I thought this was covered before, but I can’t find the info doing a search.
All of a sudden this morning I can’t upshift or downshift into gears 2, 3, 4, and 5 at the higher RPMs. It grinds when I try to put it in gear. The only way I can shift is to rev match first. At lower RPMs (<3500) it goes through all the gears just fine. My car has 49700 miles on it.
I can’t imagine all the syncho’s going bad all at the same time. Could it just be low on MTF? I’ve never checked the level since I got the car.

 

Change the fluid, see if that helps.

 

how about clutch? can you shift it when the car is off?

 

I'd have to verify if I can shift it when the car is off. I suspect that I can because when I was sitting at a light, I was able to shift through all the gears like a knife through butter.
When I try to shift at higher RPMs the shifter will get out of the current gear like normal, but when trying to put it back in gear or another gear it will grind.
When I try to shift, it kind of feels like when you try to shift into gear without the clutch and you are at not rev-matched. If I rev-match it perfectly, the shifter will go into place. If I shift at 2000 Rpms and I go through all 5 gears like normal.
Oh.. This started to happen 30 miles into my trip to work. (40 miles to work)

I only have 300 miles left on my warrantee and won't be able to bring the car into the dealer until Monday because they are swamped.





[Modified by arren123, 8:41 AM 6/27/2002]

 

I'm having basically the same problems in my GS-R right now. So far I've flushed the tranny twice, bled/flushed the clutch fluid, and finally replaced the clutch master cylinder, which was in pretty bad shape. NOTHING has fixed the problem. I'm thinking clutch next (see my thread started 2 minutes ago ), which will suck if I drop the tranny and find out nothing's wrong. I think someone else had similar problems a while ago and said they replaced their clutch/pp and the problem went away. Good luck, and let mek now if you find a way to cure your 'teg.

[edit] just saw your second post, mine doesn't grind, it just won't go into gear (as if I hadn't pressed on the clutch at all)


[Modified by MrBite, 11:41 AM 6/27/2002]

 

Hey Chris I think your right on point with this one.
The clutch is most likely the culprit here.
call roadside and let them take your car to the dealer, but ask for a loaner.

 

Ahh.. So when you're at a stop and the engine is idling, you can't put it into first gear?

 

That's the strange part--it goes into first MOST of the time when I'm stopped, and shifts halfway decent at low RPM. But anything over ~2.5k rpm and it doesn't like me. I have had a few weird times where it either refused to go into first and I had to stop/start the car to get it to work, or where I'd have the clutch depressed and the shifter in first, and it all of the sudden bucked and stalled, as if I just dropped the clutch with no throttle

 

Yep. Yours sounds like a problem with the clutch.
Mine. I'm not quite sure yet. Although it does sound very similar to your situation minus the stalling in first gear. One thing to note is that I had the intermediate clutch noise where it would making a clicking noise when I pressed the pedal down. Everything has worked fine since it started happening at 12,000 miles.
Maybe it will go away now that the car has cooled down (crossing fingers). If so, maybe it was the MT Fluid. Do you know if you absolutely need MTF in the transmission for the syncros to work? Theoretically, if you ran your transmission with no fluid, would the syncros still do its job?

 

Ok.. I'm thinking my clutch is done too. Second opinions anyone?

Here's what happens. When I start out from a stop in first gear, I can feel some clutch chatter. Also, there's an audible scratchy sound when the clutch catches. Imagine taking a steel scouring pad and scrubbing the bottom of a pot in a circular motion. Or rubbing your bellow with a dry hand in a continuous circular motion, but louder. Or taking a business card and rubbing it in a circular motion on your desk. Well, you get the idea..
One other thing: It takes a little more effort to bring the shifter in gear.

Odd thing is if I push in the clutch and hold it down, shift it out of gear, let the revs go down to 500 rpms and keep continuous pressure on the shifter, it will eventually go into gear.
There doesn't seem to be any clutch slippage while in gear and clutch pedal fully up. Just that curious noise and clutch chatter.

I was attempting to adjust the clutch pedal, but I couldn't loosen the locknut on the pushrod. I'm not sure which way to turn it.

 

Definitely the clutch.

I'd take a look at it ASAP.

 

Spring is about to break/has broken on your clutch disc. Same thing happened to me. Less gradual though.

New clutch time methinks.

Tom

 

The dealer called me up this morning. My the pressure plate was worn down. So..
I guess or wore it down pretty good. Not as fast as some people though. Didn't someone say their's only lasted for around 15k?

Anyway, $997 is the damage.

What should I do this time? I've been double-clutching to save the syncro's, but obviously with hard launches and double-clutching it wore down the clutch pretty fast. Which is cheaper to replace? Syncros or clutches?

 

dont let the dealer do it. new clutch with labor should be nowhere near 1000.00

 

Ok.. Then how much is it supposed to cost? $300?
I asked another shop a ballpark figure and they said around $800

 

Acura = stock clutch, pressure plate & throwout bearing + labor = $949.00

Me + batoutahell + Clutchmasters stage3 clutch, pp, bearing + lightened flywheel = $950.00

hmmmmmmmm whatcha think I did? It's worth the hell you pay doing it for the first time...then watch sgT do it in the WalMart parking lot & see how to do it quickly = PRICELESS.

Do it yourself. It's worth the switch! jmho

 

Actually..
Me + Spare Civic - Air Condition + 95 degree weather = very unhappy driver

Me + ITR + Fun Driving + Fixed by acura with OEM parts in one day = happy again.

Next time it goes I'll probably go aftermarket and do it myself. I'll practice on the Civic first since I need to replace the throwout bearing in it sometime.
For now, I'll pay the price to have it done by the dealer even though it hurts so much. Need .... ITR... Now...

I wish more mechanically inclined people lived near me. I could really use someone to learn from.

 

Try the clutch

 

Just got my car back..
Here's the breakdown of the damage:
$546.00 labor
$145.94 Clutch disk
$ 58.87 Bearing (doesn't this OEM part usually cost around $36 ? )
$ 0.46 14 mm Washer (couldn't they have put this in for free?)
$ 7.32 MT Fluid
$ 0.88 20 mm Washer
$226.92 PP

The funny thing is is that it only took them 1 hour or less to take apart the car and diagnose the problem. Probably only took them another hour to put it back together.

I asked for the old parts back. They said they were in the trunk, but when I got home I checked for the parts and nothing was there! I hope they didn't throw them out. I have to see how bad it was worn down.. Or maybe its a conspiracy? Maybe something was really broken and they don't want me to see..
hmm...