Hi ya'll,

Please give me some advice!!!

I have a 2005, 4 cyl. 5 spd manual transmission with 244,xxx miles, LX, maintained regularly.

When the car warms up (after driving it for an hour or so) it become difficult to put the gear selector into a gear, any gear, but particularly the first one. I thought it was synchromesh problem, but the problem persists even when the vehicle is not moving...

What are your ideas?

I don't trust my local Honda dealer because they have blatantly lied to me in the past, and no other place to turn.

Thanks in advance.

 

It could be a dragging clutch. That is, the clutch does not completely disengage when you press the clutch pedal down.

Put the transmission in neutral. Pump the clutch pedal several times then hold the pedal down completely. If this helps, then it's likely to be a hydraulic problem. Bleed the clutch to get fresh fluid (no air bubbles) in the system.

If that's not it, then a dragging clutch *likely* means you have to replace your clutch.

 

Thank you, will try!

 

I've had this issue on a few cars and got into the habit of always going into 2nd gear before trying 1st. I've been doing this for decades now out of habit, even on cars which don't have an issue. Give it a try, hit 2nd, and then immediately throw it into 1st.

 

great way to save repair money on a 244,000 miles car.

 

Well, with a help of a good friend we checked for air in the line, and discovered that while the fluid in the reservour looked clear, the fluid that was coming out of the bleeding valve was nasty, pumped it until the fluid was clear...

Now we shall wait and see.

As I have written before -- there is not problem in the morning when I leave the house, the problem develops when the car is driven in the city traffic for an hour or so.

 

If the problem does not clear itself then I recommend a 50/50 blend of synchro shift fluid with Honda manual transmission fluid. We swear by BG Synchroshift II fluid, but I believe Amsoil makes one as well. You can call a Subaru parts department and ask for the BG if you can't find it, as it is not a fluid that can be bought at a typical auto supply store, at least in the northeast.

 

If the problem comes back to the hydraulic system, there's another idea to check out.

The hydraulic line has a rubber hose to allow the engine to move around. That rubber hose can get deteriorated, or even start dilating with the pressure.

 

thanks Jim, I will pay attention to it. follow up question: is that the line that goes from main to slave cylinder?

Question 2 (new one), my main cylinder (the one that's pushed) by the pedal squeaks like a rusty door spring in the old outhouse... is it normal? i do not detect any fluid leaking from it, should i do something about it or just ignore it?

thanks!

 

You can follow the steel tube from either the clutch slave cylinder or the clutch master cylinder. Somewhere in between there's a short piece of rubber hose to allow the engine to move around in it's mounts. Make sure that rubber hose section is healthy.

Squeaky master cylinder. The first thing I'd do is rule out my suspicion of the squeak coming from the mechanical linkage between the pedal & the master cylinder piston. That stuff is under the dashboard.
- Hinges at the top of the pedal?
- Pushrod pivot pin on the pedal lever?
- Some kind of rubber boot where the pushrod goes through the firewall?

Next, have someone pump the clutch pedal while you listen under the hood. It might be the ball/socket pivot joints down at the throwout lever, being transmitted through the system. Sounds can travel in real funny ways because of the soundproofing material at the firewall.