I purchased a 1999 Honda Prelude Base Model w/ the 5 speed manual transmission with 98,000 miles on it after going up and down the East coast for months in search of a good one. I finally found this one and less than a week after purchasing it, I could feel and hear through the shifter a tight grinding sound as I shifted into 5th gear.

I have let the problem continue without inquiring about a repair because it has not appeared to cause enough concern to have it fixed. I read on AutoBeef that the problem was somewhat common on a few earlier models due to a 'mis-manufactured shift fork.' I have noticed that when i double clutch into 5th gear (shifting to neutral, releasing clutch and then shifting into 5th gear) I do not feel any grinding. I also notice that if I slow down the shifting motion from 4th to 5th so that it takes a good 3 to 4 seconds to shift into 5th, I do not hear or fee the grinding. I can only assume that double clutching also would appear to alleviate the problem because of the additional shifting time involved.

I will probably ignore this problem until I have the money for a transmission rebuild 100,000 more miles down the road.