My 93 Honda Civic (manual T) is starting to be difficult to shift into gear. I mainly notice it when the car is idle and in neutral. I go to put into 1st or reverse and it won’t go. I try all gears at that point, and it’s the same. When it finally does go, it’s a loud thud-like noise. People around look over at me! It doesn’t happen every time, but I am noticing it more and more. And it’s a bit scary when I have been at an intersection or something and I can’t get moving. It has 189k.
I have also noticed that the car is loud, too, when I am in reverse up our driveway and the clutch is slightly depressed.
thanks for the input. I am not in a position to fix myself, but I have always received such great advice here to then take to my mechanic. My biggest concern is that it becomes costly…at what point do I get rid of this car and move on? I paid $7k for it 12 years ago. My thought is that one time repairs are cheaper overall than car payments. I’ve heard I can probably get 250k miles out of it. But I am transporting 2 kids…
Sounds like a clutch problem. You risk more damage and higher repair costs by continuing to drive the car. Best to get this checked out ASAP. Likely this will be one of those “one time” repairs.
It is hard to advise about keeping the car and spending money on repairs without more history on the car and seeing the condition of the body etc. In general a '93 Civic is a pretty good car, but it is getting close to 20 years old so you have to expect some repairs along the way.
You would be in good shape if you could save $300 to 400 a month in a bank account to either pay for repairs or get the money for a down payment on a newer car someday. In effect you are making a monthly car payment to yourself.
With most manuals, if you depress the clutch, and it won’g go into gear, hold it against the gears, and you should be able to feel the gears whirring around in the transmission. Once it does pop into gear, if it’s trying to creep forward (or backward) when the clutch is fully depressed, then it’s a clutch issue, probably either the slave/master - hydraulic - or cable, maybe even just cable adjustment. If that’s all it is, it’s a relatively easy repair.
What sounds most worrisome to me is the thud you’re describing. I can’t come up with anything that would make that much noise. Maybe I’ve just not been exposed (quite clearly very possible) to a clutch in the same condition as yours. I do realize they make some noise, but I don’t recall ever hearing one that was very loud.
Even it you had to have the clutch, pressure plate, throw out bearing and cable replaced and then have the flywheel turned, I still think you’d be in better shape than if you had a payment. I realize this is all about opinion, but that’s mine, anyway.