Downshifting Grinding noise

I have a '99 Civic (manual trans) with 68K miles. When I was driving on a
long trip this weekend, with a lot of stop and go traffic, my car started
to make a loud grinding sound and rattling when I would use the
transmission to slow down the car- either downshifting or taking my foot
off the gas. It would not make the sound when I used the brake to slow
down. Any ideas?

 

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Your Manual Tranny Fluid is six years / 68,000 miles old. The brake
fluid in your clutch hydraulics is probably also overdue to be changed.
Those two items would seem to be a good place to start. What does your
Owner's Manual say?

'Curly'

 

as curly says, check lube and operation of clutch. if both are good,
your synchros are gone. $$$'s.

 

check the level of the fluid in the clutch master cylinder. ill bet its
low.

 

I'm in the same boat. I went to the Honda dealership to get my clutch oil
changed (for the 2nd time since owning the car). Turns out, that my clutch
oil was low and the Honda mechanic recommends new master & slave cylinder
and a overhaul for the clutch master cylinder. After 245,000km of hard
driving, you'd think a simple oil change should do the job. Oh well..

The syncro is shot for third gear (only crunches when I'm racing..but I'm
sure it'll get worst). Considering that I have been ruff with the tranny,
would it be wise to also get a new clutch while their working on the clutch
master cylinder? So far, everything under the hood is still original (except
for spark plug and air filter) and this will be the first time It'll be
going for surgery because of failed parts...

I'm going to have to get used to the fact that the car isn't
indestructible...*sigh*

Pars
98 Civic Hatch

 

this is where you can teach yourself to double-clutch effectively!
seriously, you can keep a shot synchro going indefinitely if you do.

 

What the hell is an "overhaul for a clutch master cylinder"--especially
after you get a new one? Methinks you have the terminology wrong for
what the overhaul is on. The master cylinder is the thing your clutch
pedal is connected to--nowhere near the actual clutch. It's easy to
replace, as is the slave cylinder, which is attached to the tranny and
activates the clutch release. I just did both on my 94 Civic.

BTW, there's brake fluid in the clutch hydraulics, oil in your tranny.
Better hope there's no oil in your clutch... ;-)

If whatever they're wanting to do the overhaul on involves removing the
tranny, have them inspect the clutch for wear and decide then. Tegger's
still on his original clutch at 400,000 km...

 

The mechanic also said that the master and slave cylinder were leaking and
the clutch pedal was very stiff (but not stiff enough to hamper the lead in
my left foot).

Yep, they charged me about $6 for the brake oil. The tranny oil was more
expensive at $21 for 3 Litres.

If I wasn't aggressive with the tranny, I'm sure the thing would probably
would last forever. Considering that the engagement point for my clutch has
gone all the way down to the floor and switching into first or reverse is a
little tricky, something is not right. Also, the low engagement point isn't
doing my tranny any good, since it's more difficult to go all the way down
on the clutch when executing some fast shifting (which is a common
occurrence in my case).

Pars

 

Yep, looks like I might have to become an expert at it. But for now, I'm
going to have to avoid drag races that requires 3rd gear. Downshifting from
5 to 3 is still smooth since I'm good at rev matching....so I can still
squeeze some fun out of 3rd. But once third is completely gone, I'm not
going to be a happy camper, since it's my favorite gear.

Pars

 

Mine was feeling a bit weird when I replaced the master/slave cylinders.
and the master was leaking here as well. Dealer said the slave was
leaking too when I had the car inspeced prior to purchase, but I didn't
see any evidence of that myself.

Maybe not forever, as there is wear however you drive. The fact that you
have to push the pedal all the way to the floor to disengage the clutch
could merely be the result of the low fluid and failing cylinders.

Since the master and slave cylinders are so easy to replace--I'm
relatively new to automotive work, but am a pretty handy guy in
general--and since replacing them doesn't involve dropping the tranny,
I'd start with those and see how it feels after a pedal adjustment. The
job can be done in less than 2 hours. If you want to do it
yourself--really, it's easy--see my post "clutch master & slave cylinder
replacement notes (94 Civic EX)" (7/8/2005). Helpful to have a Helm
manual, too--an excellent investment.

 

i drove a car with no 2nd synchro for years. once i got the hang of it,
it was easy. which was great because it meant my sister would never
borrow my car. i don't drive a stick that much now, but when i do, i
still find myself occasionally doing that second kick on the clutch.

i think it's easy once you understand what's going on - the principle is
that you either spin up or spin down with the clutch engaged in neutral
to match the ratio speeds, then engage gear.

 

technically, it's not an oil for a honda, it's a glycol-ether. oils are
used in a lot of hydraulic systems, but generally not for car
braking/clutch systems & definitely not here. sorry, pedant city.

 

second is my favorite gear in my 98 civic, hehe it tops out at 110km/h. Then
again 3rd is good too, takes me all the way to 160km. I got her goin to 195
in 4th the other day too. WEEEEEEEEEEEE.

t

 

Yep, 195 km/hr and then the speed limit kicks in....which is a
bummer...cause on a good day I probably could squeeze another 10km/hr out of
that DX engine. I tend to do alot of highway, so third is spaced perfectly
for 'dog fighting'.

Pars

 

I'm taking the car on a long drive for the long weekend (about 20hrs of
highway driving), so I was also planning on getting the clutch replaced as
an added insurance. My mechanic quoted me about $600 for the job (using
Honda parts) compared to the Honda dealership that quoted $1500 for clutch
overhaul.

Pars

 

Ok, Fluid not oil. Once upon a time I used to know what all that meant...All
the Si-Fi Novels, bad action flicks and adrenalin pumping Xbox games has
rotten my brain. There very little stuff left over from my old chemistry
classes.

Pars

 

That's pretty funny, $1500. $600 sounds more appropriate.

 

LOL!