5th gear - on its road out!

[linzi94]

gradually my 5th gear doesnt want to play anymore, it randomly grinds into 5th and just as randomly pops out of 5th gear when driving.

as i work in honda, the techs have advised me to change it as there is a risk it could "break up" and damage more parts inside the gear box.

new synchro around £200 (to me)
new 5th gear £60
plus friendly labour rate

woe is me

 

[MilanoChris]

Have you tried changing the gearbox oil?

 

[linzi94]

yes

 

[BadBadtz]

Are your gear linkages straight??

 

[linzi94]

yes the 2 "pins" at the ends of the cables on top of the gear box are freely moving and clean. my darn aem that normally causes the 5th gear bother is fine at the moment too.

 

[celox performance]

The gearbox is one of the weakest links on a DC5 unfortunately

 

[C&S Evo7]

i would have to disagree with that comment sorry, the boxes are generally very strong unless they are abused, we have only changed the odd box compared to a couple of engines while racing, we have changed loads of cables tho, Linzi, just cause the pins are free doesn't mean the cable is ok, if they are slightly bent it can also cause problems with 5th gear selection, do you have a quickshift?

 

[celox performance]

The DC5 is a very reliable car but I do have to say that the gearbox is one of the weakest points of the car. I know various tuners have seen stripped synchros but I haven't really heard of any other common problems with the DC5.

In your opinion Simon, what are the weakest parts on the DC5?

 

[linzi94]

i dont have a short or quick shift, its all standard.

i know there were 3 bulletins about problems in 2002 CTR gear boxes:

difficult selection 2nd gear caused by 5/6th synchro surface high friction

gear stiff to select or jumps out of gear caused by bush around selector pin on the gear box restricting movement

difficulty shifting from 4th to 5th caused by incorrect position of electronic solenoid on transmission casing.

but my techs are all agreed its the synchro.

i suppose i'll just need to "hand it over" to one of them to have a right good look and diagnose the actual problem, this may mean stripping the box.

 

[logik]

Can you let us know the outcome please? And what the actually problem was?

As mentioned before, i only have an issue with 2nd gear, but this only happens when the car is cold. Once it heats up, the issue is gone.

 

[linzi94]

sure, the new parts are sitting on my desk at the moment, hopefully get it repaired next week.

should be able to get the old parts back and i'll post pics if the damage is evident.

 

[logik]

Thanks mate. Good luck with it, hope its a speedy fix.

 

[C&S Evo7]

If you start playing with big power then yes the box is not great, but generally if its not abused it should last well, we have only had one problem with one box out of 6 regularly used race cars that i know of, they are all running with normal mods kpro exhaust etc. all have plate diffs too and race oil of some description and i would say driven fairly hard.
I would say the weakest link sadly is the engine we have changed more of these due to problems than gearboxes. the shifter cables are not great and can bend at the shifter end, but thats about it.

Generally i would say the dc5 is one of if not the toughest cars i have ever owned, it has been supremely reliable with normal servicing
they don't really suffer from any problems .

 

[logik]

Out of curiosity C&S Evo7, what has been the problem with the Engine?

 

[C&S Evo7]

melted pistons (no3) a couple of times (differenc cars tho). the race cars are used for endurance racing we have had a couple of coil pack faliurs too and occasionally they get buzzed (5th-2nd etc) this is usually a good way to grenade the motor.
we are getting a bit off topic here can we go back to Linzis gear problem please

 

[linzi94]

as far as abuse goes - you can ask any of my friends, i just dont drive it hard. its my daily driver and does about 10k a year. its never been round a track, and mybe hits crail (1/4 mile) 2 or 3 times a year.

mybe i thought it would last a bit longer than 6 years before something this expensive to fix happened to it.

 

[logik]

Sadly though we never know what way the car has been treated prior to you buying it. The Gearbox oil may not have been changed and they may have drove it a little harder than you.

How is it coming along though? Work starting today on it?

 

[linzi94]

i suppose your right, mybe it got run ragged round Japan!

its getting fixed next tuesday, so i'll be pimpin it in a diesel 3 series :lol:

 

[logik]

320D is nice to drive

Please keep me updated as to the actually problem and how it was fixed

 

[griffy]

let me know how you get on mate as I am having similar issues, sometimes sweet as sometimes change in 2nd feels sh#te :shock:

Tom had a look last week and we are trying new cables in a week or so, how much would a syncro cost to replace anyone know?