clutch to the floor to get it to shift into gear. Reverse is a little bit harder to shift into than the other gears, which are fairly easy. The car was 2 quarts low in the transmission when I got it. I ordered 2 quarts of Redline MT90 last night for when I replace the shifter yoke seal that's leaking pretty bad.

 

One more question. What year car is it?

My general rule for oil leaks is to start at the top and work down. There could be other leaks between the VCs and the main seal that are hidden by the mess from the VC leak. Oil always travels down so there's a chance the oil is coming from somewhere else. All the leaks need to be fixed anyway since the oil will destroy the rubber bushings and mounts it comes in contact with.

Swapping the clutch is the best time to do the rear seal. It's still a lot of work since you'll have to pull the upper oil pan too. The upper and lower pans are only sealed with RTV so make sure you use a top quality RTV like HondaBond.

Your symptoms could be several things.
1) Air in the line.
2) leaking line or slave.
3) worn master or slave.
4) worn clutch/ pressure plate.

You can inspect the line for leaks and pull back the boot on the slave. If there's any fluid behind the boot replace the slave. I'd also bleed the system and flush all the fluid.

If the pressure plate is wearing the fingers can loose strength and flex instead of transferring the force into releasing the clutch. The clutch wont slip but it wont disengage as easily. You could try adjusting the pedal a little to squeeze a bit more life out of it. There's a bottom stop on the pedal arm that can be adjusted to allow the pedal to go further. Adjust that AND the kill switch next to it. You want the switch to depress but not act as the stop.

There are other adjustments that can be made at the pedal but it's really opening a can of worms. Try the inspections and bleeding first. If that doesn't work try the bottom adjustment on the pedal.

Here's a good animation to show what's going on in there.

 

2001

Thanks for the post. Yeah, I know what goes on in there. That's why I figured it could be the pressure plate teeth wearing out, not putting enough pressure on the plate to disengage till the pedal hits the floor. I'll flush the system tomorrow. It had plenty of fluid in it, so I figured it wasn't leaking. We'll find out soon, though.