Da1WiTsKiLz

I just finished putting together a GSR transmission with an OEM R LSD in it but I am having some shifting issues. I bought the transmission off a local rebuilder and then I opened it up and swapped the differential in. The LSD install was done by the book. The transmission bench shifted fine but when I installed it in the car I realized that when shifting out of 5th gear the shift lever would not return to the center position. It feels like its hanging on something. If I put some pressure on the shifter (towards the center) it will free itself and pop into the center position. This does not happen with any other gear or with reverse. It happens about 50% of the time I shift out of 5th. I swapped the entire linkage out for another one I had lying around but I am still having the same issue.

I took the car for a drive and I have the following symptoms:

1) Transmission upshifts fine, but once I let the clutch out in 5th gear the transmission starts whining very loudly.
2) If I try to shift into reverse it grinds unless I first shift into 1st gear.

I took a few pictures right before I put the case back together. Do you guys see anything wrong here?

Garage_Spec

I have just finished a final drive and lsd install in my LS trans. It's sounding like the spring/ball combo isn't set right. Since they are on the bottom that is perfect, set the gearbox in neutral and make sure the ***** seat in there divots. I'm by no means an expert on these but that's where I would start.

Da1WiTsKiLz

So I actually put the car on the ground and took it for a drive to see if there were any other issues. When I put it into 5th the transmission makes a very loud whine and reverse does not engage properly unless I put the car into 1st gear first. The transmission also does not downshift into second gear but it does for the other gears. I think its safe to say there is more wrong than just the spring/ball combo but I will probably give that a look when I drain the trans, before I actually start pulling it out.

holmesnmanny

Did you reshim the differential ? It's possible somehow it's too tight and that's causing the alignment of the transmission to be off. This is just a guess. Did the rebuilder give you a warranty ?

The thing about it is that if it's shifting fine without the shifter assembly attached but then has issues with it attached it's possible the issue is with the shifter assembly.

Da1WiTsKiLz

The differential was properly shimmed. I double checked the tolerance and I ordered the correct shim from Honda. I *thought* it was shifting fine without using the shifter but after driving the car its clear that 5th gear is not engaging properly at all.

I updated the original post to reflect this but essentially this is what I know after driving the car on the road:

1) Transmission upshifts fine, but once I let the clutch out in 5th gear the transmission starts whining very loudly.
2) If I try to shift into reverse it grinds unless I first shift into 1st gear.

holmesnmanny

It just sounds like the tranny needs a rebuild. Honestly, you shoulda gave it a look over when you had it open.

Da1WiTsKiLz

I did give it a look over. Everything looks fine. I did not disassemble the gear set and it bench shifts fine. I'll be pulling it out tomorrow evening and opening it up as soon as I have time.

0parts@synchrotech

Maybe I missed it but, where is the top Mainshaft Bearing? did you put it on after you took the pics?

Another thing I noticed was that it does not have GSR Gears.. Not sure if you knew that or not? 2nd-4th gears are LS from what I can see in the pics.

Da1WiTsKiLz

The mainshaft bearing was installed in the upper case. Can you help me understand how you can identify the 2-4th gears through the picture? I would like to confirm this myself when I open the transmission up. 1st and 2nd doesn't concern me as these are the same between a GSR and LS (correct me if I'm wrong) but an LS 3rd and 4th would be depressing. That would mean I have an LS 1-4 with a GSR 5th and 4.4fd.

holmesnmanny

The mainshaft bearing is not a press fit but its fairly tight. It should not be sticking in the case. If it is, something is wrong.

When you lift off the case after pulling back the countershaft snap ring, the mainshaft bearing should stay put on the shaft.

Da1WiTsKiLz

I'm not sure what you mean, there is 1 snap ring and that is the snap ring between the outer case and the countershaft bearing. What does a snap ring have to do with the main shaft bearing? I do see what you're saying about the main shaft bearing. It was several months between disassembly and reassembly. I'm wondering if the bearing was still in the outer case when I installed it or not.

holmesnmanny

I said it wrong, I fixed it.

The mainshaft shouldn't be pressed into the case. It should be held onto the mainshaft. If you gently tap the bearing onto the mainshaft, only tap the inside where it touches the mainshaft. Never tap the outside.

Da1WiTsKiLz

Ah, okay. For a second I thought I was more lost than I knew. I am pulling the trans out of the car tonight so I will update once I split the case again.

0parts@synchrotech

Hello,

Easy way to tell is GSR 3rd gear will have a lock washer between the synchromesh teeth and the gear teeth and have 1 identifying line cut in each tooth like this:



Since you have an LS 3rd gear, 4th would also have to be LS since they share the same synchro, sleeve, center hub and fork sizing. You couldn't use a GSR 4th with an LS 3rd. So you have an LS 3-4.

As for 2nd gear gear, LS and GSR use the same ratio however the gear is different. An LS utilizes a single cone synchro and the GSR utilizes a dual cone synchro. The GSR being the better one

For 5th gear I would suggest doing a tooth count to verify what it is.

Da1WiTsKiLz

Thanks for clarifying that James, its very useful information to have.

Da1WiTsKiLz

Alright guys, I pulled the transmission and cracked it open. I confirmed that 1-4 are all LS gears (which James pointed out above). 5th is a GSR 5th. The countershaft is also from a GSR (3 identification lines, 15T, fits perfectly with a 66T GSR final drive). I was completely ripped off by the local rebuilder I bought the transmission from. Here is what I'm looking at now:

















Based on what I have here, do you all see anything clearly wrong with the gear stacks/shift change holder? If everything checks out I would gladly swap in an LS 5th at this point so I have a LS with 4.4FD and OEM R LSD. I will probably be outsourcing this job but I want to cover my bases.

Thanks to everyone for all the help so far.

sportsman1539

Sounds like someone tore apart their gsr transmission and swapped in an ls 5th. Then took their gsr 5th and put it in the transmission they robbed for the ls 5th which is what you have now. Are you sure it's a 66 tooth ring gear? Check the id marks on the bottom of the countershaft too. That'll tell you if it's a 4.4 or 4.2 countershaft.

The shifting problem sounds like an issue with the shift change assembly. I've had them not want to pop back to the center position before and this was the problem

Da1WiTsKiLz

Yeah, I confirmed the ring gear is from a GSR (66t, 1 line) and the countershaft is a GSR (15T, 3 line). I hope the issue lies with the shift change holder assembly, I'll try to set it up in the transmission and see if i can test it with the shift rods removed.

0parts@synchrotech

I can tell you that your 5-R sleeve is upside down

The 3-4 Center hub has too much wear and should be replaced. That will definitely cause a problem. 5th gear looks like it has some good wear to it as well. The 3-4 gears are hard to tell in the pics.

Be sure to check the shift assembly to make sure it is not bent and most importantly that it is torqued down. A loosely bolted in shift change assembly will also cause a big issue.

David here, also noticed that it looks like you have a GSR countershaft 5th gear and a B16 mainshaft 5th gear. They also looked burned up a bit...so that may be why.

0parts@synchrotech

Good way to tell on this one is the Type R LSD. The LS 4.2 won't bolt to the Type R LSD. Inner diameter on a B16 or LS ring gear is 109mm and GSR/Type is 116mm.

Da1WiTsKiLz

James/David- Thanks for your input. There is a steep learning curve to troubleshooting a transmission but you guys were a big help. From everything you pointed out I decided to give up on trying to fix this one. I still have a handful of good parts in there that will end up on ebay (LSD, GSR ring gear, GSR countershaft, clean OBD1 casing).

I didn't realize the discoloration on the 5th gears until I looked back at the photos so I'm sure that is the cause of my whine. I would assume the incorrectly installed 5-R sleeve is contributing to the weird 5th shifting issues and almost useless reverse.

Again, thanks for the input everyone. I will treat the few $$ lost as a crash course on "how a transmission works"