nnamssorxela

I finally got my transmission together and what I was worried about all along happened. Everything feels pretty locked up and I can only find 2nd gear.

I thought I followed the manual pretty well, but obviously I forgot something. When a friend and I tried to spin the tires the were completely locked up. What I am hoping is that the fifth gear synchro sleeve is pushed down and the gears are still locked, which you must do to remove the countershaft nut when taking apart the transmission. All the other synchros are operated by the gear stick essentially correct? So all of those can be engaged without taking the transmission apart correct? Or is there a series of synchros (1-4) that can be engaged and lock the transmission as well? The manual didn't say much about being sure that the other synchros were engaged etc.

The end cover appears pretty easy to get to with the transmission in the car so I'm praying that is my problem.

Am I on the right track or should I start parting the car out?

I tried to spin the shaft when it was out of the car but I just didn't think anything of it, I just figured I was in gear (can you tell I've never worked with transmissions?). I do not want to crack the main case again, but taking the tranny itself out isn't the end of the world.

Let me know if there is any other information I can provide. I will even scan the manual if I have to.

nnamssorxela

Let me also add that there was no oil in the trans, but that the gears were oiled for initial start up.

nnamssorxela

The last bit of info that I can think to add is that if I just turn one tire forward, it will go, but the other moves the opposite direction. I assume this is just the internals of the diff doing their job.

nnamssorxela

Took the end cap off and 5th was not engaged. I can see the 3rd/4th shift fork through a port in the transmission with the end cap off, and I can see the 1st/2nd synchro sleeve go into 2nd, and almost into first. Not sure what could be causing them to bind. Obviously something is engaged that shouldn't be. Taking the 5th gear synchro hub completely allows me to obviously put the stick in 5th. Maybe something is up with 3rd/4th?

The reason I can't get into certain gears is because the synchros aren't lined up and the shafts won't turn allowing them to line up. (obviously)

I'm getting desperate here. Does ANYONE know ANYTHING about transmissions?

Mista Bone

pics of the rebuild not loading.

Is 2nd gear synchro JAMMED onto the gear cone???

nnamssorxela

There are no pictures, but I can scan the manual and take some random shots with the end cap off if that helps, though you will be able to see nothing. I didn't touch the gear stack at all. Once it became loose lying on its side (since it was all alone and no countershaft nut was on it to keep it tight), but when I picked it up again, everything just slid back into place with the exception of one blocking plate that has the 3 slots, I had to turn that so the slots lined back up with the tabs.

second appeared to function properly so it isn't jammed...not sure if that's what you meant.

nnamssorxela

Update:Got the tranny out in under an hour. That includes changing, getting tools, jacks etc, and a little bit of watching my roommate play portal 2. I think I'm getting better at this...not bad for my second time in public parking lot.

So it looks like something is binding at the bottom of the countershaft and the diff. In addition, the blocking rings are seized on 1st and 3rd gears. I have them in the freezer now in attempts to loosen them up (I figure when I pop them out of the freezer, the small and thin blocking ring will heat up to body temp quicker than the much thicker gear). Not sure how they got on that tight?

EDIT: MISTABONE, is that what you meant by the synchro jammed on the gear cone?

nnamssorxela

The update you've all been waiting for...pictures!

Ok, so the blocking plates came apart from the gears and the countershaft is looking good as a whole. After that I went to investigate the locking up issue. The countershaft would still lock up even when stripped of gears and no mainshaft installed. The diff however would spin on its own, but not when the countershaft was in place. If I lifted up just slightly on the countershaft, both it and the diff would spin.

I saw that the bottom gear on the countershaft that engages the diff, was getting caught on these teeth:


Now my roommate is positive that the teeth are machined in there, and are designed to lock the countershaft in place during some sort of maintenance. He thinks that with a new and properly torqued countershaft nut (we discovered mine was FUBAR and might not have been threading all the way down because of it), the nut will lift the countershaft up and clear the "teeth" that are locking it up.

He has a point because this is the picture with the countershaft resting in the teeth. Notice that the gears do not line up:


This is with the countershaft pulled up slightly so the gears line up...it spins freely when doing this:


When I tightened the countershaft nut, it looks like I was jamming the previously "staked" bit into the staking divot in the countershaft giving me the false reading of torquing it down, when in reality it was not all the way down.

While what he is saying makes sense, I'm still skeptical. Why would honda put these teeth there when in the manual it says to use the 5th gear synchro to lock the gears, NOT to tap it down into the teeth. If he is correct, that means that the end of the countershaft will NOT be against the bottom of the case and essentially "floating" in the needle bearing. The teeth could have been formed by me cranking down on the countershaft nut and sinking the hardened gear into the soft aluminum case.

The pictures in the manual are not clear enough to tell if the teeth are there and the manual mentions nothing of it, and not sure how much I trust the manual anyway, as it appears in the assembly directions they left out the portion telling to install one of the last synchro gears.

nnamssorxela

PROBLEM SOLVED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It does float, and the nut does hold the countershaft up. My roommate was correct after all. Transmission is assembled and ready to go in. I finally found a transmission shop willing to look at this and help a college student out. He said that I would not have been able to get the nut on on my own with the tools I had. I can't thank Carolina Manual Transmission enough, and I've never felt compelled to recommend another company before. I'd also like to thank the member on here synchro for helping me as well. I hope this helps someone out in the future.

-Alex