01 civic hard to shift when hot
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Honda-Tech Member
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01 civic hard to shift when hot
When my engine is cold shifting into all gears is like butter.
As the engine starts to warm up i notice the shifter starting to stiffen up
Once I come to full operating temperature and am driving down the road at highway speeds, shifting becomes very difficult in all gears. Even in neutral moving the stick from side to side is hard.
After stopping at a red light the shifter loosens up and shifts like butter again.
This all started after changing out the OE header for a Megan Racing 4-2-1
The issue seems to most likely be heat related.
In an attempt to resolve this issue I have drained and filled the MTF and wrapped the lower part of the header (just before the cat) thinking radiant heat is somehow doing something to the clutch. It didn't seem to help much.
The only other thing i can think of is that the slave cylinder is heating up as it sits pretty close to the now shieldless header. I don't remember if the OEM header heat shield shielded the slave cylinder or not.
My next step in troubleshooting is to flush the clutch fluid.
Does anyone know of any other directions or suggestions I should start looking into?
Car Specs:
2000 Civic ex (ej8)
d16y8
Manual Tranny
180,000 miles
motor and tranny stock
Yonaka high flow catback exhaust
OEM Cat
As the engine starts to warm up i notice the shifter starting to stiffen up
Once I come to full operating temperature and am driving down the road at highway speeds, shifting becomes very difficult in all gears. Even in neutral moving the stick from side to side is hard.
After stopping at a red light the shifter loosens up and shifts like butter again.
This all started after changing out the OE header for a Megan Racing 4-2-1
The issue seems to most likely be heat related.
In an attempt to resolve this issue I have drained and filled the MTF and wrapped the lower part of the header (just before the cat) thinking radiant heat is somehow doing something to the clutch. It didn't seem to help much.
The only other thing i can think of is that the slave cylinder is heating up as it sits pretty close to the now shieldless header. I don't remember if the OEM header heat shield shielded the slave cylinder or not.
My next step in troubleshooting is to flush the clutch fluid.
Does anyone know of any other directions or suggestions I should start looking into?
Car Specs:
2000 Civic ex (ej8)
d16y8
Manual Tranny
180,000 miles
motor and tranny stock
Yonaka high flow catback exhaust
OEM Cat
Thread Starter
Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Mar 2015
Posts: 5
Likes: 0
Re: 01 civic hard to shift when hot
Hey thanks for the reply but I figured it out but just haven't gotten a chance to explain.
Turns out the fitment on the Megan Racing 4-2-1 Header (Model Number : MR-SSH-D16) wasn't all that great.
It was manufactured so that it didn't like up where the OEM one did under the car and this has caused my Cat to be pulled to the right.
This is causing the o2 sensor to rub against the shift linkage.
As heat builds up under the car, from the now unshielded exhaust, the bushings where the linkage connects to the Tranny swell. This takes the slack out of the linkage and pushes harder on the o2 sensor.
My solution is to have the o2 bung relocated or have the flanges removed and rotate the cat a few degrees then weld them back on.
I learned ALOT about the clutch and tranny while troubleshooting this.
Turns out the fitment on the Megan Racing 4-2-1 Header (Model Number : MR-SSH-D16) wasn't all that great.
It was manufactured so that it didn't like up where the OEM one did under the car and this has caused my Cat to be pulled to the right.
This is causing the o2 sensor to rub against the shift linkage.
As heat builds up under the car, from the now unshielded exhaust, the bushings where the linkage connects to the Tranny swell. This takes the slack out of the linkage and pushes harder on the o2 sensor.
My solution is to have the o2 bung relocated or have the flanges removed and rotate the cat a few degrees then weld them back on.
I learned ALOT about the clutch and tranny while troubleshooting this.
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