Un-mushroomed my 5th gear synchro's after 40,000mi?
03-27-2011, 06:17 AM
#1
Un-mushroomed my 5th gear synchro's after 40,000mi?
OK, now this is freakin’ weird.
I bought my 03 almost 2 yrs ago with 65,000mi. Tranny was in perfect condition. Guy before me drove it like a grandma. Never missed a shift and never revved above 7000rpm if you can believe it.
So, I did my usual skip shifting as I had done in about 10 Acura/Honda tranny’s before that, and in about 15,000 mi I had ruined the 5th gear sychro’s. Gradually over a couple weeks it was harder and harder to get into 5th and then finally it was like a brick wall. Couldn’t get it into 5th.
Although skip shifting doesn’t hurt many tranny’s, it’s a well documented problem in the S2000. Honda even put out some service articles about it.
See my original post below and Woodwork’s comments (he’s a Honda engineer who used to be on the board).
https://www.s2ki.com/...kip+shifting%22
https://www.s2ki.com/...-gear-synchros/
https://www.s2ki.com/...ting-is-brutal/
https://www.s2ki.com/...g-gears-can-do/
Fast forward 40,000mi and a year and a half, and two day ago I suddenly found I could force it into 5th with some effort and sort of grinding. It would pop out but I could hold it in. Over about 2 dozen more shifts and about a half hour, it now shifts into 5th absolutely perfectly. Never would ever think it had a problem.
I had never bothered to fix it in the past because it would have been extremely expensive, and it's easy to get along without 5th gear unless I'm going to a high speed track.
Anybody have any ideas?
I bought my 03 almost 2 yrs ago with 65,000mi. Tranny was in perfect condition. Guy before me drove it like a grandma. Never missed a shift and never revved above 7000rpm if you can believe it.
So, I did my usual skip shifting as I had done in about 10 Acura/Honda tranny’s before that, and in about 15,000 mi I had ruined the 5th gear sychro’s. Gradually over a couple weeks it was harder and harder to get into 5th and then finally it was like a brick wall. Couldn’t get it into 5th.
Although skip shifting doesn’t hurt many tranny’s, it’s a well documented problem in the S2000. Honda even put out some service articles about it.
See my original post below and Woodwork’s comments (he’s a Honda engineer who used to be on the board).
https://www.s2ki.com/...kip+shifting%22
https://www.s2ki.com/...-gear-synchros/
https://www.s2ki.com/...ting-is-brutal/
https://www.s2ki.com/...g-gears-can-do/
Fast forward 40,000mi and a year and a half, and two day ago I suddenly found I could force it into 5th with some effort and sort of grinding. It would pop out but I could hold it in. Over about 2 dozen more shifts and about a half hour, it now shifts into 5th absolutely perfectly. Never would ever think it had a problem.
I had never bothered to fix it in the past because it would have been extremely expensive, and it's easy to get along without 5th gear unless I'm going to a high speed track.
Anybody have any ideas?
03-27-2011, 06:29 AM
#2
I think you had a burr on the gear and it can sometimes be fixed by repeated shifting like you did. I think Billman250's fix for burrs on gears is repeated shifting with the vehicle turned off. They can be formed on gears by poor shifting where people row and push the shifter in one fast motion rather than a two part shift like click-click, hard to describe.
Have you lubed the shifter in recent times, it can be a source of 5th gear issues too, and is always well worth doing regardless.
Have you lubed the shifter in recent times, it can be a source of 5th gear issues too, and is always well worth doing regardless.
03-27-2011, 07:06 AM
#4
https://www.s2ki.com/home/2010/03/11...rease-shifter/
03-27-2011, 08:06 AM
#5
I think you had a burr on the gear and it can sometimes be fixed by repeated shifting like you did. I think Billman250's fix for burrs on gears is repeated shifting with the vehicle turned off. They can be formed on gears by poor shifting where people row and push the shifter in one fast motion rather than a two part shift like click-click, hard to describe.
Have you lubed the shifter in recent times, it can be a source of 5th gear issues too, and is always well worth doing regardless.
Have you lubed the shifter in recent times, it can be a source of 5th gear issues too, and is always well worth doing regardless.
Given my vast gap of knowledge of tranny's, this sounds plausable, but it would have to have been a hell of a burr!
03-27-2011, 08:56 AM
#6
Originally Posted by JFUSION' timestamp='1301236198' post='20400573
I think you had a burr on the gear and it can sometimes be fixed by repeated shifting like you did. I think Billman250's fix for burrs on gears is repeated shifting with the vehicle turned off. They can be formed on gears by poor shifting where people row and push the shifter in one fast motion rather than a two part shift like click-click, hard to describe.
Have you lubed the shifter in recent times, it can be a source of 5th gear issues too, and is always well worth doing regardless.
Have you lubed the shifter in recent times, it can be a source of 5th gear issues too, and is always well worth doing regardless.
Given my vast gap of knowledge of tranny's, this sounds plausable, but it would have to have been a hell of a burr!
Make sure your fluid is fresh in the tranny, and definitely consider the shifter lube TSB fix, it addresses 5th gear and reverse gear issues and makes the shifter feel real slick after it's done.
03-27-2011, 08:58 AM
#7
It seems to me that the most common cause of the 5th gear problem is simple user error where a high rpm shift to 3rd is missed and catches 5th without a clean engagement. The damage to the 5th gear collar can be bad enough to block use of the gear completely but with enough forceful tries it can usually be overcome. After that it takes numerous shifts to eventually clear the burrs on the collar but most times normal use will be retored.
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03-27-2011, 05:13 PM
#8
It seems to me that the most common cause of the 5th gear problem is simple user error where a high rpm shift to 3rd is missed and catches 5th without a clean engagement. The damage to the 5th gear collar can be bad enough to block use of the gear completely but with enough forceful tries it can usually be overcome. After that it takes numerous shifts to eventually clear the burrs on the collar but most times normal use will be retored.
Either way, same effect. But it's weird that for 40,000 miles it was a brick wall, or a 5ft thick concrete wall, trying to get it into 5th. And then suddenly, with about a dozen or two balky shifts, it's fine again.
04-28-2011, 04:23 PM
#9
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omg i have the same issue...my 5th feels like a brick wall (mind you this is a newly used transmission for my car, supposidly 21k miles on it. i paid $1000). You can only get it into 5th gear if you aim for it inbetween 3rd and 5th..a quickshift is impossible as you realy have to search for it precisely. Im going to attempt to clear the "burrs/coller" right now. Wish me luck or ill be rasing hell to this shop.
04-28-2011, 04:57 PM
#10
Moderator
row it back and forth between fifth and sixth, with the car off and clutch in about 100 times. trust me.
I have cured this problem on about 3 cars now.
I have cured this problem on about 3 cars now.
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