2nd gear grind FIX!!! READ

[Gimenez]

Hi guys as you all have noticed I complained about my tranny numerous times... After a lot of days of thinkin of tradin in, and possible fixes for my car... I finally found a FIX for the 2nd gear grind and 4th gear grind.

NOTE: This is not necessarily a FIX, maybe after all it's a temporary one, but I am convinced this is in fact the permanent fix for these problems...

How it all started for me... After completely braking my cars 2nd gear and getting it replaced by Honda, I noticed 2nd gear still grinded like crazy after the repairs. After some practice, it didn't have anymore... but the problem was still there. After a while, my 4th gear started doing a horrible grind everytime I shifted to it... I was very frustrated by this and frustrated at the fact some people told me my tranny was gone...

So what DID I do? I posted numerous threads complaining and asking for help in this forums and always had in mind that it has something to do with my clutch... I always mentioned it, I almost dreamed about it. After all it wasn't something with my clutch, or the tranny overall, it was more something about my clutch pedal and plate placement. After Honda fixed my tranny, I guess they failed to position my clutch the right way. After driving other type of cars like SRT4's, EVOs, and WRXs I noticed my clutch was "unique" because it engaged perfectly depending how much I pressed it. This of course seemed rare to me because sometimes I missed gears with the clutch completely in at high RPM's... So what I did was the following... I talked to my brother in law who's a mechanic and asked him if he had any experience before with gears grinding out of nowhere... since he has experience rebuilding, and swapping transmissions, he was able to spot the problem right away. NOTE: The problem I had was not because of Honda completely, its the same cause other members have, the clutch engagement on these cars seem to get out of place after a couple thousand miles!!!

What did he do? He just went INSIDE the car, and adjusted a couple of bolts behind the clutch pedal, making the engament similar or the same as other car's. Now my gears get in VERY smooth I feel like I have a new tranny.

I am sorry I do not have pictures yet of the bolts he adjusted, but this topic is for you guys to get an idea on how to fix this and where to find where the problem is. I hope this is helpful and soon I will get detailed instructions so you can either tell Honda to do it for you guys or your own mechanics.

[@doval]

THX man for this valuable info bro

[nsane]

How do you adjust a Hydraulic clutch thats self adjusting? Only thing you can adjust there is your clutch switch which is for starting the car.

[ErichPryde]

I think... he doesn't mean the clutch. I gather that maybe he adjusted the position of the pedal itself?

[rcracin13]

yea i thought of this a while ago. hence why there a few members that say theres no problem wit 2nd year, u just gotta step on the pedal all the way real hard when shifting into 2nd. but its also a sign that your clutch is worn down. personally, i like when the clutch engages when the pedal is closer to the floor.

[Gimenez]

My clutch now engages at the end, just like most other cars I've driven. I find this better because it helps you not miss gears. I got to see what he adjusted, maybe it was the pedal itself.

[08civicman]

Originally Posted by Gimenez

My clutch now engages at the end, just like most other cars I've driven. I find this better because it helps you not miss gears. I got to see what he adjusted, maybe it was the pedal itself.

the clutch is supposed to start grabbing about 1/3 of the way off the floor.


By "END" do you mean down near the floor or when the pedal is almost fully extended?

you want the clutch to start engaging about 1/3 off the floor so it it fully engaged a little bit before the pedal comes fully up, and fully disengaged a little bit before the clutch hits the floor. This way your always fully engaging the clutch when driving and fully disengaging when shifting..

I imagine he adjusted the pushrod on the hydraulic cylinder, but thats just a shot in the dark.

[D.ryan]

i hear something sometimes when i down shift into 2nd gear. It almost sounds like a rattling. Am i having the same problem you were having? thx. If so, I'm really excited to hear that its such an easy fix. Thanks again.

[thephenom]

Sorry for being such a n00b, when people say "grind", does it mean the gear is just not going in smoothly? Or is it making a nasty metal-on-metal type of sound? My tranny seems ok most of the time, but I find it a little difficult shifting from 1st to 2nd at higher rpm. I clutch in to the floor before shifting, but it sometimes feels like I'm ripping it out of 1st.

[Zeuceone]

It better fix my second gear our ill send my repair bill to you.

[24boosted]

Originally Posted by Gimenez

My clutch now engages at the end, just like most other cars I've driven. I find this better because it helps you not miss gears. I got to see what he adjusted, maybe it was the pedal itself.

The issue is between the steering wheel and seat that's causing the grind if that's the case.

[reaper702]

so all you had to do was adjust the engagement point?

[Grizam303]

Do you mind changing your post title if your post contains no actionable information on how to fix the 2nd gear grind?

[BadazzSi]

im having a problem with mine when i go from 1st at about 8 grand i shift to 2nd and it grinds like crazy. n its not me cause 2 of my friends did it in my car also. and please post up some pics cause i would like to see if this might be my problem.

[Gimenez]

Ok ok sorry for the confusion, let me try to rephrase everything a little bit.

24boosted: The position of the seat might HELP. But the problem I had, had nothing to do with the seat, it had to do with the engagement of the clutch. Whenever I was in high RPM, no matter what gear it was, my shifts were not smooth. I Know hydraulic clutch lines adjust themselves, but not the pedals or the engagement point. My engagement point, along with some other member's engagement points were not set correctly.

When I used to shift from 1st to 2nd before, I noticed that sometimes no matter HOW SLOW I did it, if my car was a bit warm, it would GO IN, but not engage at all. Sometimes I would leave it in, and then once the car went down to about 5,500rpms it engaged by itself... which is a bit weird.

Now to clear things up, the 2nd gear grind is NOT completely eliminated by this FIX, but it HELPS. It takes a bit of time to relearn your new engagement point therefore you will miss 2nd a little bit until you get used to it. After you do this fix, then you can go ahead and start practicing with moving your seat to a new position, and apply the other techniques other members have talked about.

About having the engagement at 1/3, I think that's somewhat correct, if you mean your engagement is almost, not exactly at the end. My engagement point was exactly in the beginning once I began releasing my clutch. This means that everytime I was in high RPM and put the clutch in completely, my gears grinded because my clutch wasn't completely separated.

[Gimenez]

Ok I am back from testing my car. 2nd is FIXED. I launched the car various times and 2nd would go in like nothing. 4th still grinds a little I am guessing it is a problem with my tranny... No problem though... Hopefully with the service bulletin out, they will fix my 3rd and fourth.

[B-Stylz]

Can you say automatic?

[2000civic]

Hmmmmmm I understand. I also remember talking to one of the techs who was looking at my car. He said he did not like that our cars had a certain type of clutch. I cannot remember the exact term he said, but he said it could be causing some of the issues with the tranny acting up. Also that the shifts will be a little nochy due to the transimission having cable linkage.

[Gimenez]

I am about to make an instructional video of the 2nd gear fix!!!!

[B-Stylz]

Originally Posted by Gimenez

I am about to make an instructional video of the 2nd gear fix!!!!

These cars are tweaked to Honda's settings and mine aren't getting touched. The way I fixed my 2nd gear grind is by slowing by 1-2 shift down. Problem solved.