Blindeye_03

So I've had my 2008 for 3 years now and it now has 82000 miles. I've maintained all fluids regularly and am on the original clutch still. I've had the same transmission fluid for about 15000 miles now and last replaced it 20000 miles ago and I have always used the correct Honda transmission fluid. I also recently regreased my shifter with about 1/4 of the grease in the container.

My problem is with shifting. I don't skip shift. If I am at a stop and my car is in second or neutral when coming to a stop my car grinds going into first gear. Coming out of my garage I have to get the car in second then first and then I can get it in reverse. After I've driven for about ten minutes the car will stop grinding so easily but second to third feels very notchy, but my higher gears every shift is smooth. Also when I am in third and I come to a stop my shifter doesn't want to come out of that gear.

Any advice? Do I need to reduce my shifter? Replace my clutch? My 02 civic si would shift weird when the clutch was on its last leg. Do I need a new transmission or Synchros?

Thanks...

Iniamyen

You said you maintained all fluids but you didn't mention clutch fluid specifically. Is your clutch fluid low? Any leaks around where the master cylinder connects to the firewall (inside the car)? Is the fluid clean?

Blindeye_03

I haven't used a baster to remove the dirty fluid at the top but I did get it flushed not long ago before I read it's not recommended to bleed it. I didn't notice anything good or bad after that was done.

It's full right now and there are no leaks. I have a good 1-2" of play in the pedal like what I have found is recommended in other posts.

A friend said I should replace the transaction fluid. Thinking back it's probably been 20k miles or so. I did a lot of Highway driving not long ago so it is probably more than I originally thought.

iamxpl

honda MTF doesnt hold up for too long. i would replace it. i replace mine much sooner than 20k. also do the Gravity bleed method as per Billman. suck out the old fluid and wipe off the sludge in the cylinder.

INDYMAC

Sounds like the clutch wasn't bled enough. Bleed it some more, and then some more. See if that helps. Minimize driving it until you have done this, or you will damage the tranny.

meccjoo

Also check the play in your clutch master cylinder rod.

zeroptzero

I'm willing to bet that you can adjust away your issues like mentioned above. It is probably a combination of factors. Firstly Honda MTF is a great fluid but change it frequently, I do mine once a year regardless of miles. I think most people find that things get notchy after 7-10k miles on this fluid. Change out the clutch fluid in the clutch master cylinder, clean out the master cylinder before filling, and do it a couple times until the fluid remains clear. I'm willing to bet the fluid is on the dark side of things if it hasn't been done in a few years. Lastly check the clutch rod freeplay and tighten up the clearance if it is too large, that can impact the timing of your shifts and proper disengagement of the clutch.

What you describe with finding reverse gear is pretty common among many manual tranny vehicles. That problem might not go away, the best way to address that is to select a different gear prior to selecting reverse, like you have found out. You can also try double clutching before you select reverse. So start with the shifter in 1st gear (or any other forward gear) with the clutch disengaged (pressed down), then pull the shifter to neutral and release the clutch pedal, then push down the clutch pedal again and move to select reverse.

Blindeye_03

Correct me if I'm wrong but when I did research recently on this site billman didn't recommend bleeding the clutch. I read he said to just such the fluid out of the reservoir and refill it.

Edit: I posted before I saw the post above. Also I'll check the other things too but if the clutch is to the floor before I shift gears and this still happens.

I'm going to check the reservoir tonight though.

Blindeye_03

This is under the dash correct? The nuts that attach the rod to the pedal?

zeroptzero

There is no need to bleed the clutch if the lines have never been opened up, removing the old fluid and cleaning the reservoir and installing new fluid should be enough.

If you have too much clearance on the clutch rod it is slower to disengage as you push the pedal down, so it helps to make sure that you don't have excessive clearance on the clutch rod. It is locked with a 12mm nut on the clutch pedal assembly under-dash.