niick

2002 with 55k miles, purchased the car with 36k miles


I'm by no means a mechanic but I will do my best to describe my concerns:

Starting last winter, my transmission was a bit notchy going into 2nd gear. After doing research and asking around a bit, I attributed this to the common notchy gear problem in conjunction with the cold weather making things not work together as smoothly. The problem dissipated more the longer the car was actively driven and warming up, which seemed to support my theory.

Fast forward a little bit and the problem proceeded to 3rd gear. However, this happened in the dead middle of winter when it was at it's coldest, I attributed the problem to that.


Fast forward to now and the gear shifter notches on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th reliably and on occasion 5th. Going into 2nd gear, sometimes it just doesn't. That is the best way I can describe it. It is as if I moved the shifter into position but in actuality remained in neutral. The fix I've found for this problem is to put the gear shifter back into neutral and double clutch back into 2nd.


The longer I've owned the car, the less reliable the shifting has become. Granted, I learned to drive stick on this car and may just have an exaggerated memory of learning, but I feel like something is amiss.


A summary of my concerns:
Gear notches every time on 2nd, 3rd, and 4th
Gear notches occasionally on 5th
Gear shifter going into 2nd but has no reaction to pedal play. -The fix for this is to put the gear shifter into neutral and double clutch back into 2nd.
I have the feeling that the clutch grabs at a later time than it used to, but I may just be having a placebo effect from learning to drive stick on this car



I do not by any means rag on my car. I have not done a single launch or drift on it. I do however do a lot of down shifts and power through turns etc but, I always either double clutch (if I'm dropping more than one gear number) or rev-match (if I'm dropping only one gear number).



With my very limited mechanic experience, my first conclusion is that it may be a throw out bearing or the like that is preventing the clutch from disengaging/engaging as it should.

Something is definitely amiss, it became apparent last night when my car wouldn't react to the car being in 2nd gear whatsoever.



If anyone that posts any troubleshoot advice could also include how to diagnose if it is the problem step by step, I would appreciate it. Telling me "check your (Blank)" won't help me a whole lot as I'm not extremely experienced yet. If I am told to do this, then that, and follow up with this, that I can do. I'd prefer to fix the problem myself to learn and save money rather than taking it to a mechanic.


Thanks for reading!


EDIT: All fluids were replaced upon taking delivery of the car.

zeroptzero

Based on your mileage you should swap out the tranny fluid for new fluid. Most people find 10k miles is the max you should go with Honda MTF as it tends to get very thin after that and the notchy shifting can start well ahead of 10K miles.

Swap out the clutch fluid and clean the clutch master cylinder, if the fluid is real old and the MC is really dirty do it a couple times. Check to make sure the clutch master cylinder isn't leaking.

Check the clearance on the clutch rod to make sure it isn't excessive, sometimes closing it up if it is excessive helps with shifting characteristics.

I also like running a heavier shiftknob like ones made by Moddiction. Finally, a shifter lube as per the Honda TSB can often help smooth things up as well, your car would benefit from a shifter lube if it has never been done, which can be the case quite often.

jsenclosure

try this
https://www.s2ki.com/home/2010/03/11...rease-shifter/

edit: that should fix the notchy problem

as far as the clutch not reacting to second at all, well if it was a throwout bearing or other clutch issue it would be the same case for all gears.

niick

Alright, thanks guys I'll try and tackle it tomorrow.

JackS

It's not the Throwout bearing, you'd feel and hear it if it were. That leaves a bad clutch or maybe an adjustment, or worst case, a bad transmission.
If your not a mech, I would personally take it to a shop for a check up and diagnosis and then you'd have a place to start your own self repair.

mirabileboy

could be master clutch cylinder going out.in my 03 this happened and I had to double clutch just to get into gear, and it was super hard to get into gear.

Brndon

Mine does this sometimes. More in could weather when i switched to amsoil. Im thinking im defiantly going to switch to honda mtf in winter when it gets cold.

xviper

^ Do this. Also move your seat forward a couple slots. This was beat to death over a decade ago. Won't go into it now. I also have a heavier shift knob but this is purely personal preference. Some people actually go to a lighter one and find better results. Also, when you shift with a stone cold transmission, the technique must be altered to accommodate the fact that the fluid is not moving or lubricating as it does when warm or hot. If you shift the same way in both circumstances, you should expect notchiness. Changing the speed at which you shift and the rpm at which you shift when cold will eliminate this. Don't expect things to work the same when cold as when hot. Do you jump out of bed in the morning and go full tilt as soon as your feet hit the floor? Nothing works right and you'll shorten your lifespan.

niick

I'm pushing 5'4" so my seat is always all the way forward or one notch back, depending on my footwear for the day. Yeah, I definitely am aware of the problems with fluids and the like before they warm up.

As of late I change my driving/shift style almost between every drive to try and accommodate how temperamental it has become. Some days I need to shift at 5k rpms for an easier shift, other days it is fine at 4k. Sometimes I have to rest the shifter in neutral for a second longer, it all varies.

niick

I'll be picking up some Honda MTF fluid from the dealership for the transmission.

Master cylinder is not leaking.

I'll be picking up some Urea grease and regrease the shifter next


Yeah, 6th gear is much harder to 'get into' than all of the other gears. I have to really put some muscle into it, more than I expect it would regularly require anyway.





I'll be doing a shifter re-grease, tranny fluid swap, diff fluid swap (not that it is related to the problem, but this ordeal reminded me to do it), and exchange the fluid for the clutch as well.


As a bonus while I've been working on the car I did an oil change and cabin filter change haha. The old cabin filter was atrocious after 55k miles.