marylou

....and is it a huge mistake to change the ISB myself??

okay, i have a 96 civic DX and when the clutch is out there is a very, VERY slight whirring noise, and when the clutch is in it goes away. after reading some other posts about input shaft bearings, i think that this is the problem.

so, a couple questions. since you can barely hear the difference, and it's not a loud whirring noise at all, is it very important that i take care of this immediately or do i have some months, and can perhaps wait until the noise gets louder...?

another question i have is whether or not i should try to replace the bearing myself. well, myself and someone else who is more mechanically inclined. i am more..mechanically interested... also interested in saving money and not paying 1,000+ for a shop to do the work.

found this thread on the forum:

https://honda-tech.com/forums/showth...ht=ISB+Replace

which was very helpful in letting me know how much of a bitch this job would be, especially for someone like me whose skills are limited to changing her own oil.

but it was also really long and there was so much input to it that i'm unclear on what kind of tools i need and what parts to get. (do i have to get the parts from Honda?)

i also read that i should put a new clutch in and replace the flywheel while the tranny is out. how much do those parts cost? and where do i buy them from?

thank you!

canadaek

sounds more like the pilot bearing or the release bearing input shaft bearings tend to make noise when under accleration or decleration if it makes noise in neutral with the clutch released its probly the release bearing (but since you will be in there change them both and if you have alot of miles on the clutch replace it as well . when you have the trans out try and move the input shaft up and down if theres play its bad

ca-rs

Sounds like throw out bearing. If it is the input shaft bearing should be fine for a while besides the noise. I have a 97 EX and the input shaft bearing is crap. Its noisey esp when slowing down with clutch engaged or speeding up in 1st-2nd gear but I've driven it at least 20k miles like this.

marylou

i thought the throw out bearing would make noise with the clutch pressed in, because it is up against the pressure plate spinning. there's no noise when i push my clutch in.

as for the pilot bearing or release bearing, i don't know much. they make those whirring noises when they're bad, with the clutch not pushed in? guess you're right though, while everything is apart i should just replace it all.

97civicdx

Mine sounded like a supercharger whine and was pretty loud. I just swapped the trans for a lower mileage unit.

mikej94civex

i had a bad throw out for close to a yr makin noise, nvr hurt nothin the hole time was just annoying, my
buddy had the same problem for goin on 2 yrs so i'm sure ur good for a while, it's only $20-30 from
autozone and should only take u 2-3hrs to change depending on ur skittles i replaced the entire tranny
along with a new throw out in less than 3hrs and made a trip to autozone during the process lol

zach_h

I recently bought a '97 Civic EX, and was told it was the throwout bearing but is showing the same signs as talked about here. Shedding some light on the situation, and now I'm sort of worried. lol

marylou

yeah i guess mine sounds a little whiny too, but it's not loud at all. guess i'll just wait and see.. so yours was the tranny input shaft bearing or the throw out?

jadziasman

I replaced the ISB in my 92 Civic VX transmission nearly 4 years ago. The best way to describe a bad ISB is it sounds like marbles rolling around in the tranny when the engine is in neutral and the clutch is engaged (pedal out). The sound disappears when disengaging the clutch (pushing the clutch pedal to the floor).

If you only hear a slight whirring noise you probably don't have a serious problem. When it gets louder and sounds irregular, then you need to do something.

My car had 145K miles on it when I replaced the ISB and the clutch. I had the flywheel resurfaced by an auto parts store. My car now has 227K miles and has no tranny or clutch issues whatsoever.

The repair is not for the faint of heart. I was lucky to be able to do it myself but could have easily messed it up at any point. The most difficult part is getting the tranny back onto the engine without assistance. Replacing the ISB can be difficult if you don't take a lot of photos and read as much as you can before disassembling the case. You have to have everything perfectly aligned to get the case back together again. You definitely need a Helm manual to guide you.

My advice is to find a willing partner to help you. It takes time and patience to do this correctly but you can save lots of $$$$$$$ if you DIY.

marylou

yes! i have a willing and more experienced partner to help..

thanks for the info, i will not worry about it too much at the moment, wait till it gets louder. and will definitely get the manual, and take lots of pictures. can't foresee having enough money to get someone else to do it. plus, it'll be fun..right??

94EG8

That is 100% correct.

The release bearing is actually just another term for the throwout bearing (its actually the correct term) It will as you said make noise if its bad when you depress the clutch. The pilot bearing will make noise if its bad when the transmission input shaft and engine crankshaft are spinning at different speeds. You've almost definately got a bad input shaft/mainshaft bearing. Most of the bearings Honda uses in their transmissions are NTN bearings, but they don't use a normal NTN number (generally because the bearings use at least one non-standard dimension) and often can only be ordered through Honda. Replacing the ISB yourself is certainly do-able if you have the tools, time, aptitude and patience. This link will give you a pretty good idea of whats involved, its for a B-series, but a D-series transmission is very similar in this regard. https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-misc-15/your-transmission-knocking-when-you-idle-loud-i-fixed-mine-pics-parts-1999434/

marylou

thanks for your input. i have the time, tools and patience, and we'll see about the aptitude.

marylou

hey y'all,
don't know if this is related or not, but it seems like it could be..
also not sure how to describe what is happening, so bear with me:

when i am parked on a hill, declined, facing down, and i need to reverse, it takes way longer for the clutch to engage (i think).. as in, no matter how quickly i release the clutch and push the gas in, i still roll forward, a lot..way too much. i thought i was just getting worse at it, but after doing it several times i roll forward way more now that i used to. this only happens when i'm in reverse though, on a decline. when i'm in first and on a hill going up, i don't roll back at all.

is this because of the bad input shaft bearing?

thanks!

94EG8

That would be a slipping clutch, although it should be doing the same thing when taking off in first. If you plan on fixing the input shaft bearing you have a perfect opportunity to put in a clutch. You can find new oem replacement exedy clutches on ebay quite cheap (exedy/daikin makes honda's OEM clutches) You will need a 10 and 17mm socket, both in 12 point.

marylou

interesting. i wonder why it's not doing it in first. been on some fairly steep hills lately and never had a problem with getting it to not roll back more than a couple inches when going up in first gear.

D Griff

My car has made noise like you describe for a few years. I always thought it was the throw out bearing, but maybe it's the pilot bearing because it happens in neutral when the clutch isn't pressed in. I figure I'll fix it one of these days but apparently it isn't pressing.

raidacaipo

Either way you can double check whether its the release bearing or the pilot bearing by simply removing the transmission. Therefore you should also change the clutch at the same time and resurface the flywheel anyways. Why not replace both of them while your at it? its not that expensive and you will know for sure the problem is fixed afterwards.

Pilot bearing:


Release/throwout bearing:

marylou

do i have to send the flywheel somewhere to get resurfaced or can that be done yourself?

raidacaipo

You can take it to any shop. If its barely been used, you can just use brake cleaner instead and spray it and reuse it but always resurface the flywheel when installing a new clutch/pressure plate if the flywheel is old. Its like resurfacing your brake rotors if they are warped when you replace the brake pads. Same concept.

You can also get a new flywheel without any resurfacing done if you choose that route

marylou

yes! i am excited to do this job. it'll have to wait till july when i have the time, but nevertheless... should be a good one. probably going to flood this place with questions around then once the job starts going wrong and i'm really in a pickle! it is inevitable...

Atomic1

I recommend doing the light pressure on the clutch pedal test. If the noise goes away from the slightest pressure (we're talking the weight of your foot) on the pedal then it is likely the throwout. The races of the throwout can be loose and make noise when no pressure is applied.

I only mention this because it happened to me and I am dang glad I didn't waste the time and money tearing apart the transmission. I did it one man job with an engine hoist. Good luck

marylou

okay, just tried that, noise didn't go away..too bad, that would've been nice. thanks for the suggestion though!

marylou

if i wanted/needed to get a new flywheel, should i also go with exedy? the only one i can find is called: EXEDY HF501 Chromoly Racing Flywheel ..and this may be a dumb question, but are there...non-racing flywheels? and does it matter what brand i go with? what about an F1 Chromoly Racing Flywheel?

phong3992

I have a bad ISB, and I've been driving on it for 15k miles. It's just only going to get louder and louder, it get's really annoying though. It makes your car sound like **** too.

marylou

wait, is mainshaft bearing another term for input shaft bearing? they're different, right? and i can't just go to napa auto parts and order either of them, can i? you said that they had to be ordered from Honda.