Hey Acurazine! I'm not too active on the forums, more of a lurker but I thought I'd share my current situation with my Acura.
Quick summary of what's happened so far; Faint noise was heard from the front, I thought it was a fender liner catching on the tire. Over the course of about a week it continued to get worse but I still wasn't sure where the noise was coming from. Eventually I figured out it was only from second gear with any strain on the the transmission, whether it was accelerating or downshifting to second gear to slow down. While experimenting with the noise (braking and throttle simultaneously) it became considerably louder and now I could feel it in the shifter. Knowing it wasn't getting any better I began driving shifting first to third. Eventually the noise appeared in reverse and then it could be faintly heard on a cold idle. Speaking to a few mechanics, they said it was more than likely a chipped tooth. One transmission shop didn't even want to work on this particular model and another quoted me almost $5K (worst case scenario). With those words of encouragement from the locals I figured I'd tear into it myself. Worst case, I'd have to buy a used transmission ~$1500. This thread is my attempt to become more active on the forums and share my experiences with the community.
I'm not too familiar with imbedding media but will give it a shot. The album was made public so if something doesn't show and someone knows how to, help a brother out The video on Photobucket is upside down for whatever reason.
Picasa link: https://plus.google.com/photos/10729...46647689980449


Video of the noise before it got too bad. The video doesn't do it justice. You can't feel the knocking in a video...



Car at a friends shop. Work began about 6ish. This is only my second time ever removing an engine. The first was for a '06 V6 6mt Accord so I was vaguely familiar with the process.


How they fit 286 horses in there is beyond me...


In transport


Delivered to neutral territory


Snap ring didn't expand like the manual said it would so I had to improvise and pull it out. PITA!


Snap ring removed


Housing opened up


Broken teeth. 4 total




Number 3 is what's needed but it's not in the list below to get a part number. A quick search of the countershaft # revealed the '08-13 Accord V6 MT share the gear set. For ~$90 less! For the same part! From the same site!
A chat with the local Honda dealer and they had just the piece I needed en route from CA. Should be here tomorrow (today actually). Then a careful cleaning in a tub of kerosene and reassembly. I'll try to keep you guys updated as things progress

 

Anyone know how to flip a video on Photobucket?
The picasa link has a right side up video, though.

 

Nice project!

Will you take some closeup pics of the old and new synchronizers? I think that second gear has two.

Did you find the broken teeth in the bottom of the case? I believe that there is a screen filter inside the transmission that you can clean or replace.

How did you get the car on a trailer without front wheels?

 

Sub'd

 

Those are some pretty beefy gears. What do you think would have caused such a failure? Were you launching it at some point and jammed it into gear? Nice pics by the way. Since the engine is out of the car, it's the perfect time to do any additional work needed. Was your timing belt done?

 

Good job OP

 

subbed!

Interested to see more pics!

those 3 little dips on the shifter rods, are those the detents for forward gears and neutral?

 

So, armed with coffee and printouts I got to tearing apart the mainshaft, cleaning with brake cleaner, blow drying and carefully reassembling with MTF.


This is the magnet with two of the gears and gobs of sludge with shavings. More gears were found beside the differential.


Hit a snag as I removed a plate on the bottom of the case and found the oil pump underneath. Complete with scratches. New parts are over-nighted from CA. So re-assembly of the case will be tomorrow.


Shaving can be seen on this collar. I imagine this gives the fluid corrosive properties (?) Anybody need metal flake for their paint mix?


Cleaned and reassembled.

 

Thanks!
-No pics of old and new synchros. I'm not changing them. Only the gear on the countershaft was damaged and the oil pump. The gear directly affected by the broken gear seems to have nothing but a marred finish so that's staying as well.

-Yes, broken teeth were found on the magnet at the bottom of the case and two more near the differential. You are correct, there is a screen but it was cleaned before I got a chance to get a picture :/

-An engine hoist with chains to each of the front frame rails gave us enough mobility to push the car out and winch it onto the trailer.

I'm not sure how to get multiple quotes in a reply so bear with me a while as I figure this out

 

Nice pics. Keep us updated with how it drives after reinstallation.

 

@erdoc
- I suppose they're pretty beefy but it's my first time inside a transmission so I can't say for sure. A praised transmission repair mechanic said he's worked on a few of these particular trannies. I questioned that, but apparently he has transmissions shipped to him from all over the US, so perhaps. Anyways, he said (as if not trying to hurt my feelings) that "these transmissions are not very strong".
I really don't know what could have caused the damage. I would imagine grinding gears would chip the edges, but to completely break off... I don't know. One mechanic mentioned it could be flaws in the casting process. Maybe a small air bubble, but even then, four gears? I've got my doubts. If the gears broke during a high stress moment (like when launching under full throttle) I would imagine the effects to be noticeable immediately but this was a gradual progression of a very faint noise.
-I have thought about doing other services such as the timing belt, bushings on the control arms, and engine mounts but I'm a bit pressed for time so I'll focus on the transmission only for the time being.

@ez12
- I'm not sure what those indentations are for. But the synchros are moved by 'forks' that are welded to those rods so it seems unlikely that that's what they're for.

@ OnYourMarc
-Thanks! Definitely keep you all updated!

@ everyone else, Thanks for your support! Pictures are a bit hard to deal with since everything is oily and I have to clean my hands every time I take a picture :/ It gets annoying after the second picture... lol

 

Very nice. Just make sure to check the spacer clearance on the diff. It has to be a certain tq.

 

loving these pics! take as many pics as you can of this whole process, i love seeing the whole subframe out of the car! It'd be awesome if this was the automatic so I can see whats inside my transmission

 

same here.
im zooming in on the pic that shows the rear and front engine mounts just so I can get a better idea of how to replace it.

 

Thanks guys! The greasy work is mostly done, the transmission is reassembled, so taking pictures should be a bit easier. Tomorrow I'll try to get the transmission bolted back onto the engine, then bolt that to the subframe, and then attach the suspension components. If I don't forget I'll take a picture of the bare subframe with engine mounts and steering rack on it.

Pressing the gears off the shaft. The broken one was the fifth one down after the bearing and they were pressed on... Which was a bit of a set back because I thought the gears were held in place with a bolt on top (which, after taking a breaker bar to it, using a impact gun we realized it had a reverse thread on it :/ ) Then had to run around town looking for an adapter for the press the get the 3-5 gears off...


On a completely unrelated note, McD's has wings! Not too impressed with them but they're alright for fast food.


Old gear (left) New gear (right)


Just something I noticed while digging around; the synchronizer sleeve teeth are supposed to be symmetrical (judging by the others) but these were worn a bit on one side. I guess this is the result of grinding gears.


And this is a gear that has burrs on the right hand side, again, I guess from grinding gears.


All cleaned up and reassembled. (Sorry for the lack of pictures here, this was done during class and I was in a hurry to get it done while I had help and a 5 bay garage of any imaginable tool )

 

How did you reinstall all of the gears and gearsets? The FSM lists a couple special tools that are needed.

Did you measure any of the clearances listed in the FSM after reassembly?

 

Well, sorry for the delay. We worked late into the night Thursday and ran into an issue (with which I need your help) and gave up. Friday we left for the Domestic vs. Import races at the Maryland International Raceway where we seen this car, blurred plates and all. Is it someone from here?

Attaching the trans back to the engine.


Hooked up, mounted back to the subframe, loaded and ready to go!


This is how we loaded the car. Here we were working on gravel and the hoist wasn't very cooperative so we jacked it up for front end clearance, then backed the trailer under the car while winching it up simultaneously. Hey, whatever it takes!


For those of you wondering what your engine see from its resting place under the hood


Ran into a situation! Everything came back together nicely but then we started the car and as soon as I touched the steering wheel just a hair, we heard a loud POP! and a quick hiss. I thought we broke a gear in the steering rack.


Instead we found a connection that blew apart. View from the passenger side wheel well. It's a bad angle but you can see the hose/tube don't line up.


This happened again as soon as we re-connected it and started the car. Didn't even have to touch the steering wheel this time! Fixed it once more and were afraid of another fail so we topped off the reservoir and with the car 'off' we turned (steered) the wheels by hand. The level dropped just a hair. Then we removed the serpentine belt and turned the PS pump by hand. That dropped the level about half an inch and no more. So then we just barely cranked the starter and if the car started we shut if off immediately. We got about 18 ounces into the system (a quick search showed someone had drained and filled their PS system and they used 26 ounces). Then we started the car and slowly, with an eye on the fluid level, we turned the wheel all the way to the left (yay, progress) then back. As soon as we passed the halfway mark (with the wheels straight) and began to turn right POP!..... This time it was the other end of the same tube. No easy access... That was all I could take. It was 1AM and we had about 6 ounces of PS fluid left. Drove the car out of the shop and called it a night. (Reverse and First to second shifts went smooth! Woohoo!)
Anyone have any idea what the issue could be? There really isn't a way to swap any high/low pressure hoses as everything fits one way. Everything that was disconnected and could possibly get some dirt into it was taped off or had a towel stuffed into it. Is there any way to 'blow' out the system with an air hose or something of that sort? Any suggestions will be appreciated!

Can't see in the picture, but the yellow circle is where it blew apart twice, then the purple circle is where it blew apart the third time... Right up against the firewall on the top side of the subframe. There's no easy access up there either... Perhaps I'll get on it again Monday. I'll keep you all updated.

For those asking for subframe pics: Front, looking to the back


Rear mount. Looking to the back.


Top view. Front half of the subframe. Transmission mount is on the right side of the pic (left side of the car).

 

First pic in post #15. I pressed the shaft out of the gears, then pressed the gears back onto the shaft. No special tools except the shop press and an 'inner tie rod remover' that fit over the shaft so I could press the gear down.
No, I did not measure the clearances. Nothing changed except the one gear. I highly doubt anything changed enough to make a difference. The shaft, gears, spacers, collar, all that is the same. We'll see how things go but I'm not worried about it.

 

Pardon my ignorance; but do you have to drop the entire motor to do tranny work?
Or that's what you have to do in order to pull the trans from the car? Just askin.

 

you do not, but it can probably be in some ways easier to get better accessibility to the whole assembly. (trannies are dropped by themselves all the time for clutch replacements, etc.)

 

^ +1 Absolutely do not have to drop the entire assembly but for as much work as it is to drop just the tranny, its almost not worth it IMO, because you still need to support the engine from the top with bars and chains, then remove the left suspension to pull the axle out, then you have wiggle the transmission off the engine... tight space to work in, working overhead... I'd rather not. But in my case, I was simply looking for the quickest and simplest way to get it out as I was using a friends shop and didn't want to tie up his lift. So we unbolted/disconnected everything and raised the car off the assembly.

Anyways, an update.
Transmission runs great! Shifts smooth, just like new!
The power steering issue was resolved as well. When we disconnected the return line running into the radiator we stuck a plug into each end (one from the subframe and one from the radiator support). When hooking back up, only one of the plugs was removed. I was out of the shop at the moment looking for some misplaced bolts, and whoever hooked it up missed the one plug. We found it by tracing the return path of the PS system and blew clean each piece. When we got to the radiator we found the plug had been forced through the tube until it reached the radiator. Took care of that and everything went smooth afterwards!
So now all we need is to work out a few small kinks and do a full detail! Woohoo!

 

congrats!

 

Thanks!
Took the car on a trip to DC last thurdsay (about a 4 hour round trip), and then to Baltimore Sunday night (about 6 hour round trip). Except for a minor misalignment, everything is good! Planning on changing out the trans fluid here shortly, just in case I missed some crevice in the housing in the process want to get rid of any shavings that may have been missed.
Thanks to everyone who had suggestions, input, or simply support!

 

Glad to hear that everything is good!

Is there a gasket between the clutch and transmission cases or just a honda-bond seal?

What MTF did you use before the damage occurred? What are you using now, if different?