civic_minded1987

my parents recently surprised me with a new 04 civic coupe but it is an automatic transmission so my question is does anyone know how hard it would be to change an auto to a manual and if so how much cheese will it take

Miracle

Things you would need for transmission swap:

Manual transmission,
clutch,
Clutch pedal with mounting bracket and Lines
Shifter with base and cables
Clutch master and slave cylinders,
ECU from a a manual,
and a lot of labor.

Dont think im forgetting anything

Would be a heck of a job, but it would be worth it. im guessing MAYBE about 3-5g's? maybe. Correct me if im wrong.

Its not too hard if you know what youre doing. Im ASE certified, so give me 2 days worth of labor, youd have a manual. Hand tools, maybe 3 days or so. Never done one, so not too sure on the amount of time.

If you want to do it, best bet is a fresh junkyard car if you can find one. Fresh parts, .

Vantage

its quite a big job. I know your parents would be mad, but your probably better off selling it an getting a manual.

Plus 7thgen's have terrible d17 engines which are impossible to modify cheaply.

If u cant sell ur car, cause ur parents are like most parents and would say no. Id rock the auto for a while, dont mod it, save ur $$$ till u can get something better.

Curiouz_G

haha its like deja vu for me. my parents suprised me wit a 03 coupe ex and it was a auto. but hey, you learn to live with what you get and as for the manual swap, it would ruin the cars price and value. and if you want to even go remotely fast, as in 160whp, youd probably be spending a good 6-8g's if you dont install it yourself.

civic_minded1987

i cant sell my car.... even if i could i wouldnt i was plannin on an k swap on down the road anyways



Modified by civic_minded1987 at 9:23 AM 7/12/2006

fventura03

iTrader: (1)

work on your exterior/interior, when you're ready to do k-series, convert to manual also. will probably be way easier.

civic_minded1987

yeah that is definitley the plan now i talked to a friend and decided that is my best bet..... does anyone have a powertrain warranty on their car i want to add a cat back exhaust but im not sure what limitations i have

Vantage

do go to extensive modding ur car tho, 99% of the mods WONT be exchangeable over to the k series.

and imo the best Kseries size piping is 2.5" ( for k20a2/k20a/k24's) and this is WAY to big for a stock d17, its up to u just make sure u are pisssing away money.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic_minded1987 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">yeah that is definitley the plan now i talked to a friend and decided that is my best bet..... does anyone have a powertrain warranty on their car i want to add a cat back exhaust but im not sure what limitations i have</TD></TR></TABLE>

Unfortunately, you wouldn't get much out of the exhaust. Nothing more than a couple hp, and a different exhaust note. If I were you, I'd pool my money for the K-series swap, and forget modifying the D-series.

civic_minded1987

well i really am not looking for horsepower cuz of the weak d but i want my car to sound a little unstock but i dont want to throw my money away on an exhaust that wont fit a k so i guess ill just work on the visual and some stiffening of the body btw do you have any problems with a popping in the tires during medium to hard braking

Vantage

popping in tires? that is probably not the tires... Are u sliding? maybe your wheels are hoping? i have a problem that sounds like what your talking about, when i brake hard my front end just shutters.. i think its just lack of stiffness in the frontend.

toyomatt84

iTrader: (1)

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by civic_minded1987 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">well i really am not looking for horsepower cuz of the weak d but i want my car to sound a little unstock but i dont want to throw my money away on an exhaust that wont fit a k so i guess ill just work on the visual and some stiffening of the body btw do you have any problems with a popping in the tires during medium to hard braking</TD></TR></TABLE>

Try and locate an Axle-back muffler for your car then. I know the Fuzion kit will directly bolt up.

wcsh86

If you are going to k swap, don't spend hundreds on a cat back. Save your money for the swap. Swap swap swap. Buy some nice wheels if you must spend money.. And I dont mean 20 inch giovanni's either. When your trial status goes away, check out the marketplace, buy from other fine ht users.

civic_minded1987

i didnt mean in the tires but in that area cuz i dont know where in the front it is coming from and it isnt the shutterin i mean my car does that too but that is from warping the rotors and possibly the lack of stiffness you were talkin about.... what happens is that in hard brakin it does this pop and then it feels like the brakes go out and the pedal comes close to hittin the floor and i get this nasty vibration through my brake pedal... i let a honda mechanic look at it and he said that it is just the calipers poppin and that it is normal but it sure does not feel normal

Vantage

hmmm, ive never had it happen.. and I agree, that doesnt sound like somethings thats "normal". try to keep this thread going, to create another 1, maybe people will have more insight that I.

varner88

im doing the same swap i picked up a 02 tranny for 250 and i got shifter assembly all the other parts are pretty cheap the most expensive thing is a new clutch..

when you get the manual ecu which is like 140 used.. you have to get it reflashed by honda so your keys work properly.

but im doing the swap for a little under 1k

devani

that's pretty cheap for trans conversion.

everything under 1k...

wcsh86

almost too cheap.. hmmm..

Start a new post, because a brake expert that knows nothing about transmissions will not look at this one.

flip_vince

You're gonna need aftermarket motor mounts as well. Basicly, in order for everything to fit properly, Your motor has to move over a couple of inches, along with your pedals, and all that good stuff. Just go to one of those cheapo depo tranny shops on the side of the road. They do a good job, supply parts, and do labor all for about $800. Otherwise Jotech is gonna charge you $2500, Concept is gonna charge you $1800 and anywhere else just isnt worth it. Good luck man.

varner88

nothing needs to be moved the motor stays in the same place tranny is smaller and the cables run in the same spot

shorty5198

I've got an '03 civic ex and i have the same problem too. My parents got it for me and i wanted a manual. I've just made do with what i have. i know it sucks and a manual would be way more fun/faster but what can you do. I've realized that theres nothin i can do so i am doin what i can with mine. I just got my turbo which i am going to install in about a week or so. I was thinkin about a tranny swap too and you can get pretty good deals from junk yards but it requires so much work and if you were going to get it done professionally....$$$. Big bucks.

HondaRacing3

Welp unfortunatly I got an 01' instead of an 03'. My parents said it would be a better car to learn on if it was auto. I have done exhaust upgrades and an intake kit. Thought about a motorswap, but why go through the auto/man. I will just sell it an about two years while I save money for an Si,teg, or take my cousins cheap prelude if she is gonna sell it by then.

varner88

its worth it its about 1 day install.. and for under 1k.. you cant beat it

Han Solo

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by varner88 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">its worth it its about 1 day install.. and for under 1k.. you cant beat it</TD></TR></TABLE> there is no way u can do that in a day or for under a grand. u r on crack. if u can piece together a kit for under a grand i have someone who will buy it straight up. and if u can install it in less than a day ill **** in my pants and then eat the ****.

varner88

uhm.. my friend works at honda i get brand new oem parts for cost for 1..

second me and my friends have done motorswaps in a day.. so idk how you figure just a little tranny swap is hard but its not it can be done in 12 hours if you work striaght on it with little to no breaks..