Yeah! so i recently did a motor swap, and since then my shifter has been a little loose, but the tranny has worked fine.. today on my way back from class it decided not to go into 1st or 2nd without serious force and multiple tries.. What the hell is going on? why would this all of the sudden happen? is there any things I need to check aside from the fluid level?

This sux

 

You mention that your shifter feels loose... possibly the bushings? Wrong shift linkage? My best guess, good luck!

 

bumped

 

when you put the swap in, did you notice the trans sitting at a slight angle? that will cause hard shifts.. and sometimes no shift at all. what mounts are you using?

 

Do you have the bitch pin in or did you do the ghetto bolt and nut idea which isnt smart.

 

ok, update.. i have the car jacked up and without the engine running it shifts into gears very smoothly..

the car is a 96 civic ex with a b16 using EM1 shift rod and a DC stabalizer bar

 

i just drained the fluid, and there was A TON in there.. DEFINITELY over 2.7 quarts, and it looks gray. i'm going to try new fluid and cross my fingers that it works right..

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Luserkid &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Do you have the bitch pin in or did you do the ghetto bolt and nut idea which isnt smart. </TD></TR></TABLE>

the bitch pin is in, everything was done right but i didn't replace any bushings so that explains the play in my shifter

 

fluid was gun metal colored with a crazy "metallic" look, new fluid = shifting smooth as butter. I used 5w-30 motor oil

btw does anyone know why my previous fluid would be SO BAD? when I stirred it there was a spiral that stayed in the fluid.. and it only had about 1500 miles on it

 

supposed to use 10w30 not 5w30

 

that's what haynes says, but if you check the viscosity of Honda Manual transmission fluid, it has the same propertise as 5w-30, hence I chose that over what haynes recommended

 

My Haynes says to use MTF, and that 10w30 should only be used on a temporary basis until MTF can be used (get stranded in a desert w/o MTF, etc.). But it's your car.

Personally I had tons of balky shift problems after the shop that installed my last clutch used aftermarket fluid instead of Honda. Took a while, and it was a gradual thing, but within 2-3 weeks it hit the point where I'd had enough. Dumped the fluid out and switched back to Honda. 2-3 weeks later everything was back to mostly normal. I say mostly because the ISB took a crap too, and it took a 2nd change a couple months later to eradicate all synchro issues.

 

I am not a expert, just my 2 cents i would use honda MTF not 5w 30 you will feel a difference, i just took my tranny apart twice and the one with 10W 30 took a crap, if you see metal in your fluid it might be some of the gears pieces that came off, but i dont want to get flamed buy honda tech people, so just saying you should go with HOnda MTF

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hybridmath &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">supposed to use 10w30 not 5w30</TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jdm_vtec &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">that's what haynes says, but if you check the viscosity of Honda Manual transmission fluid, it has the same propertise as 5w-30, hence I chose that over what haynes recommended </TD></TR></TABLE><TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MonkeyBoy668 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">My Haynes says to use MTF, and that 10w30 should only be used on a temporary basis until MTF can be used (get stranded in a desert w/o MTF, etc.). But it's your car.

Personally I had tons of balky shift problems after the shop that installed my last clutch used aftermarket fluid instead of Honda. Took a while, and it was a gradual thing, but within 2-3 weeks it hit the point where I'd had enough. Dumped the fluid out and switched back to Honda. 2-3 weeks later everything was back to mostly normal. I say mostly because the ISB took a crap too, and it took a 2nd change a couple months later to eradicate all synchro issues.</TD></TR></TABLE>

It's all the same **** in ur trans.

I'm using Mobil 1 15w50 and it works fine .

I do it just to prove people like you guys wrong.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Historyg &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I am not a expert, just my 2 cents i would use honda MTF not 5w 30 you will feel a difference, i just took my tranny apart twice and the one with 10W 30 took a crap, if you see metal in your fluid it might be some of the gears pieces that came off, but i dont want to get flamed buy honda tech people, so just saying you should go with HOnda MTF</TD></TR></TABLE>

Yeah, it's just your 2 cents, you won't feel a difference.

@ OP:
Possibly a bent shift fork.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Syndacate &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">I do it just to prove people like you guys wrong.</TD></TR></TABLE>
People like who?

People who used other fluid in their trans, had it turn to ****, and by switching back to MTF got a functional transmission again? Yes, what a horrible human being I am. I should have kept that fluid in there for irrational sentimental reasons.

My Helm says use MTF. (yes, I know, I said Haynes before. I stared at the Helm for a while and drew a blank) But you can fill your transmission with corn oil for all I care, since it's your car. Which is exactly what I said in the first place.

 

Make sure all the fluid hasn't leaked out somewhere. Low or empty will cause such an issue.

I agree though that it could also be the bitch pin being messed up or possibly that your shift fork could be bent.

Hope that helps.

 

well it's like i said in a later post.. the Honda MTF that was put in 1500 miles ago was gun-metal color with TONS of metal shavings.. it looked like a custom paint job

anyway, I put 2.7 quarts of 5w 30 in and it drives perfectly.. each gear goes in very smoothly. If i had to guess, by the looks of the drain pan, there was too much Honda MTF in it before.