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  1. #1
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Brissy
    Car:
    DC5 Type R

    2nd Gear Crunch Fixed

    I bought my AUSDM Type R (new) in 2003. Since the very first day there has been an issue shifting into 2nd gear. Mainly when shifting from 1st to 2nd. Worst when the car was cold.
    I complained to Honda several times while it was under warranty, and essentially got the run-around. Eventually I gave up.
    The forums were full of other owners with the same problem, most people accepting it as a design flaw (which no doubt it is).
    The car now has just under 100k on the clock.

    Some years ago I discovered that shifting from 1st to neutral (let it go to center), and then neutral to 2nd, the crunch is avoided. So I'd been doing that for the last 6 years (no kidding....some performance car hey ?)

    Recently I re-opened the investigation, and saw a post where a Civic owner seemed to fix a gear crunching issue by making a small adjustment to the clutch pedal. I thought to myself "could it really be that simple ?"

    I tried it myself today.
    FINALLY !
    After 12 years of 2nd gear crunching the problem is gone.
    I now have a super smooth shift from 1st to 2nd, directly, at speed.

    Here's what I did :- Ripped out the drivers side Recaro, pulled out the under dash cover, and spent a few minutes studying the play in the clutch pedal. In my case there was around 10 mm of play before the pedal activated the plunger, and then another amount of slack in the plunger as it went into the master cylinder (before it went hard).

    I aimed to take out a small amount of the pedal slack (before it activates the plunger). I undid the locking nut, and took 5mm of slack out, and then tightened the lock nut back up. My theory was that this would (in effect) push the plunger in 5mm further....in other words disengage the clutch a little further. I wanted to be careful with this. Not to go too far and damager either the hydraulics, the clutch fork, or the clutch. Or to have the clutch partly disengaged when the pedal is at rest (which would wear the clutch out fast).

    I took it for test drive this afternoon. And then another. And then another.
    I couldn't get enough of it. After 12 years of misery the 2nd gear crunch is gone !

    So I decided this was something worth sharing.

    If anyone else decides to try this, my advice is to stick your head under the dash with a light and study the play in the pedal carefully. If you can, google a photo of the clutch pedal assembly and make sure you understand it before you make any adjustments. The tolerances in the pedal play are very subtle, and the required adjustment (if any) may be very small. It's easy to damage something if you over adjust it, so be careful.
    Last edited by 02DC5R; 11-08-2014 at 10:01 PM.

  2. #2
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Melbourne
    Car:
    Grocery getter
    8th gen civic guys been doing this for a while in the states, just recently did mine and it fixed the 2nd gear grind at high rpm. Just make sure you check it now ans then because it will readjust itself. 10min mod that dramatically improves driving experience
    I don't even know anymore.

  3. #3
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Mar 2013
    Location
    Perth NoR
    Car:
    S2k + CBX250
    I had this issue before usually in old cars, my EG seemed reluctant to go through the gears, i bought a OMNI quiklutch and adjusted it nice and tight clutch was STIFF but no crunches into 3rd

  4. #4
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Sydney
    Car:
    DC5R
    This would be so awesome with a DIY guide!

  5. #5
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Oct 2004
    Location
    www.alibaba.com
    Car:
    porsche boxster
    who doesnt enjoy a happy ending?!!

  6. #6
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Brissy
    Car:
    DC5 Type R
    Quote Originally Posted by NeedVtec View Post
    8th gen civic guys been doing this for a while in the states, just recently did mine and it fixed the 2nd gear grind at high rpm. Just make sure you check it now ans then because it will readjust itself. 10min mod that dramatically improves driving experience
    Thanks. I'll keep an eye on it. So far so good.

  7. #7
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Brissy
    Car:
    DC5 Type R
    Quote Originally Posted by sweetjeeesus View Post
    This would be so awesome with a DIY guide!
    I uploaded the official Honda pedal assembly and adjustment instructions here ...

    http://i1240.photobucket.com/albums/...ps36064ebd.jpg

    The 12mm locking nut D and pushrod E are what I adjusted.

    In terms of DIY guides, there are a few already out there .

    I googled and found this one...
    http://www.itr-dc5.com/forum/index.p...t-your-clutch/

    (All credit to the owner of that post)

    Hope that helps..
    Last edited by 02DC5R; 11-08-2014 at 11:10 PM.

  8. #8
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Brissy
    Car:
    DC5 Type R
    An update to this. The smoother shifting faded away over the course of couple of weeks, and it's crunching when it's cold again.
    I'm back to shifting 1-N-2. Oh well, it was nice while it lasted.

  9. #9
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Melbourne
    Car:
    Grocery getter
    Just adjust it again
    I don't even know anymore.

  10. #10
    I've over adjusted mine to fix another issue. I had internal leaking due to this over adjustment. Didn't break down on me until weeks later of adjusting it.

    I don't think you can tell when you're going too far when adjusting it.

  11. #11
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Brissy
    Car:
    DC5 Type R
    Quote Originally Posted by NeedVtec View Post
    Just adjust it again
    Good idea. I adjusted it a bit further Friday arvo. It's all good again. Shifting smoothly into 2nd
    I've still left 10mm play before the plunger goes hard inside the master cyclinder.
    This way when the pedal is out, the clutch is definitely fully engaged. So the clutch shouldn't wear out any faster.

    Hard to believe the amount of grief this small problem has caused people.
    The link below is to a posting in a Civic forum that has 59 pages of people doing this exact same thing on Honda Civics...
    http://www.8thcivic.com/forums/diy-h...ch-adjust.html

  12. #12
    Member Array
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Melbourne
    Car:
    Grocery getter
    Yeh mines still holding strong for now. The 8thgen site is where I got the idea from too
    I don't even know anymore.

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