A2K5 Lude Transmission problems

[firefighterwhite89]

Just yesterday, my trans made this horrible squealing /metal on metal noise when I shifted to 5th gear (that famous fkn sound when 5th starts to eat itself, hence how I ran across my current prelude trans), but only for 1 second, Max. Hasn't done it since. Though this morning, it developed the whine in 5th as you drive. All pretty much in less than 24 hours. Wtf? Could a engine;trans mount/bushing have gone out? I noticed my firewall tension arm is uber loose. Engine side bushing is like it shrank. Moves at least half inch side to side and at least a ¼inch up and down.
Could this be the issue?
Anyone have this issue? Or are the A20A transmissions like Dodge transmissions,,disposable and good for only 100,000 miles max?
And I don't rough house my car much either.

[firefighterwhite89]

I may have discovered the issue. Low trans oil. As I recall, when I got this 60k mile A2K5 trans, prying the passengers side CV hub was next to impossible. Haligan tool helped big time. Though in the process, I slightly scratched/bent the trans/CV seal. Slowly dripped since. Sound like it could be the issue? I'd check if I wasn't at work in Ambulance way out in the Country.

[firefighterwhite89]

Torque rod, I.e. Rear Torque Rod. Bushings are shot to hel and back. Extremely loose. Jerry Damson has them both, engine and firewall bushings. Both $14.99 each. They'll be here Friday evening.

On a side note, somebody told me about a wild idea he heard of others trying. Using black Permatex Gasket maker; the oil and grime resistant stuff, pour in the hole or mold and let dry. Drill hole as needed. Done. Interesting idea, but how hard is that bushing vs stock?

[firefighterwhite89]

see the looseness?

[A18A]

those there are made loose from the factory, that's one of the main causes of engine mount failures in these cars. filling all the loose area of the bushing does a pretty good job imo.

I would also top up the gearbox with some oil, 5th gear is the least lubricated gear, so when you're low on oil, that gear would pretty much be dry

[cygnus x-1]

see the looseness?

Yep, that's how they always are. The cheap way to help that is with duct tape. Wrap the rubber part with a crap load of duct tape so that it's tight in the torque rod. I know it sounds ridiculous, but it works.

C|

[firefighterwhite89]

I did remove my upper tension rod and removed my larger engine side bushing and man was it loose.
Got some replacement bushings from Honda®, and turns out, wrong bushing. I wound up wrapping it with a copious amount of electrical tape and made it a tight enough fit to require lube to reinstall it.
The transmission support bushing was well worn. Permatex and a roadside tire helped prevent the engine from wanting to torque forward so much.

I still have an issue with losing about a pint or so of transmission oil a day. Out of the passenger side CV axle hole. Just suddenly started leaking when I started this thread. Could it be the transmission/axle Gasket? Or could it be from not using a new spring clip the CV axles when reinstalling?
On a side note, I have terrible play in my shifter/shift rod. Just sitting parked, moving the stick to the far right, the feeling of metal scraping metal it feels like.

[firefighterwhite89]

Help me save "grandpa's" trans!
My buddy Ian from the O'Reillys on South Parkway was telling me about some people with EF hatches were making their own Bushings for almost anything out of black Permatex. Just pour in Permatex, let dry and go. Idk though about that. IMO, Permatex, no matter what kind, is no where near hard enough for many of our bushings.

[firefighterwhite89]

I'm trying the Permatex bushing on my radiator support bushings. They needed replaced anyways.

[firefighterwhite89]

Well, I replaced the transmission gasket on the Passengers side that was leaking oil terribly.
None-the-less, A simple $11.47 MOOG gasket and a $12.99 Ball Joint Seperator solved the problem.
Excluding the $10 worth of castrol GTX 10W-30 to refill the housing. Pretty positive, leak solved. We'll
know more for sure by tonight. I parked it at work and left a white towel underneath it, so i'll know pretty quickly
whether its leaking or not.
Unfortunately, on a lesser note, i need to replace my nylon bushings on my shift linkage. And sadly,
Honda discontinued them(Go figure), and it happens to be a strange design they used spacer-wise,
So i'm gonna have to get innovative. That can get interesting. There's at least 1/4" of play
on the transmission side of the linkage, which i'm pretty convinced is why the shifter feels
like its rubbing metal on metal while the car is parked when shifting to fifth.
I got some nylon washers i'm gonna attempt to insert and use. Hopefully that'll work well.
Lowes had a ton of different nylon bushings and spacers.Old Bent Seal

New seal!

Minimal bearing wear.

This spring clip is a booger to find a replacement.