Manual 5 speed grinding noise while shifting

[Patrick]

Hello all, this is my first post so please be kind.. 🙂
I have a 1992 Honda Accord EX 5 speed manual transmission with about 198K miles on it. I am the first and only owner of this great car. For the past few months I have been hearing a grinding noise when shifting from 1st to 2nd and also 2nd to 3rd gear. I decided to replace the clutch hydraulics (master because it was leaking and slave.. because I might as well…)but the problem persists. For my next trick, I changed the transmission fluid from Honda Genuine Manual Transmission Fluid to ….GM Syncromesh (sin of all sins?). Well, still no luck. Any ideas what my next step should be? FYI, I am not a mechanic but I play one on weekends.
Thanks for your help and SD! (Stay Dirty)

Topic

[Bill]

Try stopping between gears in neutral, release the clutch, push clutch down and then shift to the next gear. (double clutch) quickly and if that solves the problem the synchro rings or blocker rings are worn as well as bearings are probably worn out.

If it shifts easily in all gears when stopped the clutch is working ok.

[Jamie]

Now I say this as an idea not as a solve since I don’t work on many Honda cars, From memory I don’t know if that car uses shift linkage or cables. If its cables you may want to make sure the adjustments are correct and its moving everything in sync. If its linkage pay attention to any bushings and pivots or slop. Also look for anything obviously loose or bent. It doesn’t take much before its not shifting properly and can cause grinds.

Another thing I have seen in all linkage shift cars that effects shifting is the condition of the motor mounts. If you have one that badly worn, or collapsed it greatly changes the angles and distances.

Its common for 2nd gear synchronisers to wear first in all manual gear boxes. Another sign that its a synchroniser issue is when upshifting say from 3rd to 2nd while approaching a stop. If it hangs up or has a fair amount of resistance in low revs but will make the shift in high rev it does point at that worn synchro.

Like mentioned above by Wysetech, sometimes you just have to granny shift it, espessialy if the fluid is still cold. In my car I have to granny the shift into second for this same reason. If its bad enough that you have to double clutch accelerating and you know the shift mechanism is working properly it might be time to consider finding a good used gearbox or having yours fixed. In a car that age, if your attached to it, consider the used gear box.

[Patrick]

The car shifts easily in all gears when stopped, so probably not a clutch issue.
I will try the double clutch technique for the next few days.

Thanks for your response!

[Patrick]

The gears seem to grind more when going from 2nd to 3rd than downshifting from 3rd to 2nd. from what you are saying, this then points to a likely synchro issue?
As to the motor mounts, that will probably be the next thing I will check. Never thought about the changed angles or distances.

Thanks for the advice!

[Author]

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