Automatic stuck in reverse...Engine racing...???

[hansenmick]

This is such a great forum!!!! Dedicated to ONLY 3'rd-gen Accords!!! I am looking to purchase an '89 4-door auto for about $300. There ARE two issues with the car.

First issue is that the original tranny went out, and the owner replaced it with what looks like a wrecking-yard special (yellow paint-marker numbers on the top), and now the tranny is stuck in reverse (the one he put in). A friend of mine (Honda mechanically inclined, also who I am buying this car through) went and checked it out. He told me the linkage is moving at the tranny, and best he could tell, it was adjusted. I didn't ask, but I assume he checked the fliud level. I have been reading in these forums that the Honda automatics are pretty tempermental as to which fluid the will operate with. Could that be a potential cause? Plugged filter? Even if the tranny IS shot, the same friend has a 3g in his backyard that I can use for parts, it has the same engine only with a five-speed. He will sell me the whole 5-speed setup and help me do the swap for $75. Hell, I'll probably just buy thee whole drivetrain and store it for the future....possible rebuild the engine....who knows.

Second issue is that the engine races....like from idle to 1500r then back to idle. My '89 Civic does kindof the same thing when I start it in the morning and take right off without letting it warm-up. Also, it only does this when I release the gas to hit the brakes. I deal with it by shifting into neutral, wait for the RPM's to settle, then plunk it back into drive.

Any advice will be GREATLY appreciated!!!!!

PS: If anyone in curious, it's DARK metallic blue exterior (clear is gone and no dents), tan and dark brown cloth interior (in near perfect condition), sunroof, A/C, P/W, PDL, Cruise, ect. I don't remember what trim package it was (LXI...???), but she IS loaded. 175k miles. A steal in my mind for $300.

[russiankid]

If your mechanic is offering to help you do the swap with parts for $75 I would get the car and just do the swap. It will save you lots of problems in the long run rather than trying to figure out why the transmission is stuck in reverse. These automatics do not have a filter, they do however have a magnet that collects the metal shavings from wear and tear. When draining the transmission you stick a magnet into the drain hole and clean out all the shavings that could be there.

If indeed you do want to keep the auto, make sure you use Honda ATF. Other fluids may work fine, but from other members on this board Honda fluid works best. For the idle surge, you could try to clean the IACV.

Cheers!

[Hauntd ca3]

do the manual conversion

[Demon1024]

or tighten the FIT. nice find btw and :welcome:

[2oodoor]

It is possible for the linkage to be moving but not connected to the shift rod inside the transmission, you should be able to pull the little cover off , one bolt, and look inside with a light to see if the cotter pin came out.

[hansenmick]

I found out today that my friend did in fact pull off the cover and verified that the cable is moving the linkage....at least at the tranny...not sure if he checked any internal movement. What is the IACV and what is the the FIT? Another interesting development...some @sshole knocked-out the driver's window and stole some fuses out of the fuse block....THAT"S ALL HE TOOK!!!! Moron. The car is unlocked (something mechanically funky with the driver's door lock mechanism), but instaead of checking the door handle, they tried to use a screwdriver as a key. Oh well. All realatively easy fixes.

[2oodoor]

check the other end of the shifter cable then, that is where you adjust it. Or are you saying that it is moving the lever through all the clicks of each gear>
then there is the throttle cable on the front right lower tranny. IF that was never hooked up or severely out of range you would not have foward gears.
Fluid type (as long as it is ATF) isnt going to keep it from enguaging the gears, only fluid quanity...It does need to be the correct fluid though for when it is running.

[russiankid]

I found out today that my friend did in fact pull off the cover and verified that the cable is moving the linkage....at least at the tranny...not sure if he checked any internal movement. What is the IACV and what is the the FIT? Another interesting development...some @sshole knocked-out the driver's window and stole some fuses out of the fuse block....THAT"S ALL HE TOOK!!!! Moron. The car is unlocked (something mechanically funky with the driver's door lock mechanism), but instaead of checking the door handle, they tried to use a screwdriver as a key. Oh well. All realatively easy fixes.

IACV is the Idle Air Control Valve. If it is dirty, it will cause high idle once the car is warmed up, or in your case 'lumpy' idle.

[hansenmick]

Ok....so now I actually have the car. As it turns out, whoever put the tranny in, did NOT bolt-on the linkage inside the tranny. We bolted it up and voila, all gears worked. Also found out (the HARD way) that the front motor mount is broken. Put the tranny from Park, into Reverse, then Neutral, Then Drive and BANG! When I went to put the tranny back into Park, it sounded like the locking pawl was bouncing on the bell inside the tranny. While under the car, the driver's CV shaft, inner CV was about 1" away from where it SHOULD have been. When we tried to get the inner joint into the tranny, we found that the joint is somehow jammed. Pulled the same shaft out of the parts car, now all is good with the axles. Put it all back together, fired her up, put it in reverse and backed the car back onto the trailer, put it in neutral, shut off the engine, then moved her by hand back out onto the ramps for some further undercarriage work. Found a crack in the subframe that goes all the way around the passenger-side lower control arm bushing. We are going to pull the power rack and pinion as well as the subframe from the parts car to replace the cracked one and at the same time, replace the beat-up rack.

[2oodoor]

wow, a bunch of things wrong at once

[hansenmick]

Ok....so the new crossmember and steering rack are in, as well as the front rubber engine mount. Note to others: stickshift and automatic front engine mounts are DIFFERENT. We were able to use the stick one in the automatic, but we also had to swap the engine-side bracket (the stick one is stamped metal, the automatic one is cast iron; the stud on the stick isolator is about 1" long, the auto one is about 2" long). Also found out that there IS a difference between the auto and stick driver's side axle...passenger is the same (at least according to www.partsamerica.com). I am going to a local wrecking yard to try and get at least one more set of axles...maybe more.

Question: is the IACV a repairable part, or is it a replacement part? Can I fix the original (rebuild it like a carb?) or is it a throw-away?

[2oodoor]

good to see you got it rolling

the IAC can be removed and cleaned but I wouldnt disturb the pintle other than cleaning it. It is at least worth a try before buying one, sometimes it can fix the problem.
Clean the throttle butter fly too, the opening and the edges of the blade (butterfly I hate that)

[hansenmick]

Wow...has it REALLY been that long?!?!? Well......where do I start?
Got the car home on it's own power and I decided to keep the automatic. As for the idle issue, turns out it had TWO idle problems. One when the engine was cold, the other after the engine warmed up. The easy, temporary fix for the cold idle problem was to disconnect the IACV. Yesterday, I took it over to a freind's place and we replaced both O2 sensors, and serviced both the IACV and the FITV(?). We also found out that whoever was trying to fix it before us tried to fix the 1200rpm idle by backing out the idle screw....completely!!! The only thing holding it in was the rubber intake boot!!! After we were done however, she fires-up within 1/2 crank, idles at 1500 until the engine starts to warm up, then gradually drops to about 800. Purrs like a kitten. The tranny ended up needing almost 2 quarts of fluid, which confirmed the slipping around corners and when passing.
Next on my list:
Engine mounts (ALL)
Sunroof drains (ALL)
Cap, rotor, wires and plugs, air filter, fuel filter
STEREO!!!

As for the engine mounts, I have searched the forums endlessly and can't find a definitive answer as to the missing transmission mount. The frame-side stud is there, but the tranny has no provisions for the other stud. Do I need it? I am pretty sure the driver's side mount is installed upside-down (it's the 'cast' type with the flat side towards the ground)...I have another driver's mount that is the stamped-steel type...any preferences guys? The one that REALLY concerns me is the torque-strut at the back of the engine...it looks as though that is the only 'mount' keeping the trans-end from falling out of the bottom of the car. I will try to get some pics and figure out how to upload them in the next day or so....

[Nio]

.....ROFL.. I should have looked at the date before opening my mouth.

But I guess I can say.

Welcome back :D