I drive a 1997 Honda Civic Ex with a manual transmission. The other day my resonator came off, so until the part gets here I'm driving with no exhaust from the resonator back. The problem is that all of a sudden the shifter is really hard to move. It still moves and goes in gear and the car drives fine by it takes a lot more than normal force to move it (normal it slides like butter). I'm wondering if anyone has an idea of what it is? Maybe the sound vibrations broke/moved something. Any insight would be a huge help!

 

Get under the car and check these 2 ideas:
Did the exhaust coming off hit (and damage) the shift linkage?
Is exhaust heat being directed onto the shift linkage?

 

yaaaaaaaaaaa damage to the linkage might have caused it to bend or otherwise move it in a different position making it harder to shift. Or perhaps it's catching on the flange from the cat and that's the resistance you're feeling. Heat will cause the bushings to become mushy and stick, possibly making it harder to shift.

 

Alright I'll definitely check that. Its hard to move side to side also that could also be the shift linkage too right?

 

 

I just noticed that when I go over bumps (and hit the gas in too high of gear) there is a clink/clunk noise from like right under the center console. Is that just more clues that it might be the shift linkage?

 

Crawl under the car and inspect. Post pictures.

 

dude you better crawl under the car before you post another thread.