OK my car is a 97 rs and has about 71k on it. The clutch has been making some noise and a few shops i took it to says its the clutch. Its going to be replaced but not sure when since it doesn't seem like its slipping much. Anyways IVe had a problem getting the car down shifted. I have to rev match sometimes to get it to go in. If im going below like 20 or 30 it seems to downshift fine. Anything faster than that is a problem its just like the tranny says NO and won't let it shift. I can feel the bushings give but still won't shift. When it does downshift it goes in smoothly no grinding and transmission feels smooth. No unusual vibrations or anythign from the stick. Any ideas?

 

the first thing i would do is check the clutch master cylinder, see if its dry. its on the firewall drivers side it looks like a smaller brake master cylinder. if its dry put brake fluid in it and look down toward the trans from the under the hood of the car and you should see a bleeder valve on there. open it (8mm wrench) and pour some fluid in there and just let it gravity bleed and keep flushing fluid through there. second thing would be change the trans fluid. try both and see if the problem goes away

 

When you downshift do you do any sort of rev-matching (heel-toe, double clutch, accelerator blip, etc) ??

 

i had that problem for a bit, and then my clutch master cylinder went. it may be the same for you, might not, just thought it might give you an idea. if it is the clutch master cylinder, its cake to replace.

 

Why would he check the clutch master cylinder? If that's gone, and there's no brake fluid, his clutch pedal would drop to the floor with no resistance. That's not a symptom he's described. If you're saying you've had to rev-match before to get it in, that's more than likely a problem with transmission internals, such as your gear synchronizers. Have you ever crunched gears before? It could be a spot that won't engage when you're downshifting due to teeth not locking, and as luck would have it sometimes it's at a point where it will lock on to the lower gear.

I would first change your transmission fluid as requested above, and then secondly, if that still doesn't work, begin looking to either rebuild the transmission (shouldn't have to at 71k but if you or someone else has dogged it...) or replace.

Also, why are you downshifting? IMHO, save on transmission wear and use your brakes to slow the car. That's what they're made for. I would only downshift when you are in a race environment, autocross or road racing.

 

this happened on my gsr and my friends gsr the clutch master was just about dry and that was the cause so check it

 

I think I know exactly what you're talking about. I have a feeling this is a Honda 'safety' feature. I had a 92 Mustang 5.0 which I could put into 1st at say 80 km/h... handy when coming up to a stop sign, knowing that you've got to stop, and will be taking off again in 1st (albeit probably not the smartest idea should your foot slip off the clutch). I basically had to re-learn how to drive the Honda tranny; like you say, "If im going below like 20 or 30 it seems to downshift fine." That's normal... you simply can't put it into 1st below say 30 mph (40 ish km/h).

Don't force it... if you find youself having to force things, you're doing something wrong.

I agree with this:

 

Again, if the clutch master cylinder is drained, and the pedal drops to the floor, his clutch won't even be engaging, which means he can't even get out of the gear he's in.

 

I downshift because I like like to drive windy roads I don't go balls out fully comitted into blind corners or anything, I stay in my lane jsut a good pace nothing crazy. Its my therapy when things are going bad or i need a break i go driving. Yes i could drive so that i don't need to downshift but then i might as well not have a sporty car at all also my car doesn't pull very hard under 3k in 3rd or 4th. I double clutch the 5-4 downsift on the highway for passing because when i don't the car jerks and it doesn't feel very good and i don't have any passing power in 5th. I do heel toe just to practice and because its fun. I am slowing the car down with the brakes into the turn then downshift so i can get power out of the turn.

 

well mine wasnt dry but it was low enough to where air got in the lines and that happened.