3RD -> 2ND gearchange when cold *FIXED*

[schew]

I have a 1998 EK1 Civic Sedan and since the last gearbox oil change, i'm finding it difficult to get in to 2ND gear when the car is cold unless i come close to stopping. After driving for about 5-8 minutes, getting into 2ND starts to free up. Changing from 1ST -> 2ND is perfectly fine (smooth), hot or cold. Gear changes never crunch and my clutch feels fine.

I'm pretty sure it is related to the gearbox oil being used as gear changes were perfect prior to the gearbox oil change. I'm now using OEM Honda MTF, but i don't know what was in the box previously. The only reason i changed the gearbox oil was because i didn't know how long the previous oil had been in the box.

Does anyone have a similar experience? Is this normal when using OEM Honda MTF?

The car has had a life of servicing at Hanny's Performance. Does anyone know what type of gearbox oil they use when doing a gearbox oil service?


Thanks.

[bennjamin]

the OLD stuff might of been thicker , giving more protection and less obvious "grinding" etc.
They SHOULD use MTF at hannys. Perhaps your shift linkage has come loose (accessible from underneath)

[schew]

the OLD stuff might of been thicker , giving more protection and less obvious "grinding" etc.
They SHOULD use MTF at hannys. Perhaps your shift linkage has come loose (accessible from underneath)

But if the previous oil was thicker, wouldn't it have been hard to change gears when cold as well. I don't get any grinding, now or with previous oil. It is just hard to get into 2ND gear. All gearbox oils that i have looked at that claim to provide good cold shift are low viscosity oils, eg 75W-80W. So i can only assume that if the previous oil was thicker, gear changes would not have been smooth and easy.

You know how the gearbox does not let you get into 1ST gear unless you are travelling very very slowly or at a virtual standstill? Well, that is the similar behaviour I'm getting with my 2ND gear, but only when cold.

[teh_mechanic]

yeah id say the new oil has a higher viscosity than your old stuff so the oil is too thick when cold...hence hard gear shifts.We use 75W-80 at work for manual transmissions of all types and it works well,so you should try some of that,or find out what viscosity the OEM oil is

[G3RA1D]

You know how the gearbox does not let you get into 1ST gear unless you are travelling very very slowly or at a virtual standstill? Well, that is the similar behaviour I'm getting with my 2ND gear, but only when cold.

i'm having similar probs with mine... B16a w/ ITR gearbox.
Can't downshift from 3rd to 2nd or Neutral to 2nd unless the car is travelling less then 20km/h. Even after driving the car for over 30 mins, 2nd still feels like it's locked out.....
There's no prob shifting from 1st to second tho. :confused:

was previously using OEM oils, have just recently changed to Redline Lightweight.. notchiness is gone & gearbox feels alot smoother..
still have the prob of not being able to downshift to 2nd tho, and it's starting to annoy me... so if someone can shed some light on this prob, it'll be very much appreciated.

[schew]

yeah id say the new oil has a higher viscosity than your old stuff so the oil is too thick when cold...hence hard gear shifts.We use 75W-80 at work for manual transmissions of all types and it works well,so you should try some of that,or find out what viscosity the OEM oil is

I'm now using OEM Honda MTF. I believe this is 75W-80 GL4. I really wish i knew what was in the box previously.

[schew]

i'm having similar probs with mine... B16a w/ ITR gearbox.
Can't downshift from 3rd to 2nd or Neutral to 2nd unless the car is travelling less then 20km/h. Even after driving the car for over 30 mins, 2nd still feels like it's locked out.....
There's no prob shifting from 1st to second tho. :confused:

was previously using OEM oils, have just recently changed to Redline Lightweight.. notchiness is gone & gearbox feels alot smoother..
still have the prob of not being able to downshift to 2nd tho, and it's starting to annoy me... so if someone can shed some light on this prob, it'll be very much appreciated.

G3RA1D... you definitely do seem to have the same problem as me. I'm glad you have said that Redline Lightweight has not helped the problem. I was considering Redline MTL and now think it may not help either.

[mimps]

Don't think it'll help your situation but,

Honda Gearbox uses Standard (i.e very thin) oils for manual trannys.

I've had a gearbox breakdown and needed repairs after the local mechanic used regular transmission oil. It was too thick and over a period of about a year the gearbox died due to oil starvation.
USE OEM HONDA MTF.

99 EM1

[defect]

give it a little rev before you pop it back into 2nd, the sychos work better on higher revs. its not helping your situation but will stop crunching at least?

[schew]

Just wanted to post an update with my fix.

I did a little research and found a manual transmission fluid that not only is a high quality oil at a very reasonable price, but also meets Honda's OEM specifications - Penrite Manual Gear Oil 75.

Following is a link to further info:
http://www.penrite.com.au/html/s02_article/article_view.asp?id=149&nav_cat_id=131&nav_top_id=55

I was able to get a 2.5L bottle of the stuff from Autobarn for $28.00, which is about the same price as Honda MTF. Since making the change to this stuff, my 2nd gear changes are back to being smooth (no more lock out), regardless of whether the car is cold or hot.

I was about to try Castrol Syntrax 75W-90 before i came across the Penrite stuff. Don't know why i didn't think of Penrite sooner. I use Penrite HPR 10 motor oil and love it.

Give it a try if you're having cold shift problems before trying the expensive stuff like Redline.

[G3RA1D]

sweet.. thanx for the update dude.
i'm still having the 2nd gear lockout problem. Gear box is still running smooth with the Redline oil tho.
i'll make sure to give "Penrite Manual Gear Oil 75" a try once i serivce my car towards end of next month.

Quick question:
was there any notchiness to ur gears before changing to this oil.?
and did changing to this oil help reduce this.?

cheers agn for the update.

[schew]

sweet.. thanx for the update dude.
i'm still having the 2nd gear lockout problem. Gear box is still running smooth with the Redline oil tho.
i'll make sure to give "Penrite Manual Gear Oil 75" a try once i serivce my car towards end of next month.

Quick question:
was there any notchiness to ur gears before changing to this oil.?
and did changing to this oil help reduce this.?

cheers agn for the update.

G3RAID,

I never had any notchiness, just the lock out problem when the car was cold. Upon speaking with my mechanic, he was quite confident that it was a gearbox oil problem, especially since the problem did not exist till i recently performed the gearbox oil change.

Good luck with your troubles. Let me know how the Penrite stuff goes.


Cheers