Difficulty getting into gears at high RPM's

[team ERA 5]

The car drives perfectly normal at lower RPM's/normal driving conditions. When taking my car into higher RPM's it feels as if there's a wall. It will eventually get into gear when the RPM's drop a little. I also noticed when I downshifted from 5th to 4th at high RPM's I also feel a little resistance/notchy.

I recently changed out the transmission fluid with Honda MTF, replaced the clutch slave cylinder, and bled the clutch with Honda Dot 3 brake fluid.

I currently have 187k on my stock clutch, so I'm thinking it may be time to replace it.

Any help/suggestions would be appreciated.

[team ERA 5]

no one?

[danito321]

no one?

I was gonna say change the mtf. Maybe the pressure plate is worn but not sure...

[USAF EP3]

To check if the clutch is indeed on its way out do this following check:

1. Get the car between 25-35mph and put it in the highest gear possible (5th or 6th).

2. Mash the gas pedal to 100% to ensure full load is being exerted from the engine.

One of two things will happen:

1. The engine bogs and you accelerate slowly (this is good this means your clutch is working)

OR

2. The engine free revs and you do not gain any acceleration or it accelerates erratically. (This is bad)

[303EP]

I somewhat had this same problem. My car wouldn't go into gear under hard acceleration. I would have to slow down, slowly shift, and get back on the gas. I replaced my master cylinder with an em2 one and my problems went away

[captaingamez]

First you guys should stop using Honda MTF, and go get two bottles of Amsoil Synchromesh, You will notice a huge difference IMMEDIATELY.

Second,you should always rev match or double clutch at high RPM to save your synchros.

Thats what I do, never grinds, never resists, and it never gives me an issue.

[usedep3]

First you guys should stop using Honda MTF, and go get two bottles of Amsoil Synchromesh, You will notice a huge difference IMMEDIATELY.


Friction modified fluids aren't necessarily best across the board. I know with a mechanical LSD, I would want to use a 'traditional' transmission fluid. I do agree that you will notice a smoother shift with the syncromesh but I don't know if it's 'better' per se.

For reference, take a look at the FAQ section in this link: http://www.wavetrac.net/technical.htm

[captaingamez]

Thats probably true with LSD, I thought about that, since I do eventually plan on installing one, but I never read up on if the Amsoil was good or not.

I'll check it out.

But I feel that the Synchromesh is an improvement on our non LSD trannies.

[team ERA 5]

I appreciate the input. I'll probably replace my clutch master cylinder next week to see if this solves the issue. If not I'll need to crack open the tranny and replace my clutch.

[usedep3]

Have you had any issues with the CMC? creaking or clicking?

If you're having difficulty getting into gear, it could be the issue I had before. When I converted my 5 speed, I had trouble going into 6th gear and it would pop out from time to time. It ended up being the syncro ring. You'll have to crack open the case to check though so it'll be after you rule out the clutch being the culprit.

[captaingamez]

Bleed the clutch master, and check the clutch like USAF said.

If the clutch feels good still then I would at least try the Amsoil, we have no LSD stock, and I really did notice a huge and extended improvement, I have been running it for over 100000 miles, and my tranny is in amazing condition with nearly 300k on it. the 50+k prior to this 100k on Amsoil I was using Lucas.