Hi Everyone,

There has been a slight growling noise in my 2004 Civic that has gotten slightly louder since its inception a couple of months ago.

Slightly concerned, I took the car to my trusted independent who said it was a "noisy gearbox" and needs to be replaced.
He suggested buying second-hand as a brand-new gearbox will cost too much. Current K/M is @ 195,000.
He quoted me $1000 for the part and $500 for labour. Ouch.

Now if I had the money spare, I'd probably be having the repairs done as we speak. But as it's not easily accessible, I figure I should do some research first to ensure it's the right choice.

After some research, I think I've narrowed the issue down to the input shaft bearing in the transmission. However I'm no mechanic nor enthusiast, so I'm hoping someone can help confirm this or point me in the right direction.

I've posted a 5 minute (dark) video to YouTube. You should be able to hear the noise quite clearly, particularly when the clutch is depressed and gear engaged. Just ignore my mentioning of clutch engaging/disengaging -- whoops.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8yWNBfpSUko

So, a few questions:
1. If it is the input shaft bearing, is replacing the entire transmission the best option? And if so, is $1500 reasonable?
2. Otherwise is it possible to just replace the damaged input shaft bearing(s)? And would this be much cheaper? (Considering labour)
3. If it's not the input shaft bearing, do you have any other suggestions/possibilities?

Thanks guys -- really appreciate anyone's input on this.

Andy