1988 Civic Wagon RT4WD reverse clicks/clunks issue

1991 civic wagon1991 civic wagon Band Wagon
in Engine & Drivetrain


Hi,
I have a new to me 1988 Honda Civic Wagon RT4WD that clicks/or more sounding clunks in reverse only. It is a manual transmission with about 130K miles and I got paperwork that shows the clutch was replaced at 87K miles. The repair ticket shows new clutch kit, throw out bearing, reface flywheel, and two CV joints. The transmission shifts good and goes in/out off all gears, including reverse, easily.

What could the sound be coming from?


Comments

  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    Is the sounds coming from the rear? Do you occasionally hear bumps from the rear when accellerating hard? If so, your rear diff bushes need replacement.

    This thread shows a modification but it's a good example of what needs fixing. http://www.civicwagon.com/showthread.php?9589-Rear-diff-bushing-mod-get-rid-of-that-quot-thud-quot-sound
  • 1991 civic wagon1991 civic wagon Band Wagon
    It sounds more like transmission/drive tran issue. In other words, very loud in reverse.
  • bam-bambam-bam Council Member
    These transmissions are notoriously noisy in reverse. Whining is a common complaint. The '91 transmission i was running was quiet in reverse, but I grenaded second.

    The '88 that I have in now was quiet in reverse as well, UNTIL I got stuck in the mud and really twisted on it (in reverse). Now it raises hell in reverse. So...maybe yours is somewhat damaged like mine.

    But... Driveline issues are also common in our cars. Check the shaft and joints closely first. I would do it by removing the rear shaft, then seeing if the noise remained.
  • CharbCharb Administrator
    Very possibly both.

    Look at 503wagon's threads... he rebuilt his tranny, and there's some pretty good info available regarding reverse. There's no syncro if I'm not mistaken.

    And, rear differential bushing is a common problem. VIPwryann/VIPperdormance did a write up on replacing these bushings. He's done a write up that's in the quick links. His company also offers these bushings at a great price!
  • 1991 civic wagon1991 civic wagon Band Wagon
    No luck finding 50swagon tranny rebuild thread.
  • 1991 civic wagon1991 civic wagon Band Wagon
    Okay I am finally getting back to this issue since I have started some real work on the car. Here are some videos of the reverse sound it is making. I am driving forward without any bad sounds then in reverse. Another video shows the sound with the car on stands. Pulling up the parking brake makes it louder since I guess* it is putting more strain on the gears.

    There is a small set of videos linked together. I don't know how to make it show the series so the link below takes you to them.



    [video]
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