All right... I'm in a huge bind.

I drove down to Long Beach, CA to spend xmas with the fam on Catalina. When I was about 15 minutes from the harbor, the tach ramped all the way to the redline out of nowhere. When I reached for the shifter, I realized it was in neutral.

At that point I put it back in 5 and it kept popping back out. We came back today, and at this point, I have to hold it in 5 and use A LOT of force to keep it there. If I relax my arm even a little bit, it'll force itself back into neutral.

Here's what I know so far -

-I am 99% sure the MTF level is good. In fact it might be a little bit on the higher side. I flushed it off the other day and then added a couple more ounces after screwing in the fill plug (because that's how it was when I first changed it). I've never had a MTF leak on this car.

-It will only pop out of 5th when I press on the gas. If I coast in gear or ride the clutch, it will stay in gear.

-No other gears pop out (another reason why I think fluid level isn't an issue). It's only 5th.

-This S80 tranny has 192,000 miles on it.

-When I push the clutch and put it in 5th, it goes in smooth as usual. No grinding or jerks when letting off the clutch pedal.

I hope to god this doesn't mean I have bad synchros... I've gotta drive 450 miles back up to San Jose on Sunday/Monday and doing it either in 4 or while holding it in 5 will royally suck... then again so will paying for a repair job too.

Anyone have remarks that might help?? or know a place that does good transmission work for cheap down in San Diego/LA??

 

I have the same issue on my mine was a syncro but check the fluid res too, what year is the car tranny?
try to bleed the clutch fluid completely..

 

It's a 97 LS stock tranny. There are only 2 significant changes recently.

First - I did a B18C1 swap a few months ago... I guess it's possible the higher power from the engine might wear out the synchros faster

Second - after the swap, I had trouble getting getting the upper tranny mount in place, so I drove around without the mount secured. Before taking this trip, I got all the right hardware and finally secured it to the tranny housing.

I really can't see how either of these could cause the synchro to fail.

I'm going to get an oil change done tomorrow and ask one of the guys to check the fill level on the tranny. I hope to god it's a little low so we can top it off and be done with this.

 

well if u used the ls tranny those s80 are know to have weak syncros and also now u added more power to the 192,000 mile stock tranny. I see it all day u should have used a better tranny..like a B18C:

S80/Y80 (Optional LSD)

The transmission found in JDM GSR's is very popular and overall an excellent transmission. For all motor and boost applicatiosn this transmission has excellent gearing and a stronger differential compared to its B16A and B18B counterparts. The transmissions with LSD should have "LSD" stamped on the casing and to make sure, inspect the differential and use the parameters I described before to identify whether or not the transmission really has LSD. Look to pay between 700-1200 for this transmission depending on whether its LSD equipped. Also worth mentioning, these transmissions are all hydraulic.

Here is a look at the specs:

1st: 3.230
2nd: 1.900
3rd: 1.360
4th: 1.034
5th: 0.787
Reverse: 3.000
Final Drive: 4.400

 

OR Y80

This transmission is found in all USDM GSR's. Although LSD was not offered these transmissions are still highly sought after because of their stronger differentials and optimal gearing. For those not interested in ultra-short gearing this transmission provides the perfect balance between acceleration and top end. Look to pay around 700-1000 for these transmissions.

The specs are the same as above:

1st: 3.230
2nd: 1.900
3rd: 1.360
4th: 1.034
5th: 0.787
Reverse: 3.000
Final Drive: 4.400

 

if you wind up needing a new transmission i would sell yours for parts around $200 and buy an ITR transmission. for awhile some dude on ebay was selling brand new in the honda box usdm itr boxes for $1250. i bought one and so did a few others. the jdm houses will also sell you a transmission but will often want at least 1000. still. it's going to cost you to fix what you have, when you factor in the money you can get from your LS as it is and what you would spend on the repair it's not far from the itr box which comes with the factory LSD and tight gearing.

normally problems like you describe are worn gears. 192k is within line for failure, especially if the person before you drove hard. many do make it 300k but they are also driven easier and maintained. lack of fluid changes and a lot of 5th driving will wear on the cogs

 

My goal originally was to finish breaking this engine in, save up for an upgraded exhaust, hondata software and a good tune - all by spring.

Once all that was done and I had the dyno charts, I was going to rebuild the entire tranny and use gear ratios which would best fit within the power band on the dyno.

I'm the original owner of the car so I can vouch for the maintenance history. It's been very well maintained with regular fluid changes, and quite a bit of highway miles... though I wouldn't say I've driven it very hard.

Honestly at this point... I have to be back in San Jose on Monday/Tuesday at the latest - so I *NEED* the car to get me there. In other words - what I need is THE MOST cost-effective way to get home (450 miles)... whether that's dropping $200 to repair one bad gear/synchro set here in San Diego, or spending $200 to rent a truck and tow it back.

Once I'm home, I don't have to worry about much (if any) highway driving, and could even go a month or two without the car while working on it.

 

it's going to cost you a lot of time and likely more than 200 unless you do it all yourself. complete waste of labor and that's if you had access to the tools. in your case.....drive in 4th.

also, you'll spend a fortune building a trans with m factory custom cogs. it's also totally unneeded with NA power levels. an ITR trans with a change in FD ratio if you need to gear down is much more cost effective.

 

bump

 

why? there is seriously nothing to add to this post

 

I had this problem exactly like yours and I had a small leak from the axle seal. So small I couldnt see it. It just so happened to be oily on the trans. Added fluid and it fixed everything I hope for your sake it is low.