MCP486

Ok, I have had my '98 Type R for about 3 weeks now, and have worked through several problems, but here is my newest one...
First gear is very hard to shift into, it takes some muscle to jam it into it. Sometimes when I stop while the car is in first it will shake like the clutch isnt fully disengaging, but not always. Second gear is fairly smooth, but third gear tends to grind when upshifting under a load. Fourth gear and fifth gear are smooth, but when downshifting from fourth to third, it will not go into gear unless you tap the throttle.
It grinds sometimes when downshifting into first when I am pulling into my driveway (going about 5mph with the clutch all the way to the floor), and second occasionally.
The other day, the car would not go into reverse after about 20 minutes of hard driving....it would only go in partially, then pop out.
Today, the car has begun making a sqeaking noise in neutral, but when I lightly put my foot on the clutch pedal, it goes away. Then when I press in the clutch pedal, it makes a hissing/hydraulic sounding noise. I checked the tranny fluid earlier today and it was fine.
The car has a Stage 3 Clutch the previous owner installed and a short shifter. I have come to the conclusion that my car is fucked up, but is it the transmission or clutch? Freeplay in the pedal seems to be about an inch, and the previous owner said he replaced it about 15000 miles ago. This new noise is worrying me too.
Thanks,

Matt

joe s

I don't think your car is fucked up - how could a '98 R be? - but the previous owner probably was. Sounds like the tranny/clutch unit was beat to death or not properly installed; tho the latter may not be true if it was ok for 15k miles. I'm no mechanic by any means, and probably have no place giving such advise, but in general Honda makes a super product that won't bite back at the owner who doesn't bite first. Have someone who really knows what he's doing check out your transmission and clutch. Good luck

Aj

Sounds like you killed some syncros and possibly a couple gears, if it's a recent thing, than more than likely, you can take most of the credit for it, though I'm sure, with a stage three clutch, he probably rounded off some teeth on some gears.

I recently had to open my tranny, and after adding all the parts, and that labor to get it reassembled, it was only like 300 bucks to just get a whole new tranny. From what it sounds like, you're gonna be pretty much in the same boat. A new tranny is like 2300, but if you can get acura to warranty it, you're straight. If one dealer won't warranty it, then take it to another, your on;y problem is that rediculous clutch you have on there. Well, any way, good luck with it, keep us posted, if you need some help.

Later,
Aj

MCP486

I would be interested in trying to rebuild the tranny myself, but I don't have much car experience, only dirtbikes. Do you think this is something I could do on my own? When I first got the car, it was difficult to put into gear, but yesterday, I couldn't even get it into reverse, and the clutch is making a hissing noise when pressed in. The car has 90,000 miles on it, which could explain the tranny problems, and the clutch does hit pretty hard. I am pretty sure no dealer would do any warranty work considering the car is 5 years old, and has an aftermarket clutch, but is it worth a try?

Thanks,

Matt

Aj

No, it really wouldn't, it hadn't occured to me that your car was out of warranty, I guess I didn't read the part about it being a 98'. Any way, that's not really something you'll wanna do on your own, though if you do decide to, yu'll need a gear puller, and a diagram of the tranny, and when you go to take it apart, make sure you put it back togather exactly how it was assembled in the first place.

As I mention an ITR tranny new is about 2300, if you know some one, they'll knock off 20%, which is only like 1800 and change, all you really need is a resale certificate/tax ID, and they'll give it to you at a discount, and without tax. If you transmission needs a new reverse gear, first gear, first gear synchro set, third gear synchro set, new needle bearing, new throwout bearing, and new distance collar, and more than likely if you've been grinding it, a new third gear. That's a lot of moolah in parts, and that's assuming that all the other syncros ad gear aren't rounded off and are just barely working. You're looking at almost a grand in parts, plus the labor to get it reassembled by the dealer, or a trany shop, add another 350-400 bucks, you're probably not that far off of a new ITR tranny. Well, any way, add up all the parts and see where it leaves you, if you're only a couple hundred buck off a new tranny, it's kinda a no brainer, and if you need a new tranny and can't seem to get the 20% off, you can use my wholesale account here in FL.

Best of luck.....
Aj

paul98itr

What kind of clutch? I had the clutchmaster stage 3 carbon/kevlar, and had that same problem. Sold the car though. I also threw a jun flywheel on at the same time. :?

Aj

Yeah, jun flywheels dont last very long in my previous experiences, but I'd almost gaurantee, that in the case of both of you guys, it's your driving style rather than the clutch.

Later,
Aj

paul98itr

Sorry, it isn't my driving habbit. Nice of you to critisize me though, thankx. It actualy happened backing it off the lift. And on the test drive. Mine wasn't the same as his, mine was more of a hard to get in gear like the pressure plate wasn't releasing. I didn't have the problems under load. With the flywheel it also released really low, and that is one thing I don't like about jun. I don't know why their flywheel does that though. O ya, I would please like it if you don't critisize me or anybody else. Exspecially if you don't even know the truth of what you are saying. I didn't expect something like that from you. Maybe I just took what you said wrong? :?

Aj

I wasn't critisizing anyone, least of all the people that I try and help on a regular basis, but to be totaly honest, I'll do what ever the hell I want any way, last I checked, you don't know me either, especially not well enough to tell me what to do.

Further, to respone to your post, the point I was making is that: transmission problems don't just happen on their own, if you have a problem with your tranny, it's becuase you, or someone whom you bought the car from was rough on the tranny whether it was on a test drive or otherwise, if you got the car when it was shifting perfectly, and later on down the line it started to have problems, the only faulty component is the driver. As someone said before, Honda Parts in general take a pretty fare amount of abuse before they brake. My point earlier was, that a clutch in and of it self, will not cause the type of damage you both described.

I'm not trying to critisize anyone in particular, hell, I've grinded my fair share of gears, and anyone that says they've never grinded or missed a gear is a lier.

Another thing, in the case of your tranny, if it's hard to get in and out of gear, and you say the clutch engaugement is in a different point than it used to be, you may want to try adjusting it, as the way it is, it may not be allowing the throwout bearing to push the pressure plate in enough to disengauge the clutch. It sounds more like an installation problem than a tranny problem. It's possible that you rounded off all your syncros, but if it's in fourth and fifth as well, they're ussualy pretty hard to round off.....

Later,
Aj

paul98itr

[quote:94e06e02e4]I'll do what ever the hell I want any way, last I checked, you don't know me either, especially not well enough to tell me what to do[/quote:94e06e02e4]
If you looked closely, I asked you not to, not told you not to. I figured you we're a mature adult and could handle me confronting you about how I didn't appreciat that.