fabmaster

Well, I am new to this forum and also new to Hondas. I recently bought a 1989 Civic Hatchback with a JDM B16A swap with T3/T4 turbo. I was also told that the tranny was a Y1 w/LSD. My problem is that after having the car a couple weeks, I believe the tranny went out.

That is why I have come here. I like to do work myself and if there is anything I can do instead of buying a new tranny, that would be great.

The situation is that I stopped on a hill, and with now prior indications of a problem, when I started to pull away, I made it about 8 inches and the car seemed to hit an invisible wall. I can move the shifter through all the gears, and can take off in 1st, 2nd, and 3rd but with the same result. I only make it about 8 inches. With the car in neutral, clutch pushed in, and e-brake off, it wouldn't roll back down the hill. I just bounce between two walls about 8 inches apart.

I just got the car back to my workshop an when the front end is jacked up, I can spin the wheel by had with no problems. Drivers and passengers side wheels both spin forward and backward with no trouble, but if you start the car and put it in gear, it hits that wall and won't spin.

Well, I dropped the tranny and it doesn't look good.





I guess my next question is, is there a snap ring somewhere on the drive shaft under the throwout bearing? I can't seem to get the housing off. I can get it half and inch and then it won't go any further.

4drEF

Yes, it does have a snap-ring.

http://www.honda-acura.net/forums/do...ld-89pics.html
I know it's not the exact tranny you have, but it's the same concept.

Putting my bet on you tranny having lost 3rd gear synchro.

fabmaster

That was it!!! Thank you. I'll post some pics in a little bit.

90civicstdgold

Looks like the carrier bearing is shot. gl with that, I had a very similar problem

fabmaster

Looks like this may be an easy fix. I guess my question is, "What the heck do you call the rod going through the center of the diff. The allen set screw broke and that rod slid out the side of the diff and broke some casing ribs(all the metal I found) and then got far enough out that it got stuck between larger parts of the casing. The rod is bent a little bit but I might be able to fix that unless it is cheap and easily accessable.

fabmaster

So does anyone know what the rod is called??

Targa250R

It's called a differential pinion shaft. Only open differentials have them. That definitely isn't a limited-slip.

I believe the shaft is held in there by a spring pin (similar to the shift linkage pin), not a set screw.

Early cable-clutch B-series transmissions are a bit notorious for breakage of the pinion shaft. You got a bit lucky with that one; most of them cause a catastrophic failure of the trans.

You can buy a new diff pin for $35 or so if they're still available, but I'm not sure if the Y1 diff is compatible with parts available here in the US. Hopefully nothing else in the trans is damaged.

gibsanez

new LSD time!

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

thats definitely an open diff not LSD like the guy that sold it to you said. I'm pretty positive you can use a diff from any cable b16 trans. The differences between them has to do with syncros and gearing

fabmaster

Yeah, there are still shady people out there. Oh well. Gonna try a quik fix for the rest of this season so wish me luck

fabmaster

every place I tried within 150 miles can't even get the whole trans let alone just the pin. The rest of the trans looks good in terms of no missing teeth or any marring at all. Hopefully it's OK.

01S2king

iTrader: (1)

for the cost of new case bearings
the case damage
diff damage and all of the metal debris in the needle bearings between the gears
i would say to avoid future problems you may want to spend a bit more and get another tranny.

4drEF

^^^ Agreed.
Not an impossible repair, but it's ugly.
Hmm... find out what gears you got and go for a hybrid build!

fabmaster

Well, I straightened the pin(I know it's not the best thing to do but I am broke and need to get back on the road) It is a strong little sucker and is VERY close to straight. I don't know if you could ever get it perfect. I placed three pieces of steel in the right places in my vise and went to work with a 6 foot bar extension.



Got the old roll pin out and drilled it out of the bottom of the diff and installed the new one. Put the diff back in and the gear towers. Now I'm waiting for the RTV to dry so I can finish tightening the housing bolts and get this thing back in.





I was planning on upgrading engine internals this winter so getting a LSD is now on the top of the list. Please don't think that I expect this to solve the problem forever. Just needs to get me a couple of months.

4drEF

You wait for the RTV to DRY?
Never did that. Wondering why you do.
Thinking it would be better NOT to wait then you are sure that when you bolt it all down that the RTV gets into all the imperfections and seals properly.

sanimalp

you are correct, the rtv should be applied wet, then the case put back together where the RTV dries to seal the case.

The op will need to crack the case to re-apply the rtv.

fabmaster

You put on your bead and tighten all the bolts until the RTV squeezes out(therin filling all the imperfections) Then after an hour you come back and give all the bolts their final 1/4 to 1/2 turn. This allows for some dried RTV to form your gasket instead of squeezing it all out.

Just what the mechanic in our club said to do. It obviously works for you the way you do it.

The tranny is back in and even though it was pouring, I took her for a drive.

So far so good.

4drEF

Cool!
Glad it works.

Thought you were laying the bead of RTV and letting dry before any assembly.
I follow you on how you don't do your final torque until after it sets.
I typically get RTV all over the place including some no the bolt threads.
Final torque later just wouldn't work.

sanimalp

yeah i was in the same boat, thinking the rtv you applied was fully dried before you put the 2 peices together.. we bring it up because around here, **** like that happens all the time..

89sihatchls

nice tech.

b00st3d_DB8

i just pulled the gear case apart on my itr trans to put new sealant and im having a hard time getting the snap ring seat into the groove. the case was a pain to line up. it final slid into place but there was still about 1/2 to 1/4" gap so i tightened up the case bolts and it sinched tight, but i cant get the snap ring to fit in the groove now. did you have the same problem? what should i do?

b00st3d_DB8

i just read e few different threads and found out that i need to drop the trans on a phone book or similar with the snap ring down and it should snap into place. i just hope i didnt screw up by force tightening the case bolts. it didnt take much effort to tighten the bolts so i dont think anything was binding

aem

ya just hold the snap ring open tighten all the screws around and later at the end hit the tranny up side down to shake all the gears and it will pop in the phone book is there so you dont crack the caseing and it should pop in no problem then just screw the cap back on and your good to go

Bunger

The only thing this fix needed was some JB weld... lol! And I worry about reusing the nut on top of the counter shaft...

Thumbs up on the fix!

4drEF

Did the snap ring slide down the side of the bearing shell or is it hung up at the to of it and didn't slide down the side of it at all?
You can easily have destroyed the bearing if it was snagged at the top - been there done that.