hello all!

Newbie here! Thanks for the add. Hoping to get some advise on trans issue..

I have a 98 2.3L accord lx with the auto trans and 109k miles, and recently rebuilt by a local shop. The previous trans had the common issue of delay or no shift between the 1st and 2nd gear. I was told by the mechanic it was full rebuild with all new internals/gears etc. The trans seems to shift lot better now although i only drove down the block and back.

My concern is:

When in park and while engine running, i press on the brake pedal and move shifter to drive or reverse, it takes few seconds for the actual gear to engage (either drive or reverse), and when it does, it comes with a great jerk (like it takes forever and then it slams into that gear). This was happening with the old trans, prior to rebuilding..

Is this normal? If not, how to fix this delay?

The transmission seems to be shifting great, but i could not pick up the car yesterday as there seems to be a small leak in the axle/seal area of the passanger side of the trans and the mechanic is working on that today.

The mechanic told me that "jerking or slamming" is caused its new parts(bearings) and they need to "break-in", but I obviously do not believe that, since it was happening with the old trans..

Any advise would be much appreciated! Thanks!

 

What is idle speed? I have a noticeable delay in my 94EX when shifting from R to D, especially cold. However I listen/feel for the eventual tiny bump indicating shift is completed before driving. No real problem. However, if the idle speed were elevated, perhap 1200-1500 rpm then a much harder shift would occur.

It is not normal or acceptable for this condition and the shop that performed the overhaul should address.

I checked Honda Shop Manual and one of causes of late shifts from N - D and N-R is faulty shift cable adjustment. This would have been changed by transmission removal/installation and may be cause of the problem. Shift cable may be loose at transmission control shaft connection or shift lever connection.

There are other causes for this condition, but most are internal transmission faults.

good luck

 

Thanks for the quick and great response TexasHonda. I did mentioned the cable adjustment that to the mechanic and the next time i picked up the car it was close to perfect (as far as the trans and shiftting/gear engagement and no leak). so all is good. thanks again for the input.

Rebuilding this trans was a greatest investement I've made so far when it comes to cars! lol

 

Thanks for posting a followup. Good to know it was resolved.

Did he confirm the shift cable needed adjustment?

good luck

 

Just to give an update, the mechanic did not confirm it was the linkage adjustment as he said these are not adjustable.

Its been few weeks since my transmission was re-built and seems to be running fine. Like you said Texashonda, the trans does jerk when the engine is cold and revs at higher than rpms before it warms up. This seems to cause the engagement delay which disappears once the car warms up and the engine idle speed is normal.

I am hoping this transmission will hold up for quite a while now..

 

What Tex mentioned about a cable adjustment applies to 1997 & earlier. Beginning 1998 the "function" of that cable is done within the PCM programming. There's no physical cable from the throttle-body down to the transmission. So I'm not sure what he would have done to improve that.

I used to have a 1998 & engaging at the higher idle-speed of a cold engine was noticeable but not horrible. It's also normal for the transmission to shift at higher RPM when the engine is cold. That's a programming feature, I guess to help the engine warm up faster.