I have asked a few times and searched a dozen times about why 2nd and 3rd gear grind and several people say this is totally normal. Well I finally got my car into the shop the other day. Dropped it on wednesday morning and thursday morning the dealership called to tell me that the synchros are bad and that they need to be replaced along with the 2nd and 3rd gear sets. Said that they definately should not be grinding at all. Its looking like my extended warranty is going to cover all but the $100 deductible. Thank god for that cause otherwise its gonna be $2500 out of my pocket for parts and labor. Just thought I would share this bit of info with anyone who's having the same problem.

 

let me guess, you've using Honda manual transmission fluid and not changing it very often

swtich to Amosil GL-4 gear lube and change it every 15k, at most, your trans will thank you

the car is very sensitive to proper fluid change intervals, and it needs a good synthetic is the engine, trans, and diff

 

Well I just got it at 32,000 miles and it now has 40,000. I changed it at 34,000 but have no idea about before that. Yes I am using the Honda stuff because I'm afraid that warranty will not cover tranny stuff if I use something different.

 

Look man, it's been demonstrated time and time again that, because of the engineered easy shifting nature of this gearbox, the 2nd gear synchro tends to go rather quickly.

I'm as anal as the next guy with regard to my fluids (GM Synchro Mesh in my case) and I will get 2nd gear grind when driving in a spirited fashion (on occasion). It's not what I would call normal...at the very least it's not desired. But not even Honda recommends changing your gear oil that frequently. I don't think his problem was caused by neglect...it's probably more a consequence of the way the gearbox was designed and (possibly) an aggressive driving style.

Regardless, it's being covered by the factory warranty. Congrats. I think I'm gonna take my car in to see if they can hook me up with a new 2nd gear synchro but I suspect they are going to take a look at my modifications and tell me to pay up or take a hike.

J

 

BS. Honda MTF is perfectly fine. I swear, everyone thinks these cars are cheap-ass finicky cars. People modify one component without thinking of the affects, then wonder why the diff breaks, or clutch goes, etc.

 

Well I finally got my car back last night. It pretty much shifts like butter. Course I've only driven it twice so far but it seems good. No grinding or notchiness. Oh and btw its not the factory warranty that is covering it. It's the extended warranty that I was given when I bought it. Just be careful the dealership that you take it to. Don Jacobs, the dealer in Lexington KY turned me down for my cat replacement and tranny fix. I went to Frankfort the Jeff Wyler and within a few hours they were takin it all apart and tellin me that it would all be covered. Don Jacobs told me "sorry, we can't help you. Warranty won't cover it."

 

I had my 2nd and 3rd gear synchros changed on my extended warranty by the dealer at about 35k. I'm at 90k now and the 2nd gear synchro is bad again. It never fails. My extended warranty expired last month. I'm S.O.L.