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how to tell if gearbox is going ?

4K views 11 replies 6 participants last post by  shaun2213  
#1 ·
Just wondering what the signs of a gearbox going are, I have a civic 1.5 ls and it kinda sounds like reverse in st gear like a whining ?
 
#2 ·
I have the exact same problem. Mine makes a loud whiney noise in 1st gear, it gets louder when the engine is warmed up. I have been told it might be the thrust bearing which is nothing serious. I will be putting new gearbox oil in to see if that makes any difference..
 
#4 ·
Vtec2011 said:
I have the exact same problem. Mine makes a loud whiney noise in 1st gear, it gets louder when the engine is warmed up. I have been told it might be the thrust bearing which is nothing serious. I will be putting new gearbox oil in to see if that makes any difference..
Mine does it in 2nd gear mainly, a whine that increases with the engines speed, it does it in first and 3rd aswell but not to the same degree

I'm changing my gearbox oil in the next couple of weeks so will post back if it helps

Defo go for the Genuine Honda stuff if you can, It's ÂŁ12.40 a litre, you should'nt need more than 2 litres

Its an easy job to do, alot easier if you use a funnel and a piece of hosepipe to refill
 
#6 ·
They always stock it so you should'nt have any problems getting it, If your anything like me you will probably drool at the type R they always have in the showroom aswell :cool:

Remember to take the car for a bit of a drive to warm the box oil up and it will drain alot quicker, Here's a pic borrowed from Civic 5, pretty self expanatory, bottom plug to drain and top to fill, fill nut is a 17mm bolt, As mentioned make a filler out of garden hose pipe and bring it up into the engine bay with a funnel attached to it and fill slowly, you can't overfill as it will just come out of the hole, really important to have the car on level ground
Image


You've mentioned aswell it could be your thrust bearing, mine is a little noisy aswell so could have the same symptoms

:)
 
#7 ·
Roylewaa said:
They always stock it so you should'nt have any problems getting it, If your anything like me you will probably drool at the type R they always have in the showroom aswell :cool:

Remember to take the car for a bit of a drive to warm the box oil up and it will drain alot quicker, Here's a pic borrowed from Civic 5, pretty self expanatory, bottom plug to drain and top to fill, fill nut is a 17mm bolt, As mentioned make a filler out of garden hose pipe and bring it up into the engine bay with a funnel attached to it and fill slowly, you can't overfill as it will just come out of the hole, really important to have the car on level ground
Image


You've mentioned aswell it could be your thrust bearing, mine is a little noisy aswell so could have the same symptoms

:)
I found this really helpful as i never really touched gearboxes. Thanks for the instructions and the photo :thumbup: This looks like an easy & simple task! I know i should go by the recommended oil grade but can thicker oil than usual stop the whiney noises? Because when i had my van i used thicker oil to stop the whiney noise from the axel lol
 
#8 ·
The Honda MTX gearbox oil is great stuff, Has been known as a miracle cure, You can use engine oil but it is not recommended for long term use

Personally I would'nt put anything in other than the Honda stuff, As far as I know it's not covered in the regular service schedule on cars of our age, so chances are the old stuff has been in there however many miles your car has done

Mine doesent look like its been changed and mines done neirly 140k so it's gotta be past it's best
 
#11 ·
Not necessarily the thrust bearing, when you depress the clutch you are disconnecting the gearbox as well.
Sorry to disappoint but I dont think an oil change will make a lot of difference. The only difference that oil will make is if the oil level is actually low or empty but once you have a noise its probably on its way out.
A whine when driving will most likely be gearbox input shaft bearings. A grinding noise is most likely the diff bearings. Both are fairly common on Honda gearboxes unfortunately.
The good news is that parts are cheap, bad news is hat the labour time is about 6.5 to 7 hours for the repair, work that out at a dealers rates of ÂŁ50-ÂŁ80/hour + VAT and its not cheap.
I have done plenty of these before, could do it a lot cheaper but feel free to get the dealers opinion first ?