Civic Type R Gearbox Issue

danza · 3 Dec 2009 at 21:13

DAvE18 said:
This makes me worry with the abuse I give mine that it will just give up soon

gL with getting it fixed.

You'll be fine.

ci_newman · 3 Dec 2009 at 21:14

danza said:
No, it'll be a case of get the mechanic to look at it, then either:

1. Wring the life out of Gatwick Honda until they sort it.

2. Buy as low a mileage gearbox as I can without going mad and have it fitted.

3. Laugh whimsically over a cup of tea shared with my mechanic, due to it being a minor issue costing mere pennies to fix. Then cue the credits as I VTEC off over the horizon.

Most likely prognosis based on this car, my general misfortune with it, and how my day has been so far is 2.

The advantage of 2) is fitting a new box.. I'd even be tempted to get a DC5 box re'conned and have a longer 6th gear fitted for the motorway

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 3 Dec 2009 at 21:19

danza said:
I was driving my CTR yesterday, and gunned it off some traffic lights. I didn't floor it in 1st from the off, that's just painful on the gearbox.

Why is that painful for the gearbox? I think you'll find it isn't, the input torque to the box is the same whatever gear you're in.
Urban Myth.

ci_newman · 3 Dec 2009 at 21:26

( |-| |2 ][ $;15453630 said:
Why is that painful for the gearbox? I think you'll find it isn't, the input torque to the box is the same whatever gear you're in.
Urban Myth.

I'm not entirely sure that's true if you end up wheel-spinning / no traction though..

Building Candy · 4 Dec 2009 at 09:21

you'll break a driveshaft/cv long before you'll kill the gearbox.

Dup · 4 Dec 2009 at 09:27

Building Candy said:
you'll break a driveshaft/cv long before you'll kill the gearbox.

That's what I was going to say reading this back, and I'm sure I've seen it mentioned on the forum about a driveshaft going bang.

Gaijin · 4 Dec 2009 at 12:19

Gatwick Honda never filled me with confidence. Showroom looks like a 1970 council office, service wasn't great. Parts/Service guys could never be bothered to talk to you and then of course the silly Honda parts prices to finish it off.

What they were REALLY good at was sending me **** loads of advertising through the post trying to get me to buy the latest irrelevant claptrap Honda have been churning out.

But then again brighton Honda whereas are a bit better on the workmanship front, they are a bunch of stuck up morons who should stand back and realise what they do for a living before getting on their high horse.

I'd take it to Pete at P&R gearboxes (box needs to be out though):

http://www.pandrgearboxes.co.uk/page/pandrgearboxes

Pete's a legend, and did a strip down, inspection and clean for £70 (cash

)

DO NOT get into a long conversion with him though. I was there an hour and a half AFTER putting the gearbox in the boot. Can talk the arse off a donkey and then some.

Jonnycoupe · 5 Dec 2009 at 21:08

( |-| |2 ][ $;15453630 said:
Why is that painful for the gearbox? I think you'll find it isn't, the input torque to the box is the same whatever gear you're in.
Urban Myth.

Output shaft and diff see the torque.

GeX · 6 Dec 2009 at 16:56

and as it breaks traction / gains traction / bounces it'll shock load the whole transmission.

( |-| |2 ][ $ · 6 Dec 2009 at 17:03

GeX said:
and as it breaks traction / gains traction / bounces it'll shock load the whole transmission.

Well I was assuming engine mounts that are not made of wool.

However Jonnycoupe has correctly enlighten me as to the extra load on the diff.

danza · 7 Dec 2009 at 17:19

Lord-Jaffa said:
...how much to tighten it to

The above excerpt should give a hint as to what was found to be wrong by my mechanic.

Honda have admitted liability.

I used my AA recovery to have the car taken to them - how should I go about ensuring that my renewal premium is unaffected, seeing as it was Honda's fault? Also, my mechanic charged me £20 to look at it - maybe they can pay that whilst they're at it!

Anyway, on the face of it the gearbox is ok, but awaiting further investigation which they will undertake tomorrow in the form of road/rolling road testing.

danza · 8 Dec 2009 at 19:10

Ok, nobody's bitten.

Honda didn't tighten up the gearbox filler bolt properly. It fell out, causing oil to leak from the top of the gearbox. The bang I heard was probably the bolt/bung whacking into the underside of the car. They've had a good look at the gearbox and re-filled it, and it seems okay. It had apparently lost 0.25-0.5 of a litre of oil.

I'm going to give it a blast tonight to see if I can find any issue at all, hopefully I won't!

I'm massively relieved after spending several hours trawling the internets for approximate used gearbox prices, approximate fitting costs etc and thinking that I'd had enough of the damn car and would be selling it as soon as it was fixed (as it's now fine at no cost to myself, it stays).

As a plus, Honda gave the car a thorough valet, which will save me a few hours this weekend.

Thomas. PLease. · 8 Dec 2009 at 20:08

danza said:
Ok, nobody's bitten.

Honda didn't tighten up the gearbox filler bolt properly. It fell out, causing oil to leak from the top of the gearbox. The bang I heard was probably the bolt/bung whacking into the underside of the car. They've had a good look at the gearbox and re-filled it, and it seems okay. It had apparently lost 0.25-0.5 of a litre of oil.

I'm going to give it a blast tonight to see if I can find any issue at all, hopefully I won't!

I'm massively relieved after spending several hours trawling the internets for approximate used gearbox prices, approximate fitting costs etc and thinking that I'd had enough of the damn car and would be selling it as soon as it was fixed (as it's now fine at no cost to myself, it stays).

As a plus, Honda gave the car a thorough valet, which will save me a few hours this weekend.

Thats a great outcome. Here's to hoping its ok!

Dup · 8 Dec 2009 at 20:09

Hmmm, I think the gearbox takes about 2 litres doesn't it? I would get the dealer who made the mistake to write up that they did so and that they will take any potential future problems and complaints about the gearbox seriously. It'll probably be fine, but a gearbox is not like an engine where it'll burn off that amount of oil during service intervals, so it's hard to say if any lasting damage has been done.

I thoroughty agree with giving it a good thrashing. A) To induce any problems faster and B) Reinstate your love for it before it breaks again

thepharcyde · 8 Dec 2009 at 20:21

Cool chap, hopefully all is okay

Jonnycoupe · 8 Dec 2009 at 20:32

( |-| |2 ][ $;15470826 said:
Well I was assuming engine mounts that are not made of wool.

However Jonnycoupe has correctly enlighten me as to the extra load on the diff.

First is also the stage where bearing, engine mount, driveshaft backlash etc is all taken up which can be rather harsh as metal pretty much slams into metal, in later gears than 1st you are already applying traction effort to the drivetrain so everything is in the place its supposed to be with minimal distance between the parts.

danza · 8 Dec 2009 at 21:41

Cheers for the comments. It seems fine so far, a 15 mile carefulish blast (it's damp out there!) and all seems well. Nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever.

As for getting them to write it up - I spoke to the service manager yesterday, and he oversaw the case. Apparently they're going to investigate what exactly caused the problem, but I'm sure I'll never know for certain. My best guess is that it was probably finger-tightened and forgotten about. AFAIK the gearbox takes 1.5L of oil.

I'm going to email the service manager regarding recompense for having an independent mechanic look at it (service manager was out today, and the amount was only £20, but money's money and all that), and also see if they'll warrant in any way if the problem they caused does have an effect on the longevity of the gearbox.

Jonnycoupe · 8 Dec 2009 at 21:48

It should be 2 litres.

Mines only 1.5, even though the Honda workshop manual says 2.

£37 for a gearbox oil change at Honda. I paid that then reduced to £30 when they realised it only took 1.5. Not worth doing it yourself for the cost of the oil.

realscot · 8 Dec 2009 at 21:53

i havnt read the whole thread, but has someone powerwashed all the oil off that leaked? that stuff stinks! Once the engine's propper hot i bet u smell it.
Edit, I love the way a gearbox oil change costs less than a computer diagnostic test but takes more time and costs the price of the oil vs labour only for diagnostic! honda fail.

danza · 8 Dec 2009 at 22:16

Jonnycoupe said:
It should be 2 litres.

Mines only 1.5, even though the Honda workshop manual says 2.

£37 for a gearbox oil change at Honda. I paid that then reduced to £30 when they realised it only took 1.5. Not worth doing it yourself for the cost of the oil.

You sure it's 2 litres? I have the EP3 service manual and it definitely says 1.5L. Anyway, that's not important!

£30 for a gearbox oil change!?!?

Mine was a bit more than that at just over £90.

Suffice to say I'll not be going back to Gatwick for any work in the future, despite their efforts at cleaning my car to say sorry.

realscot said:
i havnt read the whole thread, but has someone powerwashed all the oil off that leaked? that stuff stinks! Once the engine's propper hot i bet u smell it.
Edit, I love the way a gearbox oil change costs less than a computer diagnostic test but takes more time and costs the price of the oil vs labour only for diagnostic! honda fail.

The residual oil is still there, and does indeed make my car smell like a ghastly diesel running on chip fat.