H22A tranny problem...(basically no 2nd gear)

[gloryaccordy]

Alright so I got another CB and I have a pretty basic but serious problem. I barely have 2nd gear. Here's the setup:

Non LSD Gearspeed rebuilt H22 tranny w/Quaife LSD installed
ACT HDSS (about 2-3 years old)
Forbidden short shift kit

I think the culprit may be the short shift kit as shifting just feels shitty all around... every gear engages differently and 2nd is just terrible. The big problem is, when I shift to 2nd, it engages about 20% of the time... the rest of the time, it either pops out or just grinds and doesn't engage at all.

My questions are...
-Could this be caused by the Forbidden shifter and fixed with a regular shifter?
-Could this be caused by bad tranny oil? GM Synchromesh was used religiously, albeit perhaps not wisely
-If the 2nd gear synchro is the culprit (gulp), is the tranny worth saving? A "new" H22 tranny costs about $600-700, an H23 tranny costs even less

The car's probably gonna sit for a month or two as I don't wanna exacerbate the problem... in any case... provide some guidance and insight

[cp[mike]]

mike's tranny?

anyhoo id assume its not synchros, as it was rebuilt not long ago... if it is, you have some problems...

id put a stock shifter in, and put 2 fresh quarts of honda type-2 MTF, and make sure its not currently leaking!! getting low on oil causes oddball problems.

my first bet would be on the shifter.

[93twodoorLX]

if it turns out to be the shifter then you wanna sell the shifter?

-sean

[gloryaccordy]

It is Mike's tranny...

I think it's the shifter too, combined with the ridiculously stiff pressure plate. I just went for a quick spin and found that if I absolutely stand on the clutch it goes into 2nd. It also needs a fresh pair of axles.

Sean, if you're not busy tomorrow I'd be glad to meet up and do this trade as well as go back to regular tranny oil, if you South Jersey peeps are free. I find it odd that a freshly built tranny could have bad synchros... the engagements just don't feel right... I think it's the shifter.

[cp[mike]]

interesting. it goes in if you mash the pedal down all the way?

perhaps in its normal range of travel, the pedal isnt disengaging the clutch all the way.

you could try adjusting the master cylinder, its very easy, and its a small detail that i have a feeling mike wouldnt have paid attention to...

loosen the nut and give the rod a few turns in the direction of the blue arrow, see if it makes any difference, you can always spin it back to where it was. what this does is basically make the master cylinder push more fluid, compared to the normal range of travel of the pedal. that, in turn, makes the clutch disengage further.

[img]http://www.****.com/pics/adjusting_clutch.jpg[/img]

[93twodoorLX]

what do you mean by trade. i mean if you want i have a 5th gen shifter and the corresponding shift cable bushing that makes it a direct swap. i'd gladly trade you that. and is it a real deal authentic forbidden short shifter? PM me to talk more about it, i dont wanna whore your thread with business

heres my thread of my research and stuff on the 5th gen shifter swap
http://www.cb7tuner.com/vbb/showthread.php?t=71600

p.s. mikes idea sounds like a good one too

-sean

[gloryaccordy]

Thanks cpmike... I will give that a shot tomorrow. It definitely seems like the clutch isn't fully disengaging.... and the other gears are shifting by the grace of their synchros. I'll break out the spanners and report back later.

[owequitit]

I would agree with the master cylinder adjustment.

Makes a huge difference in overall performance, but not overall feel. Well it can if it is WAAAAAY off, but your foot can't really detect a 1/2" difference.

We had the same problem with Ray's tranny when we put the HDSS in his car, and thought that the 2nd and 3rd syncros were toast.

Readjusting the clutch eliminated the problem.

I have a PSPEC short shifter on mine which is similar to the Forbidden, but I don't have any issues with it like that.

The force to get it into gear is a little higher due to the reduced lever arm, but no grinding should be associated with the shifter.

Also, Gearspeed trannies are pretty stout, much stronger than stock syncros, and I have seen those take huge beatings and walk away.

Interestingly, every Gearspeed tranny I have ever seen comes with a tag attached to it that say "use Genuine Honda Manual Transmission Fluid Only."

Just make sure you get the new stuff with the green label...it is like syncromesh sorta, but better.

[h22sparkle]

Its not that yaw you just cant drive to save your life. The clutch pedal must be all the way down you don tknow how to drive a lightweight flywheel and heavy clutch. You have to get used to it and as far as the shortshifter stop jamming through the gears soo hard remember its a shortshifter if you jam it through the gears its gonna spit it back out you gotta be easy with it but aahhh what do i know. BTW it gets picked up tommorrow

[gloryaccordy]

Its not that yaw you just cant drive to save your life. The clutch pedal must be all the way down you don tknow how to drive a lightweight flywheel and heavy clutch. You have to get used to it and as far as the shortshifter stop jamming through the gears soo hard remember its a shortshifter if you jam it through the gears its gonna spit it back out you gotta be easy with it but aahhh what do i know. BTW it gets picked up tommorrow

If you say so Mike... I'll prob. come check you Sunday

[h22sparkle]

If you say so Mike... I'll prob. come check you Sunday

thats if im home call before you show up imma be having too much fun driving it n8848,n3884, remember what john from Long Island used to say all the time lol. Yo but seriously clutch all the way down when you enguage it remember its a lightweight flywheel you gotta get used to it bro.

[owequitit]

Its not that yaw you just cant drive to save your life. The clutch pedal must be all the way down you don tknow how to drive a lightweight flywheel and heavy clutch. You have to get used to it and as far as the shortshifter stop jamming through the gears soo hard remember its a shortshifter if you jam it through the gears its gonna spit it back out you gotta be easy with it but aahhh what do i know. BTW it gets picked up tommorrow

If the clutch pedal is adjusted correctly, the pedal won't have to be all the way to the floor to disengage the clutch.

I have the same setup, and everything is positioned just like stock.

Also, my short shifter doesn't spit anything back at me...

Yaw.

Let me know if you need the measurement specs on how to measure the clutch, so that the pedal height is correct.

[h22sparkle]

I have to tell him to put his foot all the way down on the clutch because he only pushes it not even halfway down and tries to shift it doesnt work like that. And the reason why the clutch spits it out is because he doesnt fully disengauge in it ahh what do you know you never drove the car so you dont know about that anyway. Fuck it im through with hondas peace

[gloryaccordy]

The problem seems to have gone away completely today... warm weather maybe? When I get a free day I will make that adjustment though as the clutch definitely engages right off the floor.

[NAiL05]

The problem seems to have gone away completely today... warm weather maybe? When I get a free day I will make that adjustment though as the clutch definitely engages right off the floor.

LOL your supposed to have a bit of travel and that will make your clutch last longer too. Its not supposed to engage right off the floor (that can cause your hard shifting into gear sometimes) and yea get that adjusted asap.