Civic Type R & Gearbox

[BBS-LM]

Hi, I need some advise please.

I have been thinking about getting a Civic Type R EP3, but after some research over at civictype-r.co.uk, I'm not very confident in buying one. From the info I got on the car it seem there is a problem with the gearbox, second gear seem to pop out, or it's very hard to get into second gear from a cold start, and the only fix for the problem seem to be a new gearbox at £700, or more. So is this gearbox a problem with most EP3, or was it just a bad batch with only some of the cars produced.

[Carfiend]

Never heard of that one. Only common problem I am aware of is one it shares with the DC5 Integra where one of the engine mounts can wear quickly. Had to replace the one on my DC5 and cost about £200 parts and labour.

[kristy_666]

2nd and 3rd gear synchro's do tend to take a bit of a battering due to the nature of the engine (high reving, peaky power delivery), on a B-road hoon your probably going to be changing between these two gears pretty much constantly to keep in the power band.

If the previous owner has been aggressive on upshifts slamming it into gear without a split second pause in neutral or not rev matching on downshifts it'll wear out the synchros pretty quickly.

Wether there is an inherent weakness with the box or it's the way they are treated is open for debate but it's quite a common problem as it is with DC2's though IME no where near as bad.

It is generally quite a knotchy box until it's up to operating temp so don't discount a car until you've had a decent test drive but if it's very stiff walk away, mine over Winter months in the very cold was an absolute bh to get into second to the point I just skipped it and went straight to 3rd gear until the box had warmed up, in the Summer time it was fine.

I fitted Polybush engine mounts to mine and it greatly improved it, more direct, precise and felt less knotchy

http://www.funkypower.co.uk/catalogue.php?t=p&...

You do tend to get more vibrations through the car but for me it was a worthwhile trade off.

[fido]

Not had a problem with mine in 8 years! As mentioned before the only issue is when the gearbox is cold .. bit tight and doesn't always want to go into gear. Solution: just drive round at 10mph changing between gears till it's nicely lubricated - kinda like automotive foreplay.

Edited by fido on Wednesday 2nd March 17:38

[BBS-LM]

Well, if you go over to civictype-r.co.uk there is a 14+ pages thread on the "2nd Gear Fix From Honda!"


http://civictype-r.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&...

[kristy_666]

BBS-LM said:

Well, if you go over to civictype-r.co.uk there is a 14+ pages thread on the "2nd Gear Fix From Honda!"


http://civictype-r.co.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=40&...

Must admit that thread did put me off buying one before I got mine, I drove around half a dozen before settling on one and tbh none of them put me off due to the gearchange, some felt abit stiffer compared to others but all were fine after ten minutes or so.

All the Type R's suffer from similar problems from cold to one degree or another, there designed to work at a specific temperature, before they get to that temp they don't feel very slick atall never mind the accolades they get for 'best gearchange'.

Test drive as many as you can you'll soon notice the difference if you come across a duffer, a very small percentage of them suffer with this problem don't let it put you off.

[fido]

BBS-LM said:

Well, if you go over to civictype-r.co.uk there is a 14+ pages thread on the "2nd Gear Fix From Honda!"

If you type in any <insert Make><insert Model>2nd gear you'll get loads of issues whatever .. try 'Ford Focus 2nd Gear Issues' .. Oh, and don't try the same with Mini Cooper - you'll have a heart attack. Having said that the FN2 did have a very specific problem with 2nd gear that afflicted the earlier batch.

[bonesX]

Gearbox's are a problem on all the 'small' Honda's: Civic, Integra, Jazz. Biggest problem is bearings, especially 1st motion shaft.

'box bearing refurb costs ~£1K at Honda, or slightly less at transmission specialist. The bearings cost £500 and can only be sourced from Honda

Google honda gearbox bearings to see owner's pain

Easy way to check is listen from inside when engine is idling and press the clutch. Sound should not change much

[thebutch]

I had my EP3 for over 2 years, racked up almost 30k and it never put a foot wrong. Still miss it now, best all rounder daily drive I have had and never had any issues with the gearbox or any thing what so ever in fact. Only costs in 2 years was servicing, a fresh set of rubber and I popped some Ferodo DS2500 pads on the front which made a massive difference.

As others have already said there are always going to be good and bad ones out there, I went and saw 6 before finally finding the minter I was after. Once you have had a look at a handful and are able to compare them you will soon be able to spot a well cared for example.

Good luck in your search and don't let a handful of horror story's put you off, its a great car

[fido]

bonesX said:

Google honda gearbox bearings to see owner's pain

The only link i see is to this thread? And we're talking about the EP3 Civic Type-R .. which isn't a Jazz 1.4 or a DC2 Integra (which i previously owned and isn't perfect from a gearchange perspective). Just interested to know, because i haven't heard of any major issues with the EP3 or DC5 with regards to the 'box - IMO one of the best 6-speed in any car.

[bonesX]

That's puzzling as my first page of results is full of of related Honda gearbox related forum threads and discussion...?

My DC5 1st motion shaft bearings were noisy and I had the all the bearings replaced just recently. I scoured the 'net and found gearbox issues quite common, especially on the 'smaller' Honda's. I was searching bearing related problems

[fido]

bonesX said:

That's puzzling as my first page of results is full of of related Honda gearbox related forum threads and discussion...?

Yes, that's because if you do a search on Google for "Honda 1st motion shaft bearings" it will find you all the related Honda gearbox related forum threads and discussion .. Google-tastic

Try '1st motion shaft bearings problems' in Google and the first link is to Mini, for example .. and then a TR7 .. clearly something to worry about other than the porous cylinder head.

[RobCrezz]

When I bought my old EP3, I noticed 2nd gear was "notchy" when cold. A simple gearbox oil change sorted this for me - Some people have said that using slick 50 gearbox treatment works too.

When warm its one of the best gearboxes though!