Rep Power: 0

3rd gear grinds in my 1998 civic ex, MT. In order for it not to grind I have to apply gentle pressure on the shifter and just let the transmission take it into 3rd when it's ready. I am unable to shift even a little bit aggressively into 3rd. My idea is to start by changing the fluid with some amsoil.

I don't know which bolt is the fill hole. There are two bolts with a receiving head for a plain socket wrench( I guess like a 3/8 wrench). One of them is on the bottom (I guess the drain plug) and the other is on the side facing the passenger side. Then there is another regular looking bolt with what looks to be around 18mm that could be the fill hole. The regular looking bolt is positioned more towards the rear of the car on the transmission, but still facing the passenger side.

My questions are: will changing the fluid help? and if so, which bolt do I remove to fill the MT. I'm not super machanically inclined, but this looks to be easy. I think it is just important that I hit the right hole.

 
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Well im not sure the interval but if you havent already been changing your tranny fluid it could have screwed up your transmission. I think its supposed the be changed every 48,000km on that model. But makes sure you get the right fluid first of all. You need to have the proper gear oil in there or you will screw things up even worse. The top plug is your check plug. That is where you fill it from. The bottom plug is your drain plug. Find out what kind of fluid it needs and start from there. Its worth a try but it will most likely not fix your problem by the sounds of things.

 
Rep Power: 214

Your 3rd gear synchro is shot.