So taking off in first gear, my car repeatedly thumps until the clutch is out. Like when you're in on the clutch but also giving it gas while trying to take off. It stops once its moving. And it's only when I'm trying to move off quickly(1500-2000 rpms)
I wish I could explain better what this feels like. It's strange. Like you can certainly feel something thumping lol, it's not only a noise. It sorta feels like it's coming from under the car. And it's not a single thud, it's like a very quick thump,thump,thump, thump until the clutch is out.
The car shifts very smoothly otherwise and has no issues. I'm wishfully thinking it's not something serious.

Any idea what I could do to further narrow this down? Or has this happened to any of you?

 

Well, when my mounting point on the chain case cover broke... it thumped A LOT when trying to take off from a stop, even when clutch pedal was fully released.

It felt like wheel hop and it was pretty bad.

It was under warranty at the time, so I wasn't charged when the dealer replaced the cover.

For me, it was pretty obvious as you could see the mount and before it completely broke, it created lots of little metal shavings as the mounting bolt moved in the now loose mount.

I don't know how identifiable it would be for any other mount though.

 

Specifically when doing a somewhat spirited take off, eh?

This car has a tiny powerplant, and as such a LOT of things can impact clutch engagement, especially from a stop. How many miles and is this your first clutch in the car?

Things to check:

• engine/tranny mounts (but if theyre bad you should also have engine vibration while parked.)
• steering & suspension struts, and all yer bushings. If there's other symptoms or times this fault presents we can better point our search
• remove & reinstall wheels only had it happen once. assistant torqued the wheels too slowly with wrench and as result the lugs didn't center them 100%. Most noticable leaving from stop. Likely N/A if you have stock wheels or aftermarkets with correct hub centric rings added.
• brake pads & rotors if you're missing anti squeal spring clips to separate pads, your rotors warped and your pads are rubbing creating mechanical resistance.
• clutch stalling the car/ dumping the clutch over time leads to its springs being permenantly compressed. the springs can get jacked up before the clutch ever slips. happened to me and at least one peer on here. I had to replace mine back around 70-80k. you can look up faults for throw out bearings and bad clutches via google. its a pain so everything else should be ruled out first.

 

That last comment by Pyts about the clutch disk springs seems like it might be it.

One or two big thumps would be more similar to the motor mounts being loose or bad I'd think. The drive train torques over once per shift/load. Forth and back.

The friction disk is like the hamburger always pressed between the clutch cover and flywheel. When the pedal->master cylinder->hydraulics->slave cylinder->fork lever pushes the throwout bearing onto the circle array of clutch cover fingers, it levers up the cover and separates the three parts of the hamburger. This lets the friction disk (attached to the trans input shaft) freewheel by itself in the middle. This action removes engine load from the gear selection mechanism in the transmission and allows the small synchro dog teeth on each gear to slow the shafts before locking both together for a new gear ratio.
[inhaling again slowly]

The springs in the friction disk are to absorb a bit of the engagement shock and help it slow and grip.
If they are damaged the friction disk may be slipping-grabbing-slipping rapidly, thus the rapid banging noise.

 

sigh, thanks guys

 

I'd like to accuse the gentlemen above of using memory enhancing drugs.
Also, dont necessarily need a hoist and tranny jack for a clutch. a jack with a piece of wood on it could support the engine enough. As for the transmission, you can take it out onto your lap. It's heavy, but thats what I and some other lightweights have done. There's a youtube video also that shows the entire procedure (like an hour long). If money's tight and you feel able, tools would be cheaper than a shop Exedy clutch, luk flywheel together run you like 160 bucks on rockauto. Blind hole bearing puller from amazon is another hundred or so. first time took me two days. I messed up lots but still came out saving a good amount of change despite breaking a 100 buck abs sensor and I think VSS (30?)from letting the transmission roll off my legs

EDIT: i chose to replace the flywheel rather than find a competent shop to resurface it. Also, dont worry about getting the two balanced together.. nobody near me had a small enough arbor to balance it on so I went without and it's aight.

 

It stops doing it once warmed up, why is that?

 

"The most common cause of clutch judder when the engine’s cold, is clutch contamination, but it’s not the only possible cause.
Other causes include:
Faulty clutch/pressure plate
Engine mount fault
Faulty flywheel/DMF ​​​​​
Engine issue" - rustyautos
google search for "clutch shake when cold"

 

So I took my car to Honda for a diagnosis....
​​​​​they told me they couldn't replicate the issue and had like 3 techs drive it.
They suggested maybe I simply wasn't giving it enough rpms on takeoff...lol I'm not new to driving a manual, though this car​ is new to me (had about 3 weeks)
​​​​​​Should I take it somewhere else? or sell the thing and buy an automatic lol
​​​​​

 

No, I get that sensation when not giving it enough loud pedal when taking off in really cold or really humid conditions. I've flushed fluid and investigated engine mounts but mine has done it since brand new. Only thing I haven't done is bypassed the clutch delay valve with a replacement master cylinder.

It's pretty infrequent it happens but when I feel it start to happen I just kick the clutch back in, give it about 400rpm more beans and go easy for the first few takeoffs. It goes back to normal once some heat gets to it.

 

I can't believe the tom foolery I just witnessed when I picked up my car. The guy I have been in contact with who said he could not recreate the issue, basically suggested I was driving it wrong. He also didn't hesitate to tell me he is a racecar driver.

So I took him up on this and asked him to show me how he's managing to not create this noise, I climbed into the passenger seat and guess what? It did it the entire time he drove. Everytime he took off.

He went on to tell me not to worry about the noise?? wtf

 

If a diagnosis is inconsistent with what you know to be true, it is a bad diagnosis no matter who gives it or how many times it's given. The potential faults listed earlier on deserve some inspection. If you can't find a mechanic to preform the inspections of systems listed, we can run you through how to inspect stuff. I cant stress enough how sensitive clutch engagement for first gear is in regards to mechanical resistance and slop impairing it.I've done the clutch master cylinder swap (delay valve delete) and it does make engagement much more predictable, allow for rev matching, improved feel and such. I also adjusted the clutch pedal height to the bare minimum. I also learned on this car, and it did lead to my replacing the clutch at around 80k.