I'm thinking of buying an 88 civic hatch from this guy. He's selling it for $1400. But it's a 4-Speed. And I was wondering if its possible to change it to a 5-Speed, and how much it would cost.

 

all u need is a cable 5 speed d series tranny and just swap it in correct me if i'm wrong

 

unless the 4spd tranny isn't original you'd also need a new clutch and flywheel, the 88 trans. has a 21 spline input shaft, the 89-2000 has a 20 spline input shaft.

here's some info on clutch's
https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-crx-ef-civic-1988-1991-3/stock-clutch-fitment-guide-2284956/

 

So it says on the thing to convert, you can put a 90-91 flywheel in the 88? So that will make it a 5 speed?

 

bump

 

No, the flywheel itself will not make the car a 5 speed. You need a 5 speed trans. There is information in there on what else you will need for the swap to fit the 5 speed.

 

I'm a bit rusty, but wouldn't he also need 5 speed hubs and axles?

 

No, the 4spd std axles will work fine in the 5spd.

OP, you will need either an 88 5spd trans or 89-91 trans, clutch and flywheel.

 

I have a rebuilt,unused 1988 clutch disc (21 spline) + pressure plate if you want to buy,cheap! Pm me if ya want it...

 

anyone else evr notice that the 88 clutch disc is a little smaller compared to the 89-91 disc?

i noticed this a long time ago (in my sohc days) when i bought 2 exedy disc's after i was told the tranny i bought was "91 CRX SI" and ended up being 88 5spd Dx.

in regards to this thread, id recommend 89-91 5spd trans. just because on top of the Clutch issue i brought up, it just seems like every 88 trans. ive owned has sucked. gearing and condition....just flat out sucked, anyone else?

and also, 89-91 trannys, You can run 92-95 Sohc civic clutch kits. ive done it before and honstly...a Cheap-o Autozone/kreagn 92 up kit, almost feels like a performance upgrade in 89-91 trannys.

 

hahaha yeah i hate my 4spd gears are a bit too long, but w no job i can't afford to buy a new clutch, get my flywheel re surfaced and throw in my dx trans

 

can u use a 4 door tranny of the same year 5 speed

 

well look at it this way, your getting better MPG's with that 4 spd

yes.


on another note,

ive also been told in the past that honda "half-way" thru 1989 switch the spline count on the imput shaft of the trans.... so there for not just "1988" trannys have the 21 spline...half of the 89's have it as well. never seen it first hand but i was told by pretty respected tech.

 

Any 5 speed tranny from a hatch, crx, or four door (even wagons will work as long as they're not 4 wheel drive) can be swapped into any other ef car. There are differences.

88 cars have 21 splines on the input shaft, use a smaller 200mm clutch disc/flywheel.
89 cars have 20 splines on the input shaft (never heard of half of them still having 21, but that maybe true, so watch out, lol) They also use the 200mm clutch disc/flywheel, but the disc will have 20 splines to match the input shaft. The flywheels are the same 88-89 though.
90-91 cars ahve 20 splines and use a bigger 212mm clutch/flywheel (i've heard it's 210mm, so just note it's bigger than the 88-89's)

Standard and HF cars have the smaller outer hubs, but the inner shafts are the same as the DX, so a DX trans with the standard or HF axles will work in a standard/HF car.

DX and Si's (also four door cars) have the larger outer hubs, BUT the DX and Si inner shafts are NOT the same. The sealing surface for the axle seals are different. The DX has the same size seal as the standard/HF, and the Si has the biggest of all, so if you get an Si tranny either use the Si axles or you can change the seals to a DX seal and still use the DX/standard axles.