silkysmooth_96

2010 TL 6MT. 28,000 Kms (17,500 miles) and the transmission is in pieces.

After many months of having intermittent problems, it finally gave in the ghost. I had advised Acura of a problem with 3rd gear engaging properly, then releasing the clutch to discover it wasn't engaged and it would grind.
Also noticed that shifting from 1st gear while at redline to 2nd would cause the synchros to make a horrible sound as if they really weren't meant to be engaging, however the synchros would still engage.

Finally on the weekend, I went to get into 2nd gear (after redline in 1st again) and it mashed nicely with no engagement. From here on in, it would NEVER go into 1st gear again (stopped, moving, 2nd to 1st). I could even leave the clutch out and press as hard as I could to 1st gear, and it wouldn't even grind.

I left it at Acura on Tuesday, and have attached some pictures of the current vehicle state. They have ordered new synchros for 1-2, and also for 3, plus new shift forks. Should be interesting to see how well it works after they rebuild it! All under warranty of course.

They loaned me a 2013 RDX. It's actually a really nice drivetrain (apart from it being an automatic) with a 3.5L V6, 6 speed auto and it hauls a$$.. Unfortunately someone backing out of a parking spot today in a Nissan (shitbox) Pathfinder decided to cream the loaner car. Bad luck or what! The flip side is it wasn't my TL!! Thank god!

Anyhow, no more blabbing, here are some pics.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/88558872@N08/

KarKraze

Crazy stuff!!!

Edward'TLS

That's quite enough adventures in a single week.

Teddybear

im surprised they'd rebuild it for you, and not just give you a new one...
i would've thought they'd send in the old one to examine why it failed so early.

hope everything gets better from here! lol

potmilkz

same here..

rebuilding and replacing puts you in two different categories.


one is for sure and the other has a possibility of messing up a again since it is only a transmission problem.

sympley

holy crap, that's a lot of thing to take apart for a clutch change. I helped my friend with his prelude and we though that was pain in the ass, this looks way more involved.

Teddybear

^ because it's not just a clutch change.

silkysmooth_96

Parts are on backorder! They are telling me at least another week. The lady that hit the loaner RDX paid the dealer $4,000 for the repairs! YIKES! At least I didn't have to pay the $1,000 deductible!

NwTSXmt

So how many redline shifts to second gear did it take to trash the tranny?

silkysmooth_96

Good question. There were only 28,000 Kilometers on it. I regularly drive the car hard with many times in the redline. Past Acuras I've owned (3 autos and 2 manuals) never balked at my driving before. My GS-R transmission went over 160,000 miles before it needed new bearings, but not synchros.

To guess how many 1-2 redlines? haha.. Probably several hundred. It's more the 2-3 that takes the hit. I find I redline 2nd pretty much daily. 3rd gear redline is more difficult as I find I'm going far too fast at that point!

Pseudomaniac

iTrader: (1)

Bad mojo - sorry dude.

It's not the redlines, it's where the clutch is at when you push on the synchro in comparison to the rotational engagement point. You could burn it up just as easily never running past 3k.

Suggestion: change your seating position, shoes, floormats, etc. - whatever was keeping you from engaging the clutch fully to shift. On the trans, you should be able to run the car to speed and without the clutch in, lean on the shifter gently from 1st to 2nd until it falls into place. Take a look at the tach; There's your syncho min rev / target shift.

I blew through 2 axles, 2 clutches and a rear diff on my heavily tracked S2000 before the shift synchros ever needed any work. It's all about getting that pressure plate extended fully, and hitting your shifts.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

^Well, to be fair, it sounds like its the synchros and not the clutch. butt, i can see not engine matching even on upshifts

the honda fluid is lacking in something(whether it be friction modifiers or lubricity).
I've just changed my MTF to the GM syncromesh friction modified.

it has helped the 3rd gear popout immensely

Pseudomaniac

iTrader: (1)

Improper clutch engagement is generally the way to wear out synchros that quickly. Each synchro is just a mini clutch. The clutch will endure the slippage much longer than the synchros trying to bite under the torque load.

GM Mesh in cold weather and redline in hot weather. I liked the trans feel better than the Honda MTF on the Si, the S2000, and the CLS6M

NwTSXmt

any updates?

silkysmooth_96

Update: Picked up the car at the dealer and test drove it around the block. Turn the corner and the leftover bolt sitting on the windscreen slides across to the other side.. LOL.. I handed it in and said I hope it's not an important bolt!

Car shifts as smooth as butter. But as soon as I was 5 minutes up the road it was creaking like a son of a bitch, suspension. So I returned, and 30 minutes later they had it back to me, apparently a rubber bushing was out of alignment.

It's been many weeks, but I've only put about 400 miles on it as I travel by air more than by car (unfortunately). Yesterday I was in a spirited driving mode, and was banging through the gears with many redline shifts. No problems whatsoever. I'm still a bit nervous, however, that I'm going to get that grind!

The delaer showed me the 1-2 synchro set, and it was pretty bad. I wasn't allowed to keep it though, as it was being returned to Honda for inspection. I wish I could hear about the results of the findings.

They replaced the 1-2, 3-4 synchro sets, the shift forks (in case they were bent to begin with) and a pile of other shit. I also had them replace my rear rotors as they would seize in the winter from the washing. I was told they had excessive rust inside the drums (for parking brake), and that they needed serviced (WTF, the car has 28,000 Km's on it and it's a manual, I DON'T USE BRAKES!)

They also resurfaced the front rotors as they were warped.

Job done.

Until the next time!