I have a 90 civic lx with 4 speed automatic 1.5l engine. I am trying to keep it running as i have little money. the issue is this
first off, i have no reverse. sometimes, if i leave it sit in reverse for an inordinate amount of time, say a couple minutes, the transmission will make an odd grinding sound then go into reverse very hard.

second, when i am driving, sometimes the car will not go into 3rd. it shifts normal from 1 to 2, but then when i hit 20-25, which is when it should shift driving normally for me, it will not. increasing the speed to 30-35 with rpms over 4k will not make it shift. i have to drive it for a while at 20-25 before it will say, ok, i will shift now. when it does it makes the same odd grinding ish noise as when it goes into reverse. occassionally, it will make the grinding sound when i am in 1 or 2, not when shifting into them, but when i am driving in the gear, and then it shifts perfectly fine.

question is this. is this an issue that is either somewhat fixable by me? i have done light repairs on my car, like brakes, and a new distributor recently, but by no means am i very experienced. what do you think the issue is or could possibly be? thanks a lot for all the help.

 

its a mystery problem then i take it. no one has had any of these problems as to give me a direction to go off of? i was thinking transmission control solenoid but i don't know if that would cause the odd grinding sound. I already checked the shift cable to see if thats why i don't have reverse and it did not affect reverse at all. other than that my options as i see it are the computer or internals on the transmission. thanks

 

I've only been a Honda owner for a few months, but I had similar problems with a GMC Suburban I owned some 10 years ago. By the sound of it, your internals are most likely shot. I'm not too keen on knowledge of the control solenoid as mentioned by veilreaper, but grinding is always a bad sign when dealing with transmissions, as the surface area of metal is being lost. The torque converter also sounds like it isn't properly functioning. You will definitely need professional help with a rebuild if it is needed, or try to find a good used one and do the swap yourself. I've only pulled rear drive engines and trans's, but it isn't out of question for you to pull and replace the trans on your front drive yourself with some online video help and a good manual.