So a few weeks ago I noticed it was becoming increasingly difficult to shift into revers. Last year I did the shifter re-grease service and also extracted the moister from within. So I thought I would do that again and solve my issue. So I did that along with changing the transmission fluid, diff fluid, re-greasing the slave cylinder, and bleeding the clutch master with fresh dot 3. I really think I went overboard withe the cleaning of the inside of the shifting mechanism. I cleaned all the old grease out which didn't look to bad to be honest. filled the area with brake clean and vacuumed it out. I polished what I could reach then filled up with a full can of brake clean and vacuumed out. I let it sit over night open so I could fully dry. installed new bushings, grease and pout everything back together. Still after all that I have the same problem. Pressing down on the shift feels normal, but when I get to the area I need to be in reverse it feels like i am locked out. I did notice going from 1st to reverse the car clunks into gear and sort of nudges the car in the direction of the rear I am in. Any help would be appreciated.

 

Classic symptoms of clutch not fully disengaging. You are pressing pedal to floor, but that is not translating to enough motion at the clutch fork inside the trans. So everything between pedal and this fork is potentially the problem. This includes:

Clutch rod adjustment

Air in the clutch lines

A bad slave cylinder (very rare)

Dirty fluid

Its also possible your clutch disk dropped a spring, which is now jamming up the clutch so it can't fully disengage. This is the typical failure mode for aftermarket clutch disks.

 

I noted my clutch fluid was filthy. This can be remedied by extracting the dirty fluid with something like a turkey baster and putting clean fluid in the reservoir. Pump it around with the baster to dilute any remaining dirt and remove the fluid again. Do this a couple of times and there's nothing but clean fluid there. Not as effective as bleeding the system but can be done without crawling under the car.

-- Chuck

 

I've check the clutch rod adjustment and there was very little freeplay. I just bled the clutch system so there should be no air in the lines. I am not sure how to check the clutch dish spring without dropping the trans. So i'm thinking of just replacing the slave cylinder to just eliminate that.

 

What weight transmission fluid are you using?

 

Using Honda MTF Part number 08798-9031 not sure what the weight is. Changed less than 100 miles ago.