Rep Power: 0

Hello all! I am a proud new owner of a 1993 Honda Civic DX that I bought from a repo man for a price I couldn't refuse. Anyway, for the most part I got an awesome deal. There are some mysteries however, for instance actual mileage is not 100% confident. I had to get a new title and it appears that the new speedo assembly might not be original. That says 200k, but from the way it runs, it seems that either there is much less on it, or that the engine has been replaced. Anyway, she runs pretty awesome, enginewise. Idle is smooth and near whisper quiet, especially after it warms up a bit. Good acceleration, smooth running, no major leaks of any sort, etc.

However, there seems to be some slight transmission issues, but this I am not 100% sure of. As far as the clutch and shifting it is actually pretty smooth as well, though in 4th and 5th gear power is decrease quite a bit on inclines. It is the 1.5l stock that comes with the DX so it could just be normal.

Here is the kicker, the problem is really hard to explain without actually hearing it (not to mention it is hard to explain a sound in words).

When it is cold, and it seems as though it is only present in 1st-3rd gear(most in first, a little less present in 2nd and even less in 3rd) and when there is load on the engine from either incline or high RPMs I hear what can only be described as the sound of metal hitting metal. Actually, sort of like what it would sound like if you would hold a metal rod in the blade of a metal fan when it is on.

I do not think that it is from anything hitting the fan or anything because it happens at unrelated times.

If I am sitting still in no gear with the clutch out, I can hear the sound, but it is not as pronouced as when driving; however, if I press the clutch in at this point, I can no longer hear it.

When I start to drive in 1st, it sounds perfectly normal, up to about 3k RPM (I am guessing as I do not yet have a tach in the car), then it is almost as if the sound gets amplified on purpose. Same ramping up of the RPMS, but just a bit louder and a bit more "metal on metal" sounding if that makes sense. It does not sound like griding gears by the way.

There is no apparent loss of power when this happens by the way. Then, when I put it into second, it stops again until I get back up to about 3k again.

Also, when I am slowing down and am in gear I get the "surging" effect as you experience when you are driving very slowly in 1st or 2nd gear. Perhaps this is normal, but it seems a little excessive. Now, here is the weird thing, when it is cold and I am slowing down after being only in 1st or 2nd I hear the said noise all the way until slow down, even with the clutch held in.

Sorry for the long-windedness here, but like I said it is hard to describe. Perhaps tomorrow, I will try to record the noise on my phone and paste a link.

I was reading and in some ways it seems like the throw bearing and in some ways it seems like a mount issue. Any help would be awesome!

Mike

 
Rep Power: 208

Could be that your clutch is completely toast and it is just metal on metal. That's my best guess without actually hearing it. It doesn't sound like a TO bearing they usually make more noise when the cluth is disengaged.

 
Rep Power: 215

Thats not the TO bearing especially if it does it when the clutch is out. Its pretty hard to tell what it is. The only thing I can tell you is take your tranni off and take a look at it.

 
Rep Power: 0

Is there a possibility it could be the gear syncros? I had an old truck that did something similar to that on occasion.
Just a thought.

 
Rep Power: 208

I still think your clutch is worn way past it's limits and is slipping, but it is hard to tell by the description.