Ok, i have a 89 civic hatchback with a d16a6 swap. Here is the problem, i was havin a problem with 1st gear for awhile, like after i get done in reverse and try to put it in 1st it wouldnt go. But when im rolling and put it in first it would go. But the other day it was drivin just fine, and i crank it up, and the shifter says its in neutral but it is really in 2nd or 3rd, im not sure which one. And it will not shift gears at all, all it will do is grind. What is wrong here? I only have 1 gear, no reverse or anything.

 

can you go through the gears when the car is off?

 

well it will go in them, all except 2nd

 

well its not going to be your shift linkage then. So basically when you are sitting there you cant shift the gears you have to be moving to put it in first right? Sounds like your clutch is gone.

 

bran new clutch, it was workin perfect, it all of a sudden did this

 

Well try this then and youll know for sure. Get the car into 1st and shut the car off. hold in the clutch and turn on the car. If you lurch the car then its your clutch.

 

its goin to be hard to put in 1st.i know its not the clutch cause of this, see the shifter "says" its in neutral, but it is actually in gear cause i always put the car in neutral at this long stop light, and i thought it was in neutral but it wasnt, it was actually in gear and the car stalled, so what else could it be?

 

help please i want to fix this today, its my only ride!

 

bad tranny... Sounds like the Synchros are bad if the car will not go into First unless you let it roll forward. If you want to rule out the Shift linkage then take it off and look at it. Maybe it had come loose??? So go under the car and make sure it's bolted in get a friend to shift the gears while you lay under the car and see if you can see something WRONG
But honestly sounds like an internal problem to me.

 

i did that, and i dont see anything wrong, but im not for sure what to look at! Man this sucks!

 

Im not understanding, if my tranny was messed up like this, i wouldnt have ANY gears! and if it was the tranny and i only had 1 gear then i would have to put the shifter in that gear! I dont even have to do that! ALl i have to do is just keep it in neutral and it takes off! Im totally confused!!!

 

whats going to be hard about putting the car in 1st? You said you can change through all the gears fine when the car is off so put it in 1st when the car is off and then hold down the clutch pedal and start up the car. If your clutch isnt disengaging then your car is going to lurch forward. If it dowsnt lurch forward then its not the clutch. Wether the car says its in neutral or not isnt the main issue as far as i can tell. as far as the shift linkage the only thing that would cause this is if it wasnt actually moving the selector rod i.e. the pin came out.... but in that case you wouldnt be able to shift through gears wether the car was on or off.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 89civichatchback &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Im not understanding, if my tranny was messed up like this, i wouldnt have ANY gears! and if it was the tranny and i only had 1 gear then i would have to put the shifter in that gear! I dont even have to do that! ALl i have to do is just keep it in neutral and it takes off! Im totally confused!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

Do you want Help or are you going to argue with WHY it is NOT something.

There are only a few things that could be wrong here.
1) Operator ERROR
2) Shift linkage
3) Clutch/Pressure Plate
4) Internal tranny problem

Inside the tranny there are a ton of gears and wheels and berings and such
It is VERY possible that 1,2 4, 5 gear work and not 3rd.
Check the Linkage and if that is not it then look to the tranny internals.

 

well im changing the tranny, with a DX tranny, im not to happy about that but oh well, i have to have this car running