Gearbox/synchro issue or clutch slipping? Honda Civic

tacticalx86 · 7 May 2023 at 12:05

I have a 13/14 year old Civic which I've had for just about 2 years now. Since buying it there were isses going into second gear where it would grind. I was not told this by the owner he never told me there was an issue. As luck would happen it only started becoming an issue when we drove home, and i've since learnt that for the first few minutes after driving it's fine but then it starts playing up. It's been getting worse lately like the grinding more prolonged and not going into gear, to the point where it's now starting to shunt as i put it in second gear. I try to avoid second gear wherever i can by just going into third but it's not always possible.
I'm going on a 1,000 mile road trip around the British isles at the end of june and obviously i want to make sure my car can make it. It passed its MOT in March with just advisories on the tyres which i replaced.
What i want to know is if this issue is simply an issue wit hthe gearbox synchro or if the clutch is going out. The price of a a gearbox rebuild would be the same price of the car when i paid for it so not really worth it obviously a clutch is cheaper, my question is, what is it more likely to be, the clutch or the synchro/gearbox?
I plan to probably retire the car after the journey. Most of the trip will be on motorways so second gear won't be an issue but obviously if it is a cltuch issue i don't want it affecting the other gears

sovietspybob · 9 May 2023 at 08:55

If it's only doing it in 2nd and no other gears i'd say its more likely the synchro's

What happens if you double de clutch when going into 2nd? That's an easy way to see if its the synchro's or not.

A gearbox oil change can help a cruchy box a bit, i had an old Impreza with worn 2nd and 3rd synchros as it had been used hard on track and an oil changed helped that a bit, but i still double declutched into those gears when i had the car.

Rilot · 9 May 2023 at 09:15

Could be air in the clutch line causing the cluth to not fully disengage. Does the clutch feel spongey at all?

Sinbad2000 · 9 May 2023 at 09:17

Unlikely to be the clutch, this is more likely the second gear synchro that's not happy.
Agreed with the spy guy above, try to match revs before engaging 2nd.
Slipping clutch symptom is RPM rising without matching road speed rise when you plant it in a high gear.

bobuk · 9 May 2023 at 09:39

Had problems with these boxes before, mainly 5th gear syncro, box out and replace syncro and clutch, nice little job.

tacticalx86 · 9 May 2023 at 09:41

Sinbad2000 said:
Unlikely to be the clutch, this is more likely the second gear synchro that's not happy.
Agreed with the spy guy above, try to match revs before engaging 2nd.
Slipping clutch symptom is RPM rising without matching road speed rise when you plant it in a high gear.

It's definitely the synchro .

tacticalx86 · 9 May 2023 at 10:22

sovietspybob said:
If it's only doing it in 2nd and no other gears i'd say its more likely the synchro's

What happens if you double de clutch when going into 2nd? That's an easy way to see if its the synchro's or not.

A gearbox oil change can help a cruchy box a bit, i had an old Impreza with worn 2nd and 3rd synchros as it had been used hard on track and an oil changed helped that a bit, but i still double declutched into those gears when i had the car.

How much life will a gearbox like this have, as its deteriorated recently, still only second gear. I'm doing a long trip at the end of june/early july time so want to know it will make it

sovietspybob · 9 May 2023 at 10:26

tacticalx86 said:
How much life will a gearbox like this have, as its deteriorated recently, still only second gear. I'm doing a long trip at the end of june/early july time so want to know it will make it

If it is just the synchro you could drive it for years as long as you double de clutch into 2nd every time. If you keep grinding it it probably won't do it much good.

I've driven cars like i said for a few years and my dad drove a landrover for 10+ years with hardly anything left of the synchros but that only works if you double de clutch and drive it appropriatly.

I'd probably want to flush the gearbox oil myself in case there's any bits of broken synchro swilling around as that won't do the rest of it any good at all.

tacticalx86 · 9 May 2023 at 10:46

sovietspybob said:
If it is just the synchro you could drive it for years as long as you double de clutch into 2nd every time. If you keep grinding it it probably won't do it much good.

I've driven cars like i said for a few years and my dad drove a landrover for 10+ years with hardly anything left of the synchros but that only works if you double de clutch and drive it appropriatly.

I'd probably want to flush the gearbox oil myself in case there's any bits of broken synchro swilling around as that won't do the rest of it any good at all.

Thanks it's been like this for at least 2 years since I had the card so probably before the too but got worse recently. By that I mean whenever it enters second it shunts forward. Just avoiding second altogether now

bJN · 9 May 2023 at 12:31

Flush the gearbox fluid and get some new in and as above, get into the habit of double de-clutching and you shouldn't have any troubles. Synchro issues like this aren't uncommon on the Honda 6 speed boxes, been like it for years.

tacticalx86 · 12 May 2023 at 20:33

bJN said:
Flush the gearbox fluid and get some new in and as above, get into the habit of double de-clutching and you shouldn't have any troubles. Synchro issues like this aren't uncommon on the Honda 6 speed boxes, been like it for years.

Unrelated but before I do that I have a more pressing issue. ...

Driving down some silly country lane today that google maps directed me down and I encounter a huge pothole and I mean huge. Half of it filled with water. So deep the front almost sinks into it. Huge crunch. All at like 10mph if that. Emerged from the car expecting to see extensive damage but nothing. However as I drove away I can now hear something rattling near the front. What could it be?

I have it on dashcam and can see on the local authority website it has been flagged since 2021 last updated in 2022 and still nothing done so I may well be able to claim some compensation .

Spring broke maybe?
Tyres seem ok which is just as well considering I replaced them only the other week.

Fuzz · 12 May 2023 at 20:49

100% syncros fella, It will most likely last your road trip. I would change the oil though as it'll be full of swarf already, that will at least give it a fighting chance

tacticalx86 · 12 May 2023 at 21:05

Fuzz said:
100% syncros fella, It will most likely last your road trip. I would change the oil though as it'll be full of swarf already, that will at least give it a fighting chance

Yeah I will retire it after that but right now I need to see how much damage a pothole has done. Or I'm going nowhere. I mean it drives fine the steering is fine but something's come loose. It's a tank of a car but that was some pothole. I'll post the video I got on the dashcam when I get home.

I'm looking at a Volvo V40 to potentially replace it like 2014-2016 depends how much a 2 litre is to insure for a 20/21 year old.

bJN · 13 May 2023 at 10:02

If you've got a jack it may well be worth just lifting it up and taking a poke around behind the wheel with a torch, see if anything obvious jumps out or has play in it. They're good cars for their age - my 2006 Civic is on the drive and been sat there for over a year waiting for me to stick some new brakes on the rear, just haven't gotten round to it and haven't needed a second car. Wife wants shot of it, but I've had it for years, stuck 120k miles on it as the second owner and it's never once played up - I don't see the point in getting rid as it would only be scrap money and to replace would be a pain.

tacticalx86 · 17 May 2023 at 18:51

bJN said:
If you've got a jack it may well be worth just lifting it up and taking a poke around behind the wheel with a torch, see if anything obvious jumps out or has play in it. They're good cars for their age - my 2006 Civic is on the drive and been sat there for over a year waiting for me to stick some new brakes on the rear, just haven't gotten round to it and haven't needed a second car. Wife wants shot of it, but I've had it for years, stuck 120k miles on it as the second owner and it's never once played up - I don't see the point in getting rid as it would only be scrap money and to replace would be a pain.

I took it to the garage, suspension links broken. Fixed. £180, sent off to the council to (try) and get compensation even if it's partial. The pothole was reported and logged and no inspection carried out so might be in with a chance.

Everything seemed fine but driving today the dreaded chirping noise I've read about. Only for like a few minutes doing 35-40. Now I know I had an advisory on the brake pads for the Mot in March but doubt it's that could it be the serp belt or car axles? I can see it doing the axels in but could a pothole really break a serp belt? Then again I wonder if a mechanic would have not noticed such a fault whilst working on the car but who knows. I think I'm going to have to drive very conservatively in the next 4 weeks (after investigating this sound at least) . If the car breaks down on the trip it gets left in Ireland . It's had a good run . My brother reckons if I get the synchro fixed (about £1.1k) I could sell it for £2.5-£3k I bought it for around £2.2 . That said a lot of cosmetic scuffs etc. Will see. How much would an axle or belt repair be inc labour roughly as a guesstimate, I know belts are quite cheap