I was doing an oil change and found the linkage at the top of the tranny was wet with oil.

The linkage is at the very top of the transmission and I imagine there is a seal there. Anyone know anything about this and how to get the linkage out to replace the seal.

The tranny has been stubborn going into 1st and 2nd when dead cold so I'm kinda nervous I'm running low on fluid and I need to get this fixed.

They sure make it a pain to get the refill bolt in this car btw.

 

Mine is often damp as well. I would like to know if there is a user replaceable seal for this as well.

Mine sometimes gets stubborn to go into 1st gear when it is extremely cold as well. I thought it was my clutch, when it used to happen at 150k miles, so I changed the clutch. The old clutch looked almost as new as the new clutch, so i do not think it was needed, but since I had already purchased, I went ahead and put in the new clutch, pressure plate, release bearing, etc. I also changed the tranny fluid with Honda fluid. It didnt help much. I just deal with it. I only gets stubborn sometimes. When it happens, I just put it in second, lift the clutch a little to roll forward, and then it will slip in 1st without problem. It might happen maybe once every 2 weeks while it is really cold. For me, its not so big of an issue to be a real issue for me. I now have 240k miles, and its still not really a big issue for me.

Usually, when the car is hard to go into 1st and 2nd gear, than is usually an indication of clutch wearing out. In my case, it was not the clutch.

 

Professorman, thank you for responding I thought this thread was going to die the worst death.

Your issue has me intrigued due to the fact that I have 139k on original clutch but it still feels great. I just replaced the tranny fluid with some honda mtf so I'll let you know tomorrow how she acts when cold.

I almost wonder if our issue when dead cold is maybe some sloppage in the linkage mixed with a cold aging tranny?

Fyi I had the local honda order up that seal where the linkage goes into transmission so it is a servicable part.

I will update this thread when I get around to figuring out how to replace it.

 

Well, before my clutch change, it used to occur slightly more often, but still not significant. Now, its not so much. I am due a transmission fluid change, so I plan to change it out soon. My 3rd gear shifting as a slight notch when putting it in sometimes. I havent topped it off or anything in a long time, so I might be overdue.

When I was teaching my wife about the 'quirks' of my car, she says that she has had that problem of not going in 1st gear on the first try in her previous cars, and she just lift the clutch and re-press it again and that usually works. I try to remember to do that whenever it happens at a light, but its always fast to just go in 2nd, lift the clutch a bit, then slip it back into 1st. You can try if this 'double clutching' method could work for you.

I know I am VERY conservative on my clutch usage wear. Based on how the clutch that I took out look, I think I could have made it to about 300k on the original clutch. I am happy that I changed it though because now I know that I will never finish my current new clutch with how conservative I drive based on the usage of the last one.