preparing for the death of my SS Trans... - Honda Prelude Forum

DeadFish · 11-25-2003, 03:44 PM

Im at 90K right now.. and my trans is starting to act goofy.

I have noticed the following symptoms that my trans is slowly dieing:

Only when the car is very cold in the morning that it acts like this:

The shift from 2nd to 3rd on the very first run of the day the car nearly goes up to 3500 rpms and then shifts into gear! Its scary watching the Tach climb before it shifts.

it is only this very first shift that the trans seems to be dieing.

After 20 minutes or even less of going through the gears driving around.. the car seems to shift gears smoothly once again.
I guess the trans finally "warms up" is my only assumption.

( well, it never was exactly "silky smooth" for a SS.)

When the weather is warm.. the car shifts fine for the most part.. but on occasion it still does that 3500 rpm shift in the morning.

Are these symptoms something to worry about?

Any precautions I should take now?

I am driving the car less and less in the winter now because of it.

Si4WS · 11-25-2003, 03:53 PM

Have you changed the fluid recently?

DeadFish · 11-25-2003, 07:08 PM

I been going by the shop manual, so no I havent done that.
I did recently get my timing belt service completed... a few thousand miles ago.

MonStar · 11-25-2003, 08:04 PM

Hey DeadFish, can you explain in a little more detail what exactly its doing? Because mine, especially when the engine is cold does something along the same lines. I have an SS with 97K miles.

Mine when I accelerate from a deadstop shooted the RPM's up a little when switching from 1st to 2nd. Kind of hard to explain actually. Instead of the gear just shifting normally from first to second it sounds like the engine almost revs a little bit. Who knows.

I hope that my tranny doesnt crap out on me anytime soon. I dont have the $3,500 to swap it to a 5-speed.

Vi3tboiiz · 11-25-2003, 09:32 PM

Well mine is doing the same thing

.. in the morning..the shift from 1-2 feels like it is SLipping... Rpm Jumps and then catchs into gear...same things from 2-3... rpm jumps then goes back down then changes gear... Its Dying SlOwLy!!!!! gettin worst n worst everyday!

MedinaJ78 · 11-25-2003, 09:51 PM

Yep!

Myne did exacly the same thing guys before Honda had to replace it under warranty.

Myne did it during shifts from 1st to 2nd.

Honda only told me the clutch pads were worn on myne. But they ordered an entire remanufactured transmission.

For those of you with Under 100K I suggest trying to see if maybe purchasing a warranty is still possible, that may be cheaper. Cuz then they'd have to replace it under warranty.

MonStar · 11-25-2003, 09:57 PM

Well, if mine dies on me in the next month or 2, I am going to completely blame it on this recent accident I got into. The D4 light was flashing after the accident, etc. I told Nationwide again and again "if my tranny goes out its YOUR fault." And they said that they would take full responsibility.

But MedinaJ78, curious, after you noticed it was revving during the changing from 1st to 2nd, how much longer did it last?

MedinaJ78 · 11-25-2003, 10:04 PM

Myne started to do it a whiel back ago just every once in a while....

Approximately 10k later maybe, it just started doing it alll the time.

It was rediculous, cuz for it to shift smooth I'd have to anticipate when it would change gears to 2nd so i can let off the gas some and let it shift up then give it gas again so i can proceed to GO!

You know whats funny is that when i took t in and said SS's were problematic, the dealership said they had NEVER gotten any Preludes in for the same problem.

So I lectured the guy for a while about ALL the stuff I've read and known about SS's.....

He said he learned something from me and later thanked me for it.

I have a HELMS @ home and can tell you from it what it means when the "D" lite is flashing. Maybe it is simpler for you to fix it from the code its tripping that makes the "D" lite flash.

B0b · 11-25-2003, 10:10 PM

MonStar. don't get leather seats and the s2000 wheel. your half way to your tranny swap.

DeadFish · 11-25-2003, 11:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MonStar
Instead of the gear just shifting normally from first to second it sounds like the engine almost revs a little bit.

Well I think we are both describing the same thing.

I am probably going to go the "Trans bulletproofing" route through Level 10 if it starts getting worse. Since I will be up north
for skiing, etc I could get the work done at the main shop.

I really do want to keep this car forever.. so if it comes to going the 5 speed swap.. I guess I am going to have to learn how to shift gears a heluva lot better on some beater first.

Im not made out of money... so which ever way is the cheapest route that reaps the longest benfits is the way I am going to go.

For now Im going to wash the lude as much as possible .. at least to keep it looking good.

any suggestions what is the cheapest route? anyone?

sucks I bought a honda for its reliability... and my old mustang's trans only started dieing around 175,000

DeadFish · 11-25-2003, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MonStar
I told Nationwide again and again "if my tranny goes out its YOUR fault." And they said that they would take full responsibility.

get that it in writing ASAP.

MonStar · 11-26-2003, 09:29 AM

DeadFish, hmm that's a good idea. Looks like Ill be giving Nationwide a call today.

Also, the problem with getting Nationwide to pay for it, is this. I honestly do NOT want another SS tranny. If anything, I would want to swap it to a 5-speed. And I know that Nationwide isnt going to fork out the $3,500 to swap it to a 5-speed.

I am wondering though, if I buy the PARTS for the swap myself, I wonder how much Ben Schaeffer would charge for the labor? Because $3,500 including parts is pretty steep...

MonStar · 11-26-2003, 09:33 AM

BTW, I am going to try and finish up my modding before I consider 5-speed swapping. S2K seats and steering wheel, OEM kit, and then start collect parts for the swap.

In terms of a 5-speed though, are there any worthy mods that maybe I should consider doing at the same time I get it swapped? I was thinking about LSD, but I dont know if thats really worth $1K.

SilverLudeRider · 11-26-2003, 10:26 AM

What year are all your ludes that are acting up?

MonStar · 11-26-2003, 10:35 AM

1997 here, just turned over 97,500 miles. Still on the same tranny though, which is one good thing. And honestly, since I bought it with 88K, the gears never shifted smoothly.

Strange this is that my non-tiptronic automatic '98 Accord shifted the same way. Especially when cold, etc.

DeadFish · 11-26-2003, 04:00 PM

1998 , with 90K here.

SilverLudeRider · 11-26-2003, 04:21 PM

anyone heard any 99 -01 going bad?

MonStar · 11-26-2003, 04:25 PM

LOL SilverLudeRider, yeah man, unfortunately all of the SS trannies are not as reliable as the 5-speeds.

There's no way around it, just do what you can to help the situation, get the tranny fluid changed often, etc.

One idea that I was thinking about that I do now anyway is this. I get the impression driving an SS that driving it while the engine is cold really stresses it. So I am thinking about letting the car warmup first thing in the morning for 10-15 minutes. Especially during the cold winter mornings.

LudeMaster98 · 11-26-2003, 08:14 PM

'98 ss with 96k on it. I have the same troubles in cold weather. normally i just let it warm up a little longer and it seems "normal", as far as normal goes.

my D4 light actually went out, never flashed, but went out all together. I took it to honda and they ran diagnostics and such and came back to me with...."the light bulb is burnt out". Go figure. anyway, they changed the tranny fluid and replaced the bulb and it seems to be going well.

DeadFish · 11-26-2003, 08:48 PM

yea it sucks having to sit there and warm up a 'lude like its a dumbestic. Even in the manual it says its unnessessary, and that the car will warm up faster in motion. ( especially for the A/C .)

I guess I too will be warming it up a little longer.

What about getting the engine warmer from the canadian models down here and installed? I think they make those right?