I had the same exact problem
My car would always have a burning smell, I thought it might be heater/radiator related..but as a month went by it got worst..The next sentences describes what happened in a one week span...It was very hard to shift into gear ( every gear). There was no clutch slippage at all. I really had to stomp the pedal and use lots of strength to move the shifter.I heard the same metal whining noise. I could not shift at high speeds could not use the highway. I would have to stay cruising in third on the streets,sometimes had to cut my car off to put in gear.One day at a light I tried to drive in first and the car buckled and buckled making a screaming noise..could not shift or go past 10mph. I towed the car back home and have not worked on it yet.
I find it strange to have problems shifting in all gears. Probably not the clutch. Seems to be tranny related. The final screaming noise and buckling reminds me of when an old acura I had needed a tranny at 225,000 miles.But this car is a 94 lude vtec with original engine and trans only 55,000 miles.When I open it up in April, I'll see...H22 trans are notorious for having problems, could be a number of things ( syncros,fork etc..)Even though now that I look back the burning smell was a sign it was not until a week's period I noticed shifting problems.
I am basically in the same boat you are.I decided to to put a head&timing belt on a 92 si that I bought with a broken timing belt because it is a quicker and easier job for me. Thanks anyway for your post and the other replies do help.
