Civic05'

So I'm the proud owner of an 05' Civic, 4 door, VTEC model.

She's served me well over the years.

This happens every month or so:

Whenever I'm driving fast, and want to shift gears quickly, something goes aloof, the gears lock up (very embarrassing on the road when you're driving fast and overtaking) and that grinding noise comes in. Then I gotta ease off the throttle, throw her in neutral shortly, kick the clutch in again, and shift into the next gear.

Typically happens when accelerating quickly and shifting from 2nd to 3rd. Rarely, happens in 3rd to 4th as well. Very very rare going from 1st to 2nd. And issue's practically non-existent from 4th to 5th, or N to reverse.

I had the clutch overhauled only about 25,000 km back. It is smooth and the gears shift fine.

This only happens when I'm trying to shift quickly while the engine's revving. What kind of damage am I doing to the car's powertrain by not shifting cleanly and patiently?

I have noticed this though: there's a noticeable grinding noise coming from the engine (even though it isn't very loud), and as I lock the clutch down in neutral it goes away. Same thing in first and second as I'm accelerating it comes in, then goes quiet when I compress the clutch to shift gears.

The Honda technician tells me replacing the clutch bearing will get rid of the problem. Well, this grinding noise was there before the clutch overhaul

Now I know, there is nothing wrong with my transmission or clutch/flywheel. But why does it become more difficult and ever so important to do even more "clean" shifts as the revs go higher? Does it have to do with matching the engine speed with the syncro/transmission speed?

Will the clutch bearing grinding sound get louder as the kms start to accumulate?

Sorry for the lengthy post. Thought I'd throw in every bit of detail that came to mind.

yamin38

My car makes an ultra annoying sound sometimes coming from the clutch not the engine. A honda friend said it was my release or throw out bearing. he said it wouldn't damage my engine or trans, just annoy the sh*t out of me. He is totally right so far. Mine doesn't do it all of the time but most of the time. It has not prevented me from getting into gear tho. My thoughts are same part, different or advanced problem with it?

Civic05'

Well, the grinding sounds while driving do come from the engine, since the clutch assembly sits in the engine bay. The sound probably does come from the clutch release bearing - that's exactly what a Honda technician told me.

It is very annoying, but you can live with it.

Just have to be extra careful when shifting at higher RPM's: you'd want to shift as patiently and cleanly as possible, to avoid locking gears.

Civic05'

Are these forums always this dead..??

94EG8

The grinding noise is a bad input shaft bearing, not a bad throwout bearing! The high speed lockup is either from a clutch that isn't fully releasing IE: dragging or you have internal transmission issues, worn synchros, banged up hubs and sleeves or damaged engagement/dog teeth on the gears themselves.

Civic05'

Thank you very much for the input.

Solution????

94EG8

The transmission has to come out, and then has to be taken apart to see just what exactly needs to be replaced.

Civic05'

Hey I appreciate the response.

I think that's going to cost way too much, and Honda might try to pull a fast one on me by saying "you should also replace this and that while you're at it, just for good measure".

I think I'll just shift really patiently and cleanly. I should be going easy on the transmission anyway as it's not build for high speed over the edge driving.

94EG8

That will cost you more later.

Civic05'

Okay, so could you elaborate?

What harm am I doing to it by not replacing parts and/or getting it checked up now?

The clutch bearing sound has pretty much remained where it's at now for the last 5 years.

94EG8

When the ISB finally flys apart sometimes they'll cut a deep groove in the mainshaft ruining it, at that point you're basically looking at another transmission since it's cheaper than buying a new mainshaft.

As far as the grinding goes; right now you might get away with new synchros and cleaning up the sleeves, or new synchros and sleeves if you do it now. Wait longer and you're looking at new hubs, gears, and synchro springs too.

That said if your grinding issue started after having a new clutch installed you might want to check and make sure the pushrod for the clutch master cylinder is adjusted correctly.

Civic05'

The grinding was there before the clutch overhaul. Problem started in the first place probably due to trying to shift too quickly and locking up the gears, as a result of not engaging/disengaging the clutch properly.

^^ Have to remind myself now and then it's a stock Civic, not a modded Supra!

I've noticed having trouble shifting from 2nd to 1st when slowing down. I have to slow down to at least 10 kph or less, so that it goes smoothly into 1st. Also, I experience engine hiccups in 1st and 2nd gear, as the car decelerates (usually under 2500 rpm).

Does this have to do with the worn out syncros? Or is this a problem related to engine/gear mounts?

92civiceg9gsr

The "grinding" has absolutely nothing to do with the clutch. Honda's are notorious for chewing up their INPUT SHAFT bearings... not clutch release bearings.

94EG8

That's normal. It wont shift into first until the car is almost stopped.

That's got nothing to do with the trans.

Civic05'

Right, so what does it have to do with? Is this normal in mostly all low to mid range performance sedans?

I imagine shifting into first at slower cruising speeds is quite smooth for sports cars and race cars especially. Race cars have straight cut gears anyway, so that's a non-issue.

And the hiccups... normal too? It is annoying though when you're decelerating at slower speeds.