I have a 98 Civic LX and I am completely new to swaps, I have never done one and was wondering how difficult they are. I have the tools, and I've fixed many things on her, but just recently I've started looking at getting a new transmission, because its getting harder to shift. If I get a new transmission would it be wise of me to just bite the bullet and get a new engine, too, or should I put that off until absolutely necessary, or even just rebuild it? It has 211k on it and it's only been driven hard five or six times for a few minutes tops (was my mom's from new). I've been looking at some threads and some talk about buying new ECUs and wiring harnesses...
ANY insight would be much appreciated from this NOOB.

If I'm in the completely wrong place, I'm sorry, will someone link to me where I should be?

Thanks!

 

At 211k I wouldn't be in a rush to get a new engine. That's not bad for a Honda. My 98 civic ex had 350k and I kept up with oil changes/maintenance and she ever failed me(I beat on her at least 3 times a week )

Just change your transmission if necessary, maybe get a new clutch, pressure plate, and throw out bearing since you'll have the transmission out. And give her a tune up/oil change.

 

5 speed or auto?

 

This, I'm assuming your car is a manual lol.

 

It's a manual. Any good places to get decent price on the parts?

 

I'd buy tranny from Craigslist. Got mine for $100 twice n it was good as butter.
Got a nicee racing clutch for $35 with pressure plate there too. So deff check out craiga. Throw out bearing, of you buy new clutch it should have it. Auto parts stores have it too.

 

hmm seems strange that considering your mother owned this vehicle and it's only at 211k, unless either of you can't drive or your mom is Al Unser JR, this could be the onset of clutch problems

 

I'll probably change everything you suggested. Have you changed those parts, and if so, how much should I expect to spend on parts? Should I be able to drop the transmission fairly easily, I only have jack stands...but I'm looking into a lift...

On where's a good place to get parts?

 

Well my mom taught my sister and I, and I taught my fiance, so there's probably a decent amount of wear just in those moments of learning, god knows my sister still can't drive a stick...it took my fiance a while to get the hang of it, too...

 

CL looks like there's some decent stuff on there, how do I tell a good clutch from a bad clutch by looking at them, or is it just a risk you take?

Also, should I be able to do this work with just the car on jackstands or do I need to do it some other way?

 

When it comes to the clutch dept you are better off buying new. Problem is someone could have beaten the **** out of a clutch one time and cracked it, and if you don't know what you are looking for, it will chatter...

 

You should buy yourself a new clutch, not used. Exedy OEM clutch kits are like $120-150 new on amazon. Also, resurfacing your flywheel or getting a new one is a must. Resurfacing costs about $60 depending on where you are or a remanufactured one is about $100 max with core. Lightweight ones are like $150-200.

Depending on where you are, if you want to stick with your same engine, you can get used D-series engines from JDM engine importers for under $600 with low miles and a warranty.

 

ive seen a tranny changed via a lawn mower as a way of moving it.....drop it on the mower, bungee strap her down, roll her out.

the honda trans only weighs 40-50lbs, and I wouldn't trust my own mower to do it, but I have seen it done.

 

i assume your syncros are on the way out, maybe try a fluid change 1st, its easy to do. my tranny shifts fine, i just did my fluid on saturday, but my throw out bearing and input shaft are on the way out.

 

Nooga the work is not that hard I have done it with both a lift and on Jack stands.

the only Big deal with the lift is you can stand up when your under the car.

as far as i can tell your NOT looking for a Track car here but rather a Point car.(as in this car get me from Point to Point). if that's the case I would suggest you first flush and refill the trans use OEM honda MTF when you refill it.

as for flushing it i'll suggest you use the Honda Dealer Addendum for flushing a MT civic with out the use of a Power flusher.

this means pulling the VSS out of the top of the Trans and adding 1 QT of ATF (the mechanic said it didn't have to be Honda ATF decron iii was fine) then drive the car about 5 miles drain and fill Honda MTF.

this will clean any gummy oil and suspend any metal particals in the oil when you drain it as ATF is mostly Detergents.

I have owened and or fixed well over 50 civics that had Hard Shifting problems this way.
most of the time nobody changes there MTF when they should it has like a 60K interval to get changed and most change it only when it leaks out from ether sevice work (new clutch or CV shafts) or from a leaking seal. This lets the syncros clog with gunk and makes shifting harder.

as far as the clutch goes pull the rubber boot off the clutch slave and see it the release arm is close to the Slave
clutch arm =/|\ Slave cylinder = ---****
(/---****) this is a rough idea of a New clutch
( |--****) this is a rough idea of a Normal used but still good clutch
( \-****) this is a rough idea of a worn out or Failed clutch

as for as the motor if your happy with were it's at IE has power, doesn't leak 3 qt a month and your getting >25 MPG don't change it. if it is gone to hell it is alot ez'er to do a motor and trans at the same time then to do ether one alone that way your not trying to fit the trans to the engine in a small area.

My first honda was a one owner 89 acura integra with 386K on it and i drove it till it had 460K+ when i sold it and the guy that still has it said it has almost 600K and still running strong.

 

Just drop it on an old piece of carpet and drag it out.

 

I am just gonna buy a new clutch, there's no point in gambling on something that could possibly be life or death. Well I'll resurface it, my grandfather owns a machine shop and I used to work for him, so I'll just resurface it on the lathe, if it isn't so worn it'd be dangerous.

Thanks for your help!

 

I had my transmission flushed about the start of the year and it did help it some, but it still is a little hard to shift. I don't think I'm going to do an engine swap just yet, I still get like 37 mpg and I can still overtake cars on the highway so I'll just save up for either a newer Civic or an Accord, or depending on how much I save up, a newer car and a better engine to drop in the 98.

Thanks for the help on the clutch diagram, took a second for me to figure it out, but it makes a lot of sense!

 

What else should I definitely replace while I'm doing this, or just any suggestions if anything else?

 

Hmmm... How about water pump, oil pump, timing belt?
Nothing much else to change, really.

 

plus coolant, hoses, engine mounts, and axles

 

^^^ The two above me are the dumbest things to say unless they are needed at that time. HE is talking in the area of the transmission so if there is nothing wrong with the axles why replace them. Unless the motor mounts are torn thats a dumb waste, why replace the hoses.... you can do that anytime...

While your under there make sure you get a release bearing, clean and grease the throw out arm, replace the rear main seal, axle seals replace, Oil pan gasket if the rear main is bolted to it

 

Easier to service timing area when tranny is off rather than on imo. So no... Its quite a smart idea buddy

 

Thats dumb, just move on... That would infact complicate the clutch job.. I agree in keeping up in timming belts, but removing the motor mount that is holding up the engine (yes you can "support" it but at that stage you might as well just pull the whole motor and trans) is infact a horrable idea.

 

True.. But what's dumber is critics!