Honda Accord: "Clack" when I change gears

Maintenance/Repairs
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1

I bought a 2004 Honda Accord over the summer. Now the the weather is cooler, I drive with the windows down, and I have noticed there is a “clack” sound when I change gears. It is hard to describe the sound, but it sounds like someone hitting a plate of metal with a hammer. I only hear this sound in first, second and third gear. The engine gets too loud in fourth and fifth gear, so it may just be drowning out the “clack”.

I never remember hearing such a sound when I drove a manual transmission back in the late 90s. Is this sound an indicator of a problem? Do I need to take the car into a shop to have them take a look at it?

Additional Information:

Mileage: 106,000
I am not the original owner, I purchased it at CarMax, and there was only one owner for the entire life of the car until CarMax bought it. The car looks like it was really cared for by the original owner. CarMax said that the clutch was fine, but…you never know with salesmen.

2

Is this the original clutch?

3

Mileage: 106,000

I am not the original owner, I purchased it at CarMax, and there was only one owner for the entire life of the car until CarMax bought it. The car looks like it was really cared for by the original owner. CarMax said that the clutch was fine, but…you never know with salesmen.

4

It’s hard to guess without having the vehicle in front of me, but I’ll posit a few possibilities:

  1. a bad clutch system component; perhaps a throwout bearing, perhaps a fork (that releases the bearing), perhaps the slave cylinder (your clutch is hydraulic).

  2. a bad motor mount enabling the motor to move when you shift

  3. a bad CV joint, perhaps an inner one making noise when it’s tortionally loaded after the shift.

5

I think that I am going to second Mr Mountain Bike here… ALSO…I have heard first hand the CV joint noise that Mtn Bike has mentioned…this is also possible and something that I wasn’t too sure of until experiencing it on my girls 98’ Civic…I would hear a snap sound after reversing…and then moving forward…like a loud click or snap when the torsional forces went from one extreme to the other in the CV joint. I thought it was a loose center nut that holds the Axle to the hub…but it wasn’t…it was in the joint itself

Apparently Mtn Bike was either eating his Wheaties or Stayed at a Holiday Inn Express Last night OR MY GOD…BOTH?..I mean the man is regularly sharp as a tack…HOWEVER today the guy is winning trivia prizes ! LOL… Nice work Mtn Bike, excellent suggestions if I do say so meself…I’m with you on this one good Sir.

SO…to look into the motor mount possibility…you need an assistant. Open the hood and have someone put the E-brake on HARD… Then try to move the car forward…then put it in reverse and try to move it…Repeat the process several times…forcing the engine to rock back and forth… You can get it to jump simply using the clutch…engage-disengage…engage… then do the same in reverse…etc

The most common motor mount to wear out is the upper ones…and the BIG one on the trans…there is also one hiding behind your engine as well… Look for excess play in ANY of them…also look for bulging rubber coming out the sides of the mount…torn rubber…or MISSING rubber and the subsequent metal on metal you would get in a motor mount could EASILY make these sounds.

Watch your engine as it rocks back and forth on its motor mounts…it will move quite a bit so pay attention…see if you catch the noise under the hood …or see if it emanates from the wheel/axle area…Methinks you will find the issue using this Stress Loading method… I think its a mount first and then CV joint… But who cares as long as you find it No?

Blackbird