problems sparatically getting into gear?

keith750keith750 Wagonist
in Engine & Drivetrain
so the past few days i have been driving, and when i go to downshift, all of a sudden things will seem to lock up and i cant get the car into any gear at all. so i coast off to the side of the road, shut the car off, wait a minute or two, start it back up, and then can get it into gear. this has happened twice in the past week. could something in my linkage be causing this, like possibly something being loose. if so could someone please post a picture of what needs to be replaced or tightened up? the car is a 1991 rt awd w/ manual tranny.

Comments

  • turbo_tegturbo_teg Council Member
    give me your email address and later on tonight i will email u the how to rebuild your shifter and it even show u how to adjust your linkage as well.
  • quartersquarters Council Member
    but if shutting the car off for a few minutes helps... maybe it's the tranny fluid? i don't know, just throwing that out there. honda transmissions like good fluid.
  • keith750keith750 Wagonist
    yea i was thinking about that as well, the clutch engages and disengages. but when shifting and driving,it will shift easy and fine then just all of a sudden when i go to shift it gets hard to shift into the next gear, like something is holding it back.
  • KahunaKahuna familEE
    Does Honda trannys have sycronizers? (sp?)

    Maybe they are getting hot and slipping?
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    The transmissions do have synchros but the issue will more likely be fluid. Tighten up your shifter first because that is the easiest option, if that doesn't resolve the issue then change the fluid and make sure you use genuine Honda fluid. I've tried redline and lucas and ELF tranself and they just don't compare to genuine Honda MTF.
  • quartersquarters Council Member
    Pacifier wrote:
    make sure you use genuine Honda fluid. I've tried redline and lucas and ELF tranself and they just don't compare to genuine Honda MTF.

    damn straight.
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    :mrgreen: Honda MTF rocks!

    Have u adjusted the clutch?
    Check to see if all the shifter bolts ,cables(it's a cable shifter)& nuts are tight.Check both ends of the shifter cable.
  • keith750keith750 Wagonist
    so i just got off the phone with my mechanic, to make sure when he changed my tranny fluid last month, that he used genuine honda MTF and he said I sure did, that crap was expensive!! also last night i replaced the 2 bushings in the shifter linkage, Part #14. That took care of the sloppy shifter problem. but as i said still shifting hard. ahhh soo frustrated :(
  • akiraboyakiraboy HondaCivicWagon.com Founder
    then its possible your clutch assembly is acting up
  • keith750keith750 Wagonist
    akiraboy wrote:
    then its possible your clutch assembly is acting up

    what parts of the assembly would i check or replace to resolve this issue?
  • Mista BoneMista Bone Wagonist
    pressure plate springs might have "jumped" out not allowing the clutch to fully disengage.......

    Does it shift fine with the engine off???
  • keith750keith750 Wagonist
    Mista Bone wrote:
    pressure plate springs might have "jumped" out not allowing the clutch to fully disengage.......

    Does it shift fine with the engine off???

    it seems to shift a lil easier with the engine off, but there is still some stiffness to it.
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    Like I said earlier ...Have u adjusted the clutch? Pedal that is :?:
  • keith750keith750 Wagonist
    well i brought it to the mechanic yesterday and he started looking at it a bit last night and called me. he says its not the clutch because it shifts hard with the car on and off. he thinks the synchros might be going in the tranny. he was going to call his friend today who is a honda tech. :D and see if he has ever dealt with this problem, and is also gonna see if it is infact the tranny, how much he would do a rebuild on the side for. i will get the verdict at 5:00 today. i have a parts car the same year and everything, the tranny seems ok, but the tranny has high miles, i don't wanna go through the trouble of having it put it in, and then having the same problems shortly down the rd. just figured i would keep some of you updated as you asked. thanks to all of you on this site, you have all been soo generously helpful!!
  • keith750keith750 Wagonist
    well...... went to the shop last night to see what the verdict was and my mechanic came up with nothing. then i was thinking how i was a idiot and didnt check the clutch cable adjustment like siwagon told me to do. so we checked that and the knob out under the hood needed to be tightened, so we tightened it, it brought the clutch pedal up. then we tried it, and now it shifts perfect!!! something soo simple. your a life saver siwagon. should have listened, thank you soo much!!! :D
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    well thats good to hear :D
  • akiraboyakiraboy HondaCivicWagon.com Founder
    keith750 wrote:
    ...your a life saver siwagon.
    this is why a community is so important

    good to hear your prob got fixed

    happy wagon-ing :wink:
  • hondarcbhondarcb Band Wagon
    I tightened the clutch cable on my wagon as well and it improved the ease of shifting. Also my 3rd gear seemed to haver gone away before I did this. I changed the fluid from Red Line Synthetic to GM Synchromesh. Initially it didi'nt help, but 600 miles or so after the fliid change, she's shifting great. Hopefull yit's not just the warm weather streak we're having.
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    :) :D :mrgreen: Your welcome.Glad I could help.
  • Mista BoneMista Bone Wagonist
    With D series transmissions, if someone blames the synchros either walk away or smack them with a carp!

    :x
  • nominousnominous familEE
    turbo_teg wrote:
    give me your email address and later on tonight i will email u the how to rebuild your shifter and it even show u how to adjust your linkage as well.

    Is this a PDF or a HTML guide etc? Any place to put it up on the site, or happy to receive email :)

    http://www.hondacivicwagon.com/board/vi ... php?t=1166
    Seems to be a "mini guide" or is that really all there is to it ? Couple of nuts and two of # 14 from Honda?

    My shifter feels like crap, I'm having to double declutch (which isn't a bad thing anyway) all the time to get it into 2nd.
    Like a spoon in pudding.
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