I've put a deposit on a '96 Prelude VTi-R only to be told that it's an auto. i did a little research and found out it is a jap import. As many have said before VTEC+auto = waste of money. i'm just after any info on the cost and/or complications with dropping a manual box in the big girl


Modified by rephyn at 2:16 AM 4/19/2005

 

do it yourself, $800-$1000 depending on how cheap you can get parts, someone else, around $2000, those are including m2a4 or m2f4 (stock h22 jdm/usdm 4th gen) tranny, good luck

 

yeah if you can do it your self you'll save lots just find the list of parts its in here some where and take your time finding the best prices took me a few months befor i had all the parts but i had to pay someone cuz i suck as a major mechanic plus i never have time but know im happy i did it my mechanic knew his **** and did it in 2 days

 

Well i've contacted a few of my local transmission dealers but none of then are sure is JDM gear is the same as AUS. you think they would know. slackers. Any help?

 

get the tranny codes

if it's an H22a tranny the gears can't be that bad overall.

 

do it yourself....all you need is:
tranny
axles
flywheel (if you have the money, go ahead and get a light one, if you want a stock one for cheap pm me i have one)
clutch (go ahead and get a new one)
pedals
master/slave clutch cylinders - you should go ahead and buy brand new ones while youre at it....
clutch lines - find em in a junkyard
the soft line that goes from the clutch to the body thing on the trans....the one with a banjo fitting on one end (i had to get one made from a brake shop)......
4 butt connectors
wire crimpers
new cluster is optional

the install is pretty basic:

put in flywheel and clutch...

put in the tranny/axles......fill her up with some honda MTF....

make two wires to go from the reverse switch to around where the shifter is.....(try to get the plug things off any honda engine harness, theyre all the same)

take out the auto shifter, butt connect the two huge wires on the brown clip to each other.....

then find the wire that came from the park position on the old shifter, i believe it is green/white strip but i could be wrong, and butt connect that to the black (ground) wire.....make sure my wire colors are right....

now find the wire that is hot even with the keys out, if i remember right it is yellow....and connect it to one of the wires that goes to the reverse switch on the trans, and butt connect the wire that goes to the reverse lights to the other wire to the reverse switch on the trans....

if i remember how i figured out which wire was the reverse lights one, i think there are two wires coming from the reverse position on the old shifter, but there could be only one, either way, you can find out by jumping the yellow one to either and see if the reverse lights come on.....

put in the pedals and clutch master cyl.....then put in the lines and slave....then open the bleeder valve on the slave, and fill the master, just let it all drip through, never let the master pull air.....

then after it drips constantly, get a friend and bleed it through a bit....

that should be it, and you will be a lot happier with yourself.....

change the trans fluid after a week, then again at 500 miles...after that go regular intervals.....

DEFINITELY DO THIS YOU WILL LOVE IT!!!

manual>my poop>auto

 

Just remember...The auto H22's only had 180 HP....their valvetrain and fuel mapping aren't as aggressive as the manuals...

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MackDad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just remember...The auto H22's only had 180 HP....their valvetrain and fuel mapping aren't as aggressive as the manuals...</TD></TR></TABLE>

do you have any proof of that why are all the motor parts the same then? i know the autos made less power but thats cuz the tranny holds it back so much i dont think there is any truth behind your statement

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by MackDad &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Just remember...The auto H22's only had 180 HP....their valvetrain and fuel mapping aren't as aggressive as the manuals...</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think this would be considered talking out of your ***.

 

Ok ok fella's no need to fight and ****
although i do agree with the point that auto's do steal up to 8% more of an engines power than a manual. it's just all the extra **** the crank has to turn and the extra kinetic energy lost due to unefficient design and friction.
Im really finding it hard here in Oz to find anyone who knows anything about a JDM swap let along attemp one. I've tried performance workshops, transmission shops, japanese half cut importers. i just dont get it. It's a little discouraging and i'm on the verge of telling the seller that i no longer want the vehicle. I'm trying to source a box and get it imported but then finding the help to put it in. I'm a motorbike mech by trade and the old man's a diesel techy so i guess our powers combined might get us most of the way. it's times like this that i question the perks of being an aussie

 

"It doesn't matter much to us, but note the automatic transmission cars had only 180 hp, so beware if someone tries to give you an engine/ECU without its original transmission."

http://www.sportcompactcarweb.....html


I wish I still had my Ultimate Resources Guide as it had the camshaft specs of the auto and manual engines...The auto engines also have a smaller throttle body..

When Honda rates the HP of an engine, they use the flywheel HP, not the WHP. So therefore sacrificial loss of power due to the torque convertor cannot be claimed in this instance.