Rep Power: 128

I gave up on another Honda forum and thought I'd give you guys a try. In general I've read better things on this forum and I probably should have become a member here in the first place than to have wasted my time. So here it goes.
Recently I was really bummed to find out I had a bad final drive bearing in my transmission. It's an automatic and to replace the shop has to rebuild the transmission and it'll cost about $2600 to fix, assuming none of the gears in it are trashed. It's an 05 LX 4 door with side airbags with only 97000 miles. We've owned since it only had 8000 miles. It's in excellent condition otherwise and has been meticulously maintained. My wife drove it most of the time and it's never been abused. It still runs and drives great but has a growling / humming noise when it goes over 30 mph. I just bought new tires for it a little over a month ago.
My dilemma is that I don't really want to dump so much into it but my wife still likes it but even she's not sure we should keep it. I've done a lot of reading about these transmissions and it seems there have been a lot of issues with them but supposedly it was improved in 2004. I'm not fully convinced the rebuild is going to last another 97K miles or even half that. The shop I would use is a highly rated shop and talking to them they know this transmission very well. They offer a 2 year / 24K mile warranty and they feel after they rebuild it it should go another 100K miles but I have my doubts.
We don't plan on replacing it even if we decide to sell it as we have another car that can take over daily service for her.
I appreciate any advice you guys can give me.

 
Rep Power: 142

Who diagnosed the noise as the transmission? I would hate to hear that the trans bearing that is bad was actually a bad wheel bearing or something similar. All trans shops are going to sound like they know what they are doing, but honda does build their trans differently than every other company.

 
Rep Power: 210

My guess is that forum has the letters H and T in it's name. Yes, this forum is much more drama free.

Cheaper and probably better option would be to find a used, non-rebuilt, low mileage transmission on-line or at a local salvage yard. Should be able to purchase one for around $200-$500 depending on mileage. DIY install for cheapest route. Some salvage yards offer install services, or source a local mechanic (but, not a transmission shop) that has experience with Honda's and is reasonable.

 
Rep Power: 210

Agree. Get a second opinion or more

From what I have read on several sites: With 7th gens the majority of 2001-2003 model transmissions were built by Mitsubishi and used some plastic parts instead of metal that failed early. The late 2003-2005 were built by Honda and issues were addressed. Hopefully, others will chime in and correct me if I am wrong.

 
Rep Power: 209

if you have owned it for that long and assuming you have not had any other major repairs to deal with then in my opinion you are doing very well, the car really does not owe you anything at this point,


this sounds like a bad wheel bearing




what is the value of the car now as it sits?.....scrap yard value?.....$250-$500 bucks?

 
Rep Power: 128

It was first looked at by my general mechanic who I take things to when I'm not totally sure what it is. It took it to him thinking it might have been a wheel bearing. I had checked it while I raised up one wheel up and then the other while running it in drive. Then I raised both wheels and crawled under it with it running (on jack stands, parking brake on and rear wheel blocked). The sound came more like it from the middle of the transaxle then the wheels. So since I wasn't sure, I took it to my guy and he is the one who said it was coming from the transaxle and not the wheel bearings. He then reffered me to a good shop and they're the ones confirming the issue from the transmission.
I've thought about a used transmission but that's a crap shoot in itself unless I can drive the car it came from originally. These boxes look the same from the outside and there's no real guarantee I won't get one as bad or worse. Some yards offer 30 or so day warranty but won't refund any install costs. I have the shop manual and it shows it's more work than I want to deal with and if I get a bad box that's even more work I don't want to mess with.
I won't scrap the car in any case but I'm thinking I might get at least $2000 or $3000 for it since it's still perfectly drivable and I'll be up front about the the fact it needs a new transmission.


And yes, much less drama here guys.

 
Rep Power: 210

1) Soon to be 11 year old car
2) Near base model
3) 100K miles
4) Known transmission issue that needs total replacement or repair

Selling it as "mechanic special" you might get $2000 tops unless, you get extremely lucky. I can't speak for anyone else but, if I am a car buyer and I hear transmission issue I walk away. I wouldn't buy a car with a known rebuilt transmission either.

One other option would be to convert it to a manual transmission. A lot of work but, once done much cheaper to repair or replace than an automatic.

 
Rep Power: 128

My wife doesn't like manuals so that's not likely to happen.
Maybe I could have some fun at a demolition derby? Maybe not.

 
Rep Power: 518

Just how loud is the noise??
Does it sound like an airplane flying next to you?

 
Rep Power: 128

It's not too loud. It sounds like a muffled roar that does change in pitch or get louder with speed after 40 mph.

 
Rep Power: 518

If you're gonna just dump it, do it before the noise gets loud enough to sound expensive and scary to a prospective buyer. Maybe you can shrug and say 'I don't hear anything'. LOL

 
Rep Power: 128

As I said before I wouldn't try to hide nor down play the problem if I try to sell it. I looked on a used part database and there's no transmission in my area with low enough mileage to consider for under $1000.

 
Rep Power: 210

Can try Ebay $300-600 w/free shipping.. some are even JDM but, seems most have high mileage.

 
Rep Power: 128

I looked over the offerings on ebay and nothing seemed worthwhile. The ones with supposed low mileage looked way worse externally than mine does at on 97K miles.
We still haven't made a decision what we're going to do. The trans seems to be roaring a bit louder.

 
Rep Power: 209

are you SURE this is the transmission?

cause what you are describing sounds like a bad wheel bearing to me,

does the noise get louder the faster you go?

is it humming or buzzing sound?

 
Rep Power: 128

It sounds very much like a bad bearing in the transaxle. The sound is in the middle and not at either wheel.
I had similar sounds coming from a manual transmission years ago and it had a bad bearings.

 
Rep Power: 518

www.car-part.com

 
Rep Power: 128

That's were I checked and found there's no transmission in my area with low enough mileage to consider for under $1000.
I live in the Portland metro area and for whatever reason, everything is more expensive than anywhere else.

 
Rep Power: 203

If I had other cars to drive I would make a project out of DIY bearing replacement. I realize not everyone wants to do this but it would be a fractional cost while retaining the original transmission. If there's a trades/technical school around maybe a project for them? Just throwing some ideas out for you.

 
Rep Power: 128

The school idea sounds like a good one. My wife does have another car to use, our 06 MDX. I've also been pondering the idea of going ahead and pulling the transmission out myself and opening it it up and replacing the bad bearings. I have the shop manual and have studied it quite a bit today. I've also read through this thread: https://www.civicforums.com/forums/3...stigation.html. The actual photos give me a good idea of how it looks inside. The one thing that worries me is that there are some special tools needed including one that looks a bit unique, the one to split the case open.
I've worked on a few Mercedes automatics before but they seemed easier to work on, including the removal process.
I've have more studying and searching the internet to do.

 
Rep Power: 366

Interesting, so your trans is not slipping, which is the majority of the 2001-2202 auto trans issues. It's rather a bearing noise (worn out)

Either way, it's a "do it while it's out" thing, so the trans shop was right on saying to rebuild it while it's out...

don't forget that also at 100k miles, you need change the timing belt and for the sake of it (some have past 200k on their pump) do the water pump at the same time.

so, in the end, as sarcastic as ezone sounds, he's right on his remarks...

mine is a manual, so i am still running it, makes me happy that it's giving me 40+ MPG, so i plan on keeping it.

whatever you decide, these are great cars (aside from trans and other things that when they start to break, they will keep breaking for a while....)

PS: Like mentioned above, we can be sarcastic but some of us are sarcastic but do help

 
Rep Power: 128

My car is an 05. The transmission isn't slipping but it has had a delay in moving when cold on cold mornings. We've never got over 35mpgs, usually averaging only about 28 to 30 mpgs.
Doing the timing belt depends if I get the transmission sorted out. I'll definitely do that myself.

 
Rep Power: 209

seems like normal fuel mileage for an auto to me,

i would suggest getting a professional opinion about that noise, i am still confident its a wheel bearing, but its your car and your money,

 
Rep Power: 518

Differential side bearing issues in this particular trans seem quite rare IMO but not completely unheard of.
Wheel bearing noise is by far more common.

Test DIY?

Jack up both front wheels off the ground and support car proper with safety stands.

Run the engine, put shifter in D and and let them spin, have someone in the car hold the speed at 30 MPH.

(30 showing on the speedometer while forcing one wheel to stop spinning will make the free wheel spin at double the indicated speed, so it will spin at 60 MPH, and wheel bearings will usually be heard pretty loud between 40-60+)

Carefully stop one wheel from spinning (I force a long prybar against the tread, you might use a long 2x4 or something strong and handy), listen if the other side makes noise. (person in the car should be able to hear the noises and confirm too)

Then carefully stop the other wheel from spinning, see if the first one makes noise. (person in the car should be able to hear the noises and confirm too)



If stopping either side front wheel makes the noise increase or quit, it's a wheel bearing.
If stopping either wheel makes zero difference, you're back to the trans.

 
Rep Power: 128

Ezone, I did the test you mention and the noise was on neither side but in the middle.

 
Rep Power: 209

watch this video.......


if you choose to do this use EXTREME CAUTION,

make sure the car is supported on a JACKSTAND, not just your car jack,

chalk both rear wheels and engage the parking brake,

i did this before to help determine which side my bad bearing was on

 
Rep Power: 128

Thanks, that's the one I watched and whose method I followed. Really easy test to do.

 
Rep Power: 209

and what were your results and conclusion?

i am having a very difficult time believing this is a tranny issue,

maybe you should take a video with sound and post it?

 
Rep Power: 128

My results were inconclusive which is why I took it to a guy I trust. He was the one who confirmed my suspicion that the sound wasn't coming from either wheel bearing.
When I had the front end up in the air, one wheel at a time, it sounded like I had it at each wheel I checked but it seemed a bit further in. I then had it with both wheels off the ground and the sound didn't come from the wheels but somewhere in between. I crawled underneath it with it in gear going about 30 and I heard the sound coming right from the where the axles insert into the transaxle and not anywhere else.

 
Rep Power: 366

huh, sorry for making you go around in circles...

like mentioned, the moment you drop it and open the can, there will come a lot more worms from it... as in timing belt, the trans internals, etc...