I've got an 1999 Base Model.

I have a hard time while sitting at a light getting it into 1st sometimes. Sometimes it won't go. I will have to put it in nuetral and push the clutch down and try and try again until it goes.

What would cause that.

I also was going about 8mph and was shifting from 2nd to 1st with the clutch pedal..ALL the way down and it grinded. I quikly put it in nuetral and the tried pushing the clutch pedal again all the way down and shifted into 1st and it shifted fine.

Is my clutch not engaging properly?? I don't want to kill the tranny if it's the clutch and will replace the clutch ASAP.

Any info will help.

 

Next time it happens try shifting into third and then immediately shifting into first. If it works fine doing that then it could be a problem with the syncronisers... which would be your tranny.

 

It's your clutch man, I had a similiar problem. Either your clutch isn't fully disengaging, or you could have a leak in your hydraulic lines, master/slave cylinder. Do you find yourself filling the brake fluid line often?

 

I actually just bought the car two weeks ago.

But sometimes it shifts just fine. Like today no problems all day. It feels as if the clutch is slipping and not engaging sometimes.

I think I'm just going to replace the clutch ASAP and put synthetic in the tranny with spoon magnetic drain plugs and see how it runs then.

If I need a new tranny I will find one with LSD in it.

 

Well it's pretty easy to tell if your clutch is slipping. Your rpm's will go up and you won't go anywhere. If this is happening it's obvious that your clutch is messed up. Your hydraulic lines might be leaking too causing excessive wear on the clutch. Have that looked at too.

 

Also take a look at the master cylinder and slave cylinder, as those can give you that kind of problem. Get under your dash and check if the rod on the Master Cylinder is dirty, if it's very dirty, like greasy, the master is gone.

 

every once in a while mine doesn't want to go into first
if i'm at a standstill, if I put it in second at a stop and then
barely let out to where my car starts to move and then push the clutch
back in, it will go into first smoother than silk

 

same here, i have a problem with mine at like a light or stop, goin into to first but if i keep takin it out puttin it in, it eventually slides right in...also have the same problem when downshifting into 3rd it never wants to go...what could that be about?

 

I had that problem.

GM synchromech to the rescue

 

This is a very old and common thing to happen. I have experianced this in several cars. It just due to wear in the 1st gear synchro and when your hub and gear are not moving at all sometimes you try to go into 1st it will "snag" on the synchro and edge of the gear hince it will not go all the way into the gear. It is common and normal to a point. Fresh "good" tranny fluid helps this and also making sure your clutch is pressed all the way will help sometimes. if you have movement on the hub and your wheels are not moving then your gear is at a stand still... just think of it just like going into reverse... you want both gear and hub to be going at the same speed... 0 mph.

 

synchromesh works good, too bad its only temporary until our synchros actually go

 

i had my share of chewed up synchros on my 2001 celica GTS 6sp. had tranny opened twice for synchros going. It was a pain downshifting without double clutching... sounded BAD!!! I mean Grid Grid Grid. Honda manuals are a lot better than most toyota manual with the exception of the supras manuals which are found in other toyotas/lexus. Hondas auto trannys suck and toyotas auto trannys are great! just thought i would add my little knowledge.

 

sounds like the clutch i had that problem

 

i had the same problem on my old tranny, i suggest putting in new tranny fluid or syncromesh.

 

If im in 2nd and i want to go into 1st i always clutch it into neutral and then into 1st as it goes in perfectly. I think most cars ive driven have a harder time going into 2nd to 1st without going into neutral. Just somethin to try.

 

I'm by no means an expert on transmissions... but i one time had a similar problem with my 91 lude. it turned out that i was wicked low on tranny fluid. i'd check the reservoir and make sure there is fluid in there. it could be a bad master/slave cylinder like some other ppl said too.

 

Hey I have a problem where my clutch "slips" like the rpms go high up and it the car really doesn't go anywhere. My friend said it was that the flywheel or the clutch was hot. I had been running the car against a couple of cars when it happened so it was probably something hot.

What would cause this problem?

 

hey!
whatd you find out? cause my -97 civic lx is having problems shifting into reverse.

 

My 94 h23 lude did this same thing. I found out it was the slave cylinder. I picked up an oem piece for about 30 bucks from advanced auto and it fixed the problem. Just pop your hood and see if you have ne fluid leaking around the boot of the cylinder. If you do then its probably a bad slave cylinder. Hope this helps!

 

fluid might need changing. very rarley is it low unless you have a leak... otherwise it is all sealed up in the case. I think i should change my fluid as well.

 

I agree. I had the same problem. I had to drive three miles (and about 5 lights) with no clutch when it finally locked up. Turns out it was mostly the slave cylinder. The clutch was bad, but not gone. According to the year of your car, it's about time where the slave cylinder could be starting to go bad. Mine went bad when the car was 6 years old and had 90k miles on the drivetrain.