Hi all.

I am starting to have some problems and am trying to figure out if it is the tranny or clutch. Both have about 100k on them. I first thought and hoped it was just the clutch but a mechanic at the Mazda dealership I work at doesn't want to misdiagnose anything. I am always leary about bringing it somewhere else since if I only need clutch parts they might tell me I need a tranny as well. Here's what is happening:

If my car is idle and not moving everything is fine and normal. Once I'm moving the clutch will sometimes feel notchy and not press down normally. Also going into any gear requires some force but not much. When I'm trying to downshift and am putting force on the gear before it goes in there is a whining sound. Also it's hard to tell but I don't believe there is any slipping.

Does anyone know if it might just be a clutch bearing? Or if it is the transmission what might be wrong?

Thanks so much.


Jesse

 

The first thing you might do (since it's the easiest and cheapest) is change the tranny fluid. I find if my manual tranny is low on oil it will be hard to get into gear...

 

Oil is fine unfortunately.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by venger &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Oil is fine unfortunately. </TD></TR></TABLE>



Maybe check the cables then, but if it's not those you may need to remove the tranny to fix it...could be the throwout bearing like you said or synchros.

Are you low on clutch fluid or anything?

 

Not low on fluid - and I don't think it's the synchros. I keep thinking about the whining noise when trying to downshift. I think if I get to the bottom of that I may find the answer. Any ideas? Could that be the bearing?

 

check your master and slave cylinders

 

Well I think I figured out what I'm going to do. The more people and mechanics I speak with have preliminarily determined that it is the transmission. Since I work at a dealership I am pretty trusting with my service department.

I found out Honda doesn't make remanufactured trannies and a new one from Honda costs $2700. However, through my dealership I can purchase one for only $1888. I was about to buy a 70k tranny from ebay for $799 which is a fantastic price but the idea of having a new one for only $1000 more is pretty appealing!

Thanks for all the input everyone. And if there is anymore input please keep it coming. Long live the 175k '99 Lude SH!! If the engine goes I'm gonna cry though!

 

that is awesome. A brand brand new tranny straight from honda WOOT!