1st gear is only to get your car rolling. So if you are driving 10mph or more(no exactly sure of the speed could be more) the first gear looks up and it will not let you shift to 1st gear again. I have two civic's and both are like that and my dad has Nissan Pickup and it does the same thing. If you really want to shift into a 1st gear then while trying to shift into gear hit your brakes fast. Always worked for me newer tried revving the engine thou.

 

i tried it today, just to see. when i was rolling, i stuck it in first and let out the clutch, it went to a little over six grand, so its not a lock, its just the synchros arent working too great. im betting the friction material on them is worn about down to nothing. and yeah, dont bother rebuilding it, just get a new (used) one off of ebay or something. if youve seen the inside of a honda (or most any) trans, you know what i mean. and its so damn simple to swap one out. i did it in the parking lot of my apartment once.

 

ORIGINAL: Kappa22


[quote]The reason your car won't go into first when you're moving faster than about 4 mph is that Hondas have very narrow first gears, and thus they only have low-speed synchros on first gear to keep you from making a mistake. Also, why are you compression braking in the first place?

AND

[quote]Vovka86
1st gear is only to get your car rolling. So if you are driving 10mph or more(no exactly sure of the speed could be more) the first gear looks up and it will not let you shift to 1st gear again. I have two civic's and both are like that and my dad has Nissan Pickup and it does the same thing. If you really want to shift into a 1st gear then while trying to shift into gear hit your brakes fast. Always worked for me newer tried revving the engine thou.






What is compression braking? and is there any way to disable the first gear locking up? And what do you mean by "braking fast"? Thanks!

 

ummm. compression braking is using the compression to throttle down AKA, engine braking. no. its there for a reason, yours is just worse than normal due to wear. and tapping hard on the brakes for a second to slow the car down to get the tranny in gear.

 

Or better yet, just leave it in neutral...

 

When you rev match it's really quite easy to put it into gear. Just have it in nuetral with the clutch out, rev the engine a little, and throw it into first. Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature just like normal shifting.

 

I guess I'm not getting my point across: STOP COMPRESSION BRAKING

 

I usualy don't compression brake. I just want to get into first when I'm going slow and on uphills I need more power than 2nd. or when I'm parking. I only compression brake:exting the freeway, and on the street. I leave it in 4th and brake until 20mph, then I just brake. That way I'm nott braking the full weight of the car, and to save my brake pads.

 

Yeah and destroy your engine while your at it. Don't worry about going hard on your brakes. It's what they are made for.

 

Destroy isn't the right word here. But compression braking in the lower gears does put unnecessary wear on your internals. For 4th and even 3rd, though, you'll be fine.

And Super Mario, I know what you mean about D/S-ing to 1st up hills or rolling up to a stop sign.