I am surmising this is the issue, but I have an 04 Civic EX with 84k miles.
1.7L with the 5 speed manual transmission. I bought it dirt cheap so if I have to do work, I can afford to do some as the guy selling it (known to me) was in dire financial situation and had to sell.

I do not get any noise at idle or with the clutch in an out. But when going through the gears, mainly in 3rd, but I can hear it in all when upshifting, I get what I can only describe as the sound cards make when inserted in the spokes of a bike tire. If I go through 1 and 2 normally, I will net get the noise, but almost always in 3rd. It almost sounds like an old Chevy truck I once had that had some serious granny gears in it for hauling loads. To me it sounds like gear noise, but I am not sure. It is not there when revving the engine up and not as loud when downshifting.

It had a whopping 1/2qt of trans fluid in it when I got it and I don't think he ever changed the fluid or did the service on it. He is not the best at anything more mechanical than putting a key in the door or gas in the tank. Any thoughts on what it might be? I replaced the fluid and the sound is noticably louder when cold, after my 55 mile trip to work it is there but quieter.

I appreciate the help you can give me. By the way I already have a rebuilt trans lined up for $450 right now in case I need to replace it, but I was hoping it was something simpler. This is my second Honda and is replacing an 02 Accord I crashed so I have some Honda experience.

 

Could be a mainshaft or countershaft bearing that has gone bad, possibly something else. It's likely from driving it around without having enough MTF in it.

You can always drain the MTF through a strainer and look for metal debris.

The only real way to know for sure would be to remove the transmission and open it for inspection.






At least you have a replacement handy. Sounds like you'll need it.

 

I had heard to check those too, so I am thinking just replace it at this point and go from there. The guy literally buys and drives, changes oil and not much else. But he does not drive them hard or play stoplight dragstrip so the rest of it is no problem. He changed the oil every 3-3500 and had all receipts. I put new tires on it, alignment and can still put the trans in if I need to. I just need to find a reasonable place to do it.

I save what little trans fluid I drained and I am going to filter it out in the morning to see what I get. I love the car and altough a little smaller than my Accord, I definately like the better milage.

 

Ah, he's one of those people. I know some of those people too. Haha..


Anyhow ..

If you've got the time, tools and a garage, you'd save yourself quite a few bucks by installing it yourself. If you do decide to have a shop do the install, maybe they'll give you a price reduction if you give them the bad transmission? It's worth asking. If you do decide to keep it and open it, let us know what you find out.


Best of luck with it.

 

What is the difficulty rating on the replacement? I have good mechanical ability (grew up on a farm, dad was Deere/ag and GM mechanic by trade/school) and definately have a large tool collection. I also have an old school speed shop (read American muscle car) that has an open machine shop in the back right now. I just rebuilt the motor for my Trans Am there and think I can borrow it for the cost of libations again. His counter man has Honda experience so he may be willing to assist. I would definately prefer to get my hands dirty on it than pay someone, I just don't know the ins/outs of FWD and Hondas enough to tackle it myself. I am guessing the better part of a day to do it based on info here and other forums. I would have access to everything from an overhead crane to jacks, just no lift as the previous tennant sold them off in the middle of the night when he vacated the property after not paying rent for 3 months.