I have a 99 Civic EX with a B16, all of a sudden my transmission starting giving me problems. When I go into reverse the car shudders and it's hard to find first on my car, I usually have to let off the clutch and push it in a couple of times at a stop to get it to go into first. Does anyone know what the problem is?

 

Anyone have any ideas? I searched and couldn't find anything similar to my condition.

 

Do the rest of the gears work fine, any grinding when putting it into reverse? It is kind of sounding like your clutch is not fully disengaging, so you might want to check that out first. Check the fluid in the master cylinder and, if it is low, look around the slave cylinder for leaks.

 

All the gears work fine with no grinds. The master cylinder is full.

 

By the description of what you have to do to get it in first, it still makes me wonder if the clutch is not fully disengaging. One way to check is to put the front on jackstands and push the clutch in all the way while you are in gear and see how much, if any, the wheels move. Do you not have any throwout bearing whine, or other odd sounds when the clutch pedal is released?

The shuddering while going into reverse could be an electrical problem when the reverse lights kick on, but if both symptoms started at the same time then I guess that is unlikely.

I would personally check the drive wheels while they are in the air to make sure the clutch is fully disengaging, you are only out 5-10 minutes. (Assuming you have jackstands)