TD1

let me start off by giving history and then go into details.

I bought a 98 Civic Ex with auto tranny about 2 months ago from a private seller (I thought) turns out he bought and sold cars often from a auction. It had 145000 miles at the time and after purchase I noticed the brake pads needed replacing so I went into it. While removing the pads I noticed the cv boots and tie rod boots were totally gone and there was grease and oil everywhere under the car. After replacing the axles and the tie rods I drove it for a couple weeks and the engine overheated pretty bad and I assumed it blew a head gasket or cracked the block. I brought it to a local mechanic and he said it was obvious that there was some sort of "stop leak" used and likely contributed to the failure. Long story short I bought a engine from a local salvage yard. I had the mechanic do the swap, (he did not remove the transmission and engine together, he removed engine only). after he completed the job the engine ran fine for a few miles (actually the engine still runs fine, lol) but the transmission slipped a couple times and now just spins in neutral no matter what gear you put it in. From time to time you can kill it and restart and it will actuate in gear for a few seconds but then slips again and will not engage. There was never any harsh sounds or rough shifting before or after the engine swap. I have removed and tested all 3 solenoid assemblies and they are good. I drained the fluid and there was nothing obvious on the magnet tip of the drain other that fines that were so fine they looked like grease.. I have almost decided to find a used transmission to replace it but want to make sure that there is nothing that the mechanic could have done wrong or missed during the engine swap? I would hate to replace the transmission and there be some easy fix that I am overlooking.

There are no codes present

Bently_Coop

What fluid was in it and what did you use to replace? What did you do to test the solenoids?

These automatics are very temperamental. Some have good luck with them and some don't.

TD1

thanks for the reply,

Not sure what type was in it (is there a way to tell?) , haven't had it long enough... I did not put any back in it yet.

I pulled all 3 solenoids (2 sets and one single linear) Both sets ohm'd out at 13-14 ohms per coil. Put voltage on them and they actuated, put my mouth on them and blew air on the common port and the valve opened and closed as I put voltage. On the linear I can see the shuttle valve shift when voltage is applied, it also ohm'd at 4 ohms.

I have sunk way more than I wanted to in it.... I buy a small car every 2 years to drive back and forth to work (600 miles weekly).. Also debating trashing it and getting a different one, but if its something simple I'd rather keep it. Salvage yards and JDM tranny's range from $300 to $700 so I could manage to accept that cost but don't want to risk buying a transmission that won't last a couple years.

Bently_Coop

Did you attempt to drive it with out adding replacement fluid? If your solenoids are fine I would be thinking the torque converter may be bad.

Also only use the OEM Honda ATF. There is a newer formula available.

Bently_Coop

Here are a couple threads I have from when I was dealing with a 98 Civic AT.

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...ssues-3205184/

https://honda-tech.com/honda-civic-d...ifter-1861140/

TD1

No I haven't, Just sitting in garage now until I make some sort of decision

Former User

Did the transmission work fine before the engine swap?

What engine was installed?

What ECU?

Does the CEL and D4 light work?

TD1

It was fine, maybe a little bit of harsh shifting, but not all that bad.


D16Y8

Didn't touch the ECU


Does the CEL and D4 light work?[/QUOTE] Yes the D4 for sure. I read voltage on one of the wiring harnesses to one of the solenoids while the engine was running and it threw a code from my meter being hooked up to it. So I know that the D4 light works. I jumped the harness at the ECU to get codes and there were a couple of them, o2 sensor and the code from me hooking my meter up, so no the CEL does not work.

TD1

When I get off of work this evening I plan on filling the transmission and clearing all codes that I cannot see because of CEL not working and giving it another try to see if it pops new codes. If from there I get no codes, I will most probably order a transmission tomorrow. Looking at a couple salvage yards and also a JDM tranny.

I was hoping something simple happened in the engine swap. Maybe something electrical that would prevent my ecu from telling my solenoids to open. I have looked over all the wiring harnesses and can't find anything erroneous...

Former User

The CEL bulb may be burned out or removed. Install a new one.

What is this^?

Former User

Assuming the ATF is not low, my wild guess is that the mechanic, who installed the replacement engine, damaged the drive plate or torque converter.

Also check the shift cable adjustment.

TD1

When I hooked up my meter a couple days ago to one of the solenoids while the engine was running it made the d4 light start blinking.. After i killed the engine and restarted the d4 light cleared... Yesterday after I read how to get the codes manually I seen there was a couple codes for the "A" valve, I assume they they were still in the ecu from when I put my meter on that solenoid....

I just got home, filled the tranny, cleared the codes, and it went into all the gears fine for about 2 minutes then back to the same thing, not engaging... Didn't throw any codes. I can hear a whine coming from the tranny sometimes, but when I put into gear the whine goes away but still does not engage. The whine seems hydraulic, comparable to my tractors front end loader....

Former User

Oh, okay. Wasn't sure what meter you were talking about.

Maybe the mechanic did not remove the bolts from the transmission drive plate, so when he pulled the engine, the drive plate and torque converter came with it, damaging the torque converter. Just speculation on my part, but this idea is based on the fact that the transmission at least worked prior to the engine swap. When you drop the transmission to replace, inspect the drive plate and torque converter.

TD1

Thanks for the help bro... Im going to start pulling it tomorrow,

do you guys have a opinion on jdm vs salvage? When i bought the engine last month I got it from a salvage yard, they told me it had 90K miles... When I got home I was curious so I paid for a carfax using the vin from the engine and it was over 140K (from the previous owner getting yearly inspections)... I know its hit or miss with both jdm and salvage, just looking for opinions..