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My 1994 Honda Civic LX make whiney noises in 1st and 2nd gear. Shifting is smooth and the gears never grind. I changed the fluid with Honda MTF less than 1k miles ago and the noise is still there. Is there anyway to fix this or does the transmission need a rebuild?
It doesn’t feel like it needs work, the car drives normal and shift like butter. Reverse sometimes will grind unless I put it in 1st then reverse then it always go in smoothly.
Is it safe to drive in higher rpm while it whines like that?
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$400 sounds really cheap if that’s thru a shop on the books. If it’s a side job kind of thing then that’s fine, but I’d be suspicious of why a shop would be willing to do that job so cheap. If they have a specialist that can do it right really fast and they want to be nice to you, maybe. I suppose if the labor rate is $40/hour or somebody with really low pay will do it that might also explain it. It might be fine though, I haven’t seen every kind of place there is. I’ve only been around in dealers and a few independent shops where labor rates are $70+/hour, so I don’t know for sure what goes on in a cheaper shop.
Please don’t think I’m trying to discourage you from having it fixed. If you pay $400 and it works out fine, that will be a really good deal for you. A really good deal.
As for the jerking, that is a whole separate matter all together and should be considered an additional cost. I could be engine mounts, clutch, or an engine drivability problem. Engine mounts and a clutch usually are cheaper to do if combined with a larger job like that where they’ll be somewhat apart or exposed anyway. Having the trans out without putting a clutch in should only be done if cost is of the utmost concern and there is no obvious problem with it. If it’s all full of clutch dust in the bellhousing, the release bearing and clutch disc may not move freely being clogged with dust. That can make it tough to slip it just right to be smooth with it, for example.
Thanks for the feedbacks. Will this bearing fix the jerking issue as well or is it a different problem?
[quote=”Fopeano” post=112367]As for the jerking, that is a whole separate matter all together and should be considered an additional cost. I could be engine mounts, clutch, or an engine drivability problem. Engine mounts and a clutch usually are cheaper to do if combined with a larger job like that where they’ll be somewhat apart or exposed anyway. Having the trans out without putting a clutch in should only be done if cost is of the utmost concern and there is no obvious problem with it. If it’s all full of clutch dust in the bellhousing, the release bearing and clutch disc may not move freely being clogged with dust. That can make it tough to slip it just right to be smooth with it, for example.[/quote]
My bad I over looked that. The jerk is mainly from deceleration so it can’t be clutch right? Are motor mounts easy to replace? They are just bolted on right?
They are ‘just bolted on’ but it varies quite a bit how difficult they can be to replace. No mount is A level work though, so moderate mechanical skill and normal tools should do it. If you want to know what shape your mounts are in, have the car just sitting on the ground in 1st with no brake and go to the open engine bay and start pushing and pulling the car back and forth. This will cause the engine to flop back and forth and you can see if any mounts are moving too much, coming apart, leaking, etc. The belts may also move back and forth during this indicating the engine is turning, but it’s not hurting anything don’t worry about that.
Can oil seal be reused?
The mechanic seems a bit unsure of the bearing. You mentioned earlier that input shaft bearing symptom include noise in neutral but my car makes no noise in neutral and only in gear. The sound does get louder in higher rpms. He said he cannot guarantee it is input shaft bearing issue.
I’ve seen a few issues with input shaft bearings on that transmission and I’ve successfully repaired the noise you describe by replacing them. I’m not saying for sure that’s what your issue is, after all, I haven’t heard the noise. That said, I can’t stress enough how important it is to use Honda transmission fluid. Not using it can result in issues with the transmission.
Also while you’re in there it’s not a bad idea to replace the clutch kit as well.
Keep us posted.
Could it be the gear issue even though there is no grind during shifts? Honda transmission fluid was used 1k mile ago.
I think I’ll start with the jerking problem first and if its not motor mount then the transmission probably need a rebuild. How do gears with missing teeth feel like?
[quote=”kazienova” post=113226]Could it be the gear issue even though there is no grind during shifts? Honda transmission fluid was used 1k mile ago.
I think I’ll start with the jerking problem first and if its not motor mount then the transmission probably need a rebuild. How do gears with missing teeth feel like?[/quote]
With teeth missing, you hear a knock. One tooth missing can lead to others coming off and the noise gets worse.
There’s two shafts in the transmission each supported by a bearing at each end. Bearing noise would indicate one of these bearings is beginning to fail.
Grinding during shifts is caused by worn or damaged parts on one of the above shafts that otherwise allows the gears to engage smoothly during shifts.
Finally, a whine is just about universal in any manual transmission in first or reverse gears.
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