hondanacura

I just had my clutch replaced on 97 Honda Civic LX, and at the time the clutch repair technician said the transmission was noisy (a "bearing noise" he said, and I did hear it.) This bearing noise has been with the car without increasing or changing for a long time.

Now, one week later, it is suddenly making much more noise when I'm driving, in lower gears especially and going uphill. It is a whirring/chattering sound.

I had a different mechanic check the transmission fluid level yesterday, and he said it was full. He also pointed out a different noise, when the car is not moving--he pressed on the clutch and it made a whirring noise. I think it is suspect that it is doing this one week after the clutch replacement.

Are these two different noises, or the same noise?

How do you know if your car is ok to drive if the transmission is going bad?

Vehicle has 245000 miles on it. Has anyone else replaced their transmission on this or a similar vehicle? Would you recommend it, and how many miles did your replacement transmission have on it when you purchased it/how can you be sure of mileage on transmission?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

Emeraldbomber

With the clutch pressed in it sounds like a bad TOB (throw out bearing).
The other noise in lower gears makes me lean towards bad input shaft bearing.

hondanacura

If it is the input shaft bearing is this something that could have been damaged when they replaced the clutch?

jbpnoman

No. It's a minor miracle your ISB lasted as long as it did. They're a known weak spot in D series transmissions, and extremely likely to go out, especially in the 150k-200k range. You don't necessarily need to replace the transmission - With a high level of attention to detail, $50 worth of tools, and about $200 worth of parts, you can (almost) completely overhaul the transmission. Alternatively, if you aren't comfortable working on your own car, you can remove the transmission with the help of a friend fairly easily, and drop it off at a local transmission shop. Don't use a chain, they'll charge you book rates which includes removal and installation of the transmission.

hondanacura

Another person who works on Hondas thinks that it actually probably was damaged when the clutch was replaced, since it did not have the problem prior to the clutch repair.

So the work you mention to 'overhaul' the transmission would involve just the input shaft bearing, or what specifically? What would a mechanic charge for the work?