Ant923

Does anyone have this problem? when my car is cold and i put it into 3rd i get this crunching noise. what is that? been hearing it for a while but never really payed it much mind. started to mod now dont wanna risk anything.

05BlkTL

If it's only crunching when cold then possibly a fluid issue. I see you have an 04 have you ever changed it? Also our TL's have the 3rd gear issue and some are worse than others. Some have changed to the GM syncromesh fluid and have had excellent results with it. Check this forum for the list of TSB's (It's the sticky thread at the top) and read up on the 3rd gear problem.

JwongTLS

Go to your nearest GM dealer and buy the GM Syncromesh Friction Modified fluid.

I changed mine out to this about a month or two ago and it had fixed the problem 100%. Matter of fact, it feels like a brand new tranny. It will reduce the wear of your gears.

Its like $15 a quartz and you will need 3 bottles.

shift confidently again

Ant923

if its tranny fluid i changed it once and i used the oem fluid. but its nothing crazy just that crunch. but good looking ima look into that.

Ant923

Thanks. ima go and check that out this week. oil change coming up soon!!

JwongTLS

nice...I did it with my oil change too!!

runs hella better!

JwongTLS

BTW the OEM MTF honda tranny fluid wont help much..

Ant923

thats what the dude at the gtx oil change place told me. he said the oem oil is too thin. he had the same problem with his 2007 honda civic si. told me that he changed it now it flys!!! just got my stage 2 clutch!!! im soooo ready, going to gm tomorrow!!

Zobo26

i had the same problem. GM syncromesh fixed it right up. Good good stuff.

TLAdvanced

iTrader: (4)

What kind of clutch did you get???

Ant923

Spec Stage 2

SouthernBoy

The proper name for the GM product is General Motors Synchromesh Friction Modified fluid and the part number is 12377916. You'd be surprised how many parts counter people at GM dealers have never heard of this stuff.

SouthernBoy

Not all TL's. My '04 has been pristine in the transmission/clutch/shifting department since I bought it. Yes, I did my first transmission drain and fill at around 15,000 miles and use the GMSFM fluid. But I never experience any of the problems others have reported with my transmission. It has been perfect.

Thinkmoto

Pennzoil synchromesh works just as well and doesn't cost much. redline MTL is also good stuff, amsoil synchromesh also is good from what I've heard. GM stuff you pay for the name. I just had the 3rd gear synchro fix done under warranty o my 05 TL 6MT and they filled it with the Honda stuff and its like butter cold or hot. Doesn't get stiff until its about -10 F or colder. Then again I don't know of many manual trans cars that are happy at -10 F at first startup.

DMZ

Ant923

ima go with the gm stuff no disrespect moto. if everybody is saying thats the fix i can deal with the $45 bucks for the fluid!! lol!! i wish i still had warranty, that would be sweet right now to go get it fixed!

05BlkTL

Yes I know not all have the problem, I was just puting the possibility out there.

SouthernBoy

Wow, did I have some typos in that post. Got to be more careful.

I would bet most manual TL's do not have these problems with their transmissions. We only think they do because members of this website who have had the problems tend to report them.

05BlkTL

That is a pretty good point now that you mention it as before i bought my car the reliability ratings were great. Also before i joined here i never heard about the 3rd gear problem. I'm lucky that mine happens only once in a blue moon so once the rain stops and i don't have work i'm gonna change the fluid out to the GM stuff.

JwongTLS

Even if you dont have the problem, the $45 is well worth it. It makes your shifting a hell lot smoother.

It might not happen now, but when u start encountering it, it might be a little too late. ( as in damages has already been done).

SouthernBoy

BTW, the crunch you're hearing (kinda like a quick grind/crunch I bet) is caused by the dog teeth not meshing (as in matching) the speed of their slots in the hub into which they are to be inserted for the shift. You may already know this but just in case you don't.. When you shift gears in a manual transmission, you are not actually "shifting", or moving, the transmission gears at all. They are all fixed in their respective positions and are in a "constant mesh" state, which is why all manual transmissions are referred to as constant mesh transmissions. What you are really doing is moving collars along slined shafts from one hub to another and the hubs are afixed to the gearsets. The grinding, or crunching, one hears is the dog teeth on the collars failing to insert into their slots in the hubs. This is most always caused by, in no particular order; 1) worn synchronizers, 2) damage blocker rings, 3) damaged shifter forks, 4) damaged or out of adjustment shifter linkage. or 5) starting to releasing the clutch too soon in the shift.

Just a little piece of info for your casual reading.

Ant923

Thanks for the info

Integral212

I just bought a '06 w/ 6MT that came off-lease. Sure enough, after driving it for a couple days, I had trouble selecting 3rd. Called dealer (Bloomington MN Acura / Subie), and they will be replacing the 3rd gear assembly per the TSB. They were familiar enough with the problem that no verification was required (this is in warranty for this particular vehicle).

I had a similar problem with my S2K, though it involved 2nd gear. I get the impression Honda (or whichever sub is making the transmission) is having difficulty controlling the process. Not sure on my S2K whether the root cause was a bent shift fork or a synchro, since they replaced both during the tear-down. I expect similar results here.

My advice would be if it's just notchy, try the fluid swapout, but if you actually have trouble selecting the gear or it pops out of gear, go for the rebuild. If you are out of warranty, contact American Honda for goodwill consideration as this is obviously a design defect impacting many vehicles across several models. Keep in mind too that the drivetrain warranty is longer than the bumper-to-bumper.

shub

I just bought a 2005 with MT. I am having difficulty selecting third gear. I find that I have to really line up the gear shift in the center, and push in slowly and gently or else it will refuse to let me put it in or will pop back out after I select it. I am glad to hear this is a common problem, because I have a warranty! What is happening here? Thanks

princelybug

iTrader: (16)

None of the products you've mentioned are "friction modified". GM > all others.

You can go to the stealership and get the 3rd gear synchronizers changed out. OR, you could buy 7 bottles of the GM stuff, and change out the fluid (~ 2.3 qts/change). Do a total of 3 drain/fills. I'm at 43k, and I've done the 3x drain/fill twice already.

I prefer doing the fluid change rather then the stealership going in there and possibly doing something to harm the car. People who've let the stealerships replace their synchros have reported the same problem again after getting their car back.

Integral212

Why would you run multiple qts. of fluid through the transmission? I've heard of doing this on the auto since it's tough to completely empty out the torque converter, but on the manual, you're draining virtually all of the fluid out when you pull the plug.

Also, I had the synchros replaced under warranty. The problem has not recurred. I have had not other issues (no problems w/ reverse, disconnected harnesses, etc.).

If the car is under warranty, and the problem is well-understood (now), with a TSB, I would be reluctant to let it go out of warranty. I would guess that the early recurrences of the problem occurred when the dealer replaced the gear assembly and synchro pack with a similarly out-of-tolerance replacement part, before Honda understood the issue.

I know people have had good results w/ just the fluid - but you're asking to get gooned if you have a problem down the road. You're also masking the issue. A properly designed and built transmission doesn't pop out of gear or reject a gear selection. Completely understandable if you just don't have confidence in the dealer or you're out of warranty...but come on...I would estimate that the dealer that did mine has done dozens. This is not an uncommon issue, and disassembling a constant-mesh transmission, while not trivial, is far from rocket science (and obviously way simpler than an auto). Just my $0.02.