transmission probelms

its an 83 civic 5 speed, i am in saskatchewan and it is -10 tonight, i was driving home down the highway in 5th, i let off the gas for an icy spot and about 5 or 10 seconds after i let back on the gas i heard a very soft clunk, soft enough that the 2 other people didnt hear it and then my 5th gear completely failed. i do not think that the gear stripped for a couple reasons first the noise i heard was not like a grinding gear, not near loud enough and second this car has been around my family for 20 years, no one ever abused it and especially not 5th gear. rite now when it is parked i can have it in 5th and when i let the clutch out it does absolutely nothing, the tone of the engine dosnt even change and no grinding noises from loose parts of a stripped gear (in any gear for that matter) and the speedo dosnt move either. has anyone ever had anything like this? if not can anyone direct me to someone who mite know more. i realize that replacing the trany isnt a very difficult or particularly expensive job for an 83 civic but i am in saskatchewan! far from the bc coast and my tools. did i mention its -10C and dropping. holy hell thats cold!
thanks
Andy

-10c? Yech!

If you spedometer doesn't work at all, I bet something came loose in either your shift linkage, or something that knocked your spedo cable off your tranny. Either that or whatever you spedo cable connects to in the tranny is whack.

If your shift linkage came a bit loose, (maybe a bolt or pin rusted out?) that would explain you not moveing in 5th. In this case, you wouldn't really be in 5th, you'd still be in neutral, and your likage can't move right to get your forks to 5th gear.

Just an idea, crawl under there and shake your linkage around, see if anything looks particularly loose or not connected right. Have someone move thru all 5 gears and reverse and see if the linkage appears to be moving the parts that go into the tranny.

Move the stick right or left should do something specific, and moving it forward or back, does something else. The combination of the 2 finds the right gear. If your linkage is messed up, you should be able to tell by watching it while someone moves the stick.

i should clarify about the speedo, it does work in all the gears except 5th. about the linkage im the second gen everything is inside the transmission casing, all that can be seen is a shaft going in which just goes back and forth and rotates. i have talked with some other people since and it looks as though it will not be a big deal to fix, 5th gear is on the very outside and has its own casing so i am going to inspect it as soon as my friend gets heat in his shop. normally i wouldnt be so worried about it but i have to drive back to vancouver in march which is 18 hours with 5th, considerably longer w/o. thanks for the advice, i am still not out of the water so if anyone has any more thoughts it would be appreciated

Hmm, if there was no grinding, I still think it has to do with either your linkage or your fork system that selects the right gear. If the gear or synchro is bad(not even sure if they used them back then), I believe that it would grind, and you'd have trouble even getting the stick to go to the 5th gear position. I could be wrong tho, I've never worked on or driven an early 80's Honda.

i think you are rite about it being the linkage or the fork, it does have syncro, all hondas have had syncro for like forever