badpootie

I recently purchased a new Jdm tranny for my 94 civic ex coupe cuz my original tranny is starting to grind and make all sorts of weird noises. It's not worth rebuilding.

My new tranny is an S20. According to the research I've done, it's supposed to be the right tranny for my car.

However, there's a pen mark on the tranny labeling it "ZC". I read that if it is a ZC tranny, then my stock EX axles may not fit.

So here are my questions:
1.) What's the difference between an s20 tranny from a ZC versus the s20 tranny from the 5th gen EG civic ex? Is there any visual difference?
2.) If it is a ZC tranny, will my stock civic EX axles still fit?
3.) If it is a ZC tranny, what kinds of axles will fit? I read somewhere that the 90 Integra axles only fit.

If anyone can help, let me know what you know.

liam821

The Hydro ZC (s20) tranny is a 92-95 SI tranny with a different diff. They have the same gear ratios and same final drive.

92-95 SI/Hydro ZC
1st-----3.250
2nd-----1.900
3rd-----1.250
4th-----0.909
5th-----0.750
Final Drive---4.250

My ZC tranny just says S20 on it. The only way i could tell it was a hydro ZC was the output spline size on the diff.

The diff, as you noticed, has a larger output spline size so you cant use the standard axles. That tranny was made to work with a half shaft (intermedite shaft) and then equal length axles. Some z6 motors had the bolts for the half shaft mount, some didnt. If you want to use that tranny, i recommend swapping the diff with your other diff outa the old tranny. Then you can use your old axles.

You cannot use 90 integra axles with the ZC tranny on 92+ cars. That only works on ef CIVIC/CRX's. Like i said above, you gotta use the half shaft and either make axles or find a set. Axles are a total bitch for that tranny. What i ended up doing (i use a hydro ZC tranny with a half shaft) is use two passanger side civic axles, removed the inner axle side (the part that goes into the tranny) and swap on 90 integra driver and passanger side ends. You end up with the right lenght and the right spline size. Its a little ghetto but i havent broke them yet.

liam

badpootie

thanks. I'm just still not sure whether my s20 transmission is really a ZC. I haven't tried to bolt up the axles to it. When I picked it up, I told the guy what car I had and he told me it was the same thing as my original. He told me he got the tranny off a 1.6litre so I thought he got it off a d16z6. I didn't know until recently that there was a dohc 1.6 litre non vtec motor. So when I finally noticed the "ZC" written on the tranny, I kinda freaked out and did research on the net.

I guess that means I gotta ask the guy for another one to replace it.

How would I know which S20 tranny is applicable to my car? Is the D15 sohc vtec tranny the same thing? Did those also have s20 trannies? Are those the same trannies as my d16z6 tranny?

liam821

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by badpootie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">How would I know which S20 tranny is applicable to my car? Is the D15 sohc vtec tranny the same thing? Did those also have s20 trannies? Are those the same trannies as my d16z6 tranny?

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When you go to pick it up, bring one of your stock axles along and see if it fits into the tranny correctly. If it fits, is a standard usdm 92-95 s20 something.

You can tell a DX/CX/VX tranny from a EX/Si by numbers cast into the housing. Just above the filler plug is a set of numbers.
P20/A000 is for DX/CX/VX
P20/B000 is for EX/Si
Other than that, tranny must be split apart to know for sure which one you have.

Im not sure what tranny came with the D15 sohc/vtec motors - i dont know if they were had equal length axles or not.

The S20 part, as far as i know, just means its a 92-95 tranny. My DX spare tranny is stamped S20. You can use any 92-00 hydro tranny, from a 92 CX to a 99 EX tranny. They bolt up the same, share the same axles, etc etc. So just bring one of your axles, make sure it fits into the tranny correctly, and you are good to go.

liam

badpootie

Thanks again for all the info.

If the guy won't let me exchange the part, how easy would it be to sell it and make the money back?

Have you sold Honda parts before and where?

liam821

The hydro ZC tranny are somewhat rare, but i dont know how easily they would be to sell. Ive sold lots of honda parts, and i do most of my selling here on honda-tech in the classified section.

liam