Integra / RSX DC5 Transmission and Engine Mounts
I have an Integra Type R, DC5 2002, Australian Edition. 165,000 km. It's largely stock, though I have a PRC Intake Manifold from a JDM ITR DC5, which runs OK on the standard ECU and 98 RON.
Last year, after replacing the shock absorbers and clutch on my car, (OEM) I began getting a clunking noise that appeared to come from the front left of the vehicle when making a fast left turn at an intersection as I put the gas on/ letting the clutch out.
I took it back to Pedders (who did the shockies) and later Fulcrum. Neither could work out what the noise was. Both said everything was tight. One of them suggested “Panel Pop”, which didn’t make sense to me, as the noise appeared out of nowhere after having this car for 18 years.
Eventually, after several sessions (over 4 months) lying under the car with a bright light, examining every bushing, tightening every bolt, lubricating stuff, etc. I noticed the front engine mount had a broken element (yes, I'm a dork for taking that long to see it), and that lead me to slight signs of cracking on the rear and transmission mounts.
Not too surprising for a 19 yo car I guess. I drive it hard on the odd occasion, it seems to like it J
I reasoned that the transmission mount might be moving, when putting the power down on a left turn, causing the clunk I was hearing. Far fetched but possible. I'd tried everything else.
I read up on DC5 engine mounts, and it appeared there was a choice between the after market racing style mounts and the OEM style mounts. I replaced the front mount with a Honda one, and the rear mount with a Kelpro OEM style mount, and the noise abated a bit (going from 3 bad mounts, to only 1 bad mount). But I knew the transmission mount was faulty too, and that I needed to change that quickly as the transmission mount is one of the two engine mounts that do most of the work. If I left as it was, it would eventually cause the front and rear one to fail again
Wanting to save on the $300 Honda was quoting me for the transmission mount, I researched DEA/Marmot OEM mounts in the USA and the reviews looked OK. These were less than half price, including the Fedex freight from the USA. So I purchased the DEA mount, and it arrived within a week (plug: Rock Auto are amazing for DC5 parts). It looked very similar to the OEM mount, maybe a little more solidly filled. But visually very much like Honda OEM.
I installed the DEA transmission mount without issue. A perfect fit.
But then the noises began. OMG!!
The tranny bearing noise was horrific. And for a while, I thought my clutch bearings were shot (clutch only 6 months old). But the bearing noise only came through when the clutch was out, and driving/idling along at 40-70km/hr. When the power was on, or when then clutch was in, or the gearbox in neutral, the noise vanished and it was dead quite.
If you follow the clutch bearing diagnostic write ups out there, as I did, it told me the clutch bearings were not at fault. The noise was transmission noise.
I genuinely started to believe I’d wrecked the shaft bearings in the transmission, and was already in the process of studying Youtube videos on how to rebuild a DC5 6 speed transmission (BTW there are a couple of very good ones out there).
Eventually, I thought, let me purchase a genuine Honda transmission mount, and see if that makes a difference. Perhaps the rubber compound used by Honda absorbs the noise better. As crazy as that sounds.
After I did this, the noises went away completely.
AS stupid as this all sounds, I felt that I needed to write this up. Because while I found zillions of posts in forums talking about “vibration” due to non-Honda mounts (which is a no-brainer for me).
I found nothing about “horrible transmission noises”. And I wonder how many DC5 transmissions are being rebuilt out there, based on bogus bearing and transmission noises.
Clearly the Honda transmission mount is a noise reduction device, and clearly this is why they are made so soft.
Last year, after replacing the shock absorbers and clutch on my car, (OEM) I began getting a clunking noise that appeared to come from the front left of the vehicle when making a fast left turn at an intersection as I put the gas on/ letting the clutch out.
I took it back to Pedders (who did the shockies) and later Fulcrum. Neither could work out what the noise was. Both said everything was tight. One of them suggested “Panel Pop”, which didn’t make sense to me, as the noise appeared out of nowhere after having this car for 18 years.
Eventually, after several sessions (over 4 months) lying under the car with a bright light, examining every bushing, tightening every bolt, lubricating stuff, etc. I noticed the front engine mount had a broken element (yes, I'm a dork for taking that long to see it), and that lead me to slight signs of cracking on the rear and transmission mounts.
Not too surprising for a 19 yo car I guess. I drive it hard on the odd occasion, it seems to like it J
I reasoned that the transmission mount might be moving, when putting the power down on a left turn, causing the clunk I was hearing. Far fetched but possible. I'd tried everything else.
I read up on DC5 engine mounts, and it appeared there was a choice between the after market racing style mounts and the OEM style mounts. I replaced the front mount with a Honda one, and the rear mount with a Kelpro OEM style mount, and the noise abated a bit (going from 3 bad mounts, to only 1 bad mount). But I knew the transmission mount was faulty too, and that I needed to change that quickly as the transmission mount is one of the two engine mounts that do most of the work. If I left as it was, it would eventually cause the front and rear one to fail again
Wanting to save on the $300 Honda was quoting me for the transmission mount, I researched DEA/Marmot OEM mounts in the USA and the reviews looked OK. These were less than half price, including the Fedex freight from the USA. So I purchased the DEA mount, and it arrived within a week (plug: Rock Auto are amazing for DC5 parts). It looked very similar to the OEM mount, maybe a little more solidly filled. But visually very much like Honda OEM.
I installed the DEA transmission mount without issue. A perfect fit.
But then the noises began. OMG!!
The tranny bearing noise was horrific. And for a while, I thought my clutch bearings were shot (clutch only 6 months old). But the bearing noise only came through when the clutch was out, and driving/idling along at 40-70km/hr. When the power was on, or when then clutch was in, or the gearbox in neutral, the noise vanished and it was dead quite.
If you follow the clutch bearing diagnostic write ups out there, as I did, it told me the clutch bearings were not at fault. The noise was transmission noise.
I genuinely started to believe I’d wrecked the shaft bearings in the transmission, and was already in the process of studying Youtube videos on how to rebuild a DC5 6 speed transmission (BTW there are a couple of very good ones out there).
Eventually, I thought, let me purchase a genuine Honda transmission mount, and see if that makes a difference. Perhaps the rubber compound used by Honda absorbs the noise better. As crazy as that sounds.
After I did this, the noises went away completely.
AS stupid as this all sounds, I felt that I needed to write this up. Because while I found zillions of posts in forums talking about “vibration” due to non-Honda mounts (which is a no-brainer for me).
I found nothing about “horrible transmission noises”. And I wonder how many DC5 transmissions are being rebuilt out there, based on bogus bearing and transmission noises.
Clearly the Honda transmission mount is a noise reduction device, and clearly this is why they are made so soft.