Hey guys,

I just reinstalled my transmission and it does NOT have transmission fluid in it. Should I be worried that it would not shift into 3rd, 4th, 5th or reverse? The engine was not running when I tried.

My build is taking ages so it's been a while since I rebuilt my transmission. It's a GSR transmission with all GSR gear ratios. The work I did involved installing a new reverse gear, new syncros, a larger final drive (shaft and gear), and a MFactory Helical LSD.

The clutch may not be perfectly bled but it feels pretty solid. I had a power bleeder on it.

I did not try and force the issue. I applied a few pounds of pressure on the shift **** and that was it.

I reviewed some pictures I took of the main and countershaft assemblies against my FSM schematics and the syncro sleeves all look to be oriented correctly. I don't have any good pictures of the whole assembly in the case, though.

 

That doesn't sound good... I suggest, with the engine OFF, that you roll the car a few feet, or if it is still on jack stands, put it in 1st or 2nd, and spin one of the tires a bit and see if you can select all gears. If not, then something is wrong inside the case. Remove the trans case and take a few close up pics of the gear stacks so that we can look at what you have done... maybe then someone on here will see the problem and help get you back on track.

 

Thanks for the response JRCivic. I'll give it a shot.

 

You should be able to shift it with no fluid in it.

 

Just a little update.

I got the result I expected after installing the axles and wheels and rolling it a few feet with fluid in. No luck. I could not shift into third or fourth. This makes sense looking at the diagram in the helms manual. It looks like I'll be removing the trans and trying again.

 

Mine found all but reverse "dry".

 

I finally got around to pulling the transmission.

Got to the second step in the disassembly process and got stuck. Looks like I forgot to put a washer on one of the guide bolts for the shift forks and stripped the threads. Now the bolt won't back out further than what's shown in the picture. It's also likely to be the main culprit as to why I couldn't shift into 3rd or 4th. I'm hoping to not find too much more damage once I open it up. But, I'm not holding my breath...

 

The detent ball is now wedged inside the hollow detent bolt flaring it out at the bottom, that's why it wont come out. I'm pretty sure either Mista Bone or Honda Bull has seen this before. I've never had to deal with it personally.

 

Huh, never thought about that. I'll do a search and see if it returns any results. Thanks for the tip.

This was some good information that you've posted 94EG8:

I think this is the answer to my question:

Thank you so much for the hint 94EG.

 

Only had 30 minutes. Got the snap ring off easily. So, there's that I supposed...

Got the stuck bolt out.

Used a 15mm open end wrench to pry on it as I turned it out.The bolt was, in fact, mushroomed around the detent ball.


Left side, mushroomed.

Right side, normal.

Hopefully I can get this cleaned up. ???




What in the hell was I thinking with this washer/spacer? That doesn't belong there. Now I need to figure out where it was supposed to go...

That's as far as I got.

 

That washer under the reverse spur gear IS in the proper place... leave it alone. Repair your detent bolt holes, re-assemble the transmission and then see if you can cycle it through all gears using a phillips screwdriver that fits the hole in the shift rod sticking out of the back of the transmission. If you are successful in selecting all gears in this manner, re-install your trans in the car. If not, open it back up and take some more pics.

 

Thanks for the response JRCivic. It looks like it's number 7 on this:



It's not shown in my HELMS manual but the manual I have is for a '98 GSR. That image is for a '95. Either way, It doesn't look like it'd hurt anything.

Heading to the pick-and-pull now to see if I can score a bolt.

On a positive note, I'm able to manually move the gear change selectors into 3rd and 4th.

 

Are the detent bolts M12x1.00? I was hoping to buy a tap and clean up the threads. I stupidly didn't buy a pitch gauge at any of the four stores I just went to...

Edit. Never mind. I answered my own question by searching for "spring screw" instead of "detent bolt" It's an M12x1.00 per Bense's post here: https://honda-tech.com/forums/tech-m...nsion-1885652/

 

If you don't have a pitch gauge you can always take the bolt with you, either the store will have a pitch gauge or you can just the lay the tap against the bolt to see if the threads fall into each other.

 

Stores aren't like they used to be... I did have the bolt with me but not a single store had a gauge.

Regardless, I thought I needed an M12x1.00 so that's what I was looking for while I was shopping. Neither Sears, Home Depot, nor Autozone carry an M12x1.00 tap in stores. Looks like I'll have to order a tap or try to clean the threads up with the fresh bolt.

 

A fresh bolt wont clean that up, it will however make an even bigger mess. Hmm, that must be an especially weird size because I can't even seem to find it on the Snap-On website.

 

The fresh bolt actually seemed to thread in just fine. Ran it in and out a couple of times and it's smooth.

 

Got everything back together and I can't rotate the shift rod...

 

Actually, I'm ok. The rotation very slight. Once I used a #3 Phillips screw driver in the shift rod, I could see that I was in the different gears. The larger shaft took up all the slack.

 

Yeah, there's not much movement. The shifter exaggerates that little bit of movement a fair bit.