How many miles on the powertrain? Clutch is shot and the motor is an excellent oil burning machine, my guess is you have 184k miles on it..
I don't know how bad it is to do FWD cars, I've only swapped clutches and motors in RWD cars... But, depending on if you really need to keep the car, or WANT to keep it to beat on, the choice would be better if engine swaps are cheap. So what type of clutch are you thinking of putting in? Meaning, what brand and what quality.. I know you're not hitting the track with this thing, not getting a racing clutch, but what's your price point and what type of replacement? OE, lowest price, good all around or super cheap works for a while one.
What parts do you address when you're changing the clutch? I'm guessing its a no, but are you having the flywheel machined? (I don't think I would).. Any other small parts in the clutch assembly? Haven't had experience with Honda clutches before.
God I've been up all night, and its now 6 am. Kidney stone and the pain won't let me stop moving, or fall asleep.
Oh and by the way that Berryman Carburetor cleaner in the paint can is pure EVIL!!! I used it one winter in my garage to clean off some super greasy bolts. Put them in the can / internal strainer, and kinda put the top on, kinda at an angle (young, dumb). After a while I started to get super dizzy and nauseous, and really hot.. I dry heaved and then decided to head inside for some water or something. I was so sick, it took me at least an hour to get back out and shut down the garage. I walked back into the garage, and the chemical smell was insanely overwhelming, it was bad. Opened garage door, waited a bit, and then hammered the top shut on the can with the parts still inside it. My friend had an identical experience using it in an enclosed space in the winter, and figured it out also.
That stuff cleans like nothing I've ever used before. Everytime you open it, do it with plenty of fresh air, best being outside. It is thick like 5W-30 oil, it coats parts as you remove them from the tray, I used brake cleaner to remove all the oil and odor.. Yeah, trade one chem for another.. Seriously, keep fresh air there when you open and load, and esp. when you take the parts out. We both think its the nastiest cleaner we've dealt with.
I would be OK dumping some on my piston faces, but the viscosity of it would be tough to control, it seems to have the viscosity of about 5w-30 oil. As I mentioned it cleans like a mofo, removes any carbon, really anything other than metal? Just like oil, it doesn't evaporate off the parts. I found the only way to remove the cleaner from the parts I used, was to clean them with brake cleaner. Sprayed on the parts, cleaner came off like an oil, and the part was left looking like a new clean.
Don't know how you'd get the cleaner off your pistons, or rings, or other components of the rings and sides of pistons / cylinder walls.
Price out new motor, if its something your interested in doing, than plan the next step. Assume you'll be replacing the engine, just understand that you will have to shell out for it.
Pour that Berryman in each cylinder of your current motor, not that much, but enough to coat the entire top of the piston with product.
Wait for any amount of time, say over 24 hours.
Get a Digital recording device (phone) and a friend. Put plugs in motor, get ready to start.
Have him try to, or start the motor. You record everything in detail and make sure you post it on here.
Record it running, knocking, any noises, and if it stays going? Then pull the plugs again and look at the pistons for comparison. Post results for fun.
If it has a death rattle, make sure you get every sound and all video in highest def.
Man, this sounds like a lot of fun.
