Just recently bought a "New" transmission for my 1997 Civic Ex (automatic) and Installed it myself. By new I mean new to me... It is a a4ra off of a 1996 civic lx and has ~120k. After installing and replacing ATF, I get a bad grinding sound when trying to shift from park to reverse. (seems as if it doesn't get all the way in gear) Please help as this is my first "Big" car project.

P.S. All bolts are installed corrected and tightened to spec, so its not that.

Is it a possibility that I bought a bad tranny?? should I just ride it until it dies, or try and replace things such as solenoids, ect..

 

possible, yes. you bought the wrong transmission in the first place.

 

how is it new to you if it was a used transmission, who the **** coined this "new to me" bullshit anyways. Thats the most stupidest term I've seen so damn far.

ITS ****** USED. DO YOU GET A WARRANTY WITH THIS "NEW TO YOU" TRANSMISSION? NO.

 

New to you, new to me, very accurate discriptors.

I guess when you learn something new it's not new being it's knowledge that has been known for decades possibly centuries? You don't say I learned something new today? Do you say I learned something old today? Dude! I learned something ******* ancient today!

Everything is based on perspective. No two personal realities are the same as no two peoples (not even twins) experiences are the same.

I think yer griping just to gripe unless this is another carry over from GDD.

You do make a valid point about the used transmission, however, there might be an exchange warranty. I think our pick a part yard gives you 90 day swap warranty so you can keep swapping until you get a good new to you used part. An example, I have a spare tranny I've had awhile, if it was new I would be like, I swapped in my old new tranny. Old to me as I've had it sitting around for the past 3 years, but it's a new part. Same schtick, opposite side.

eghatch9295 seems to have the most helpful info though. Appears it may be the wrong tranny for the car.

 

new to me PARTS, we're talking about parts dude. If it were new than darn sure there would be a warranty to come with it. Knowledge wise, yes...

"Yeah we've been engage for a while"

"Oh really? Thats news to me"

"Yeah, we're gonna perform our wedding on a cruise boat"

"Cool, do you guys plan on adopting since you're both gay, you know what I mean"

"Nah, he plans to have a sex change but stay a male"

"Oh damn, more news to me"

 

Griping over the English language duality is just silly. If you don't like having so many varied meanings to a word, I suggest you learn and stick to some other language. It's why the English language is one of the most difficult to learn for anyone not natively born in English fluent environments. It's bad! It's sick!

Bitching about it serves no purpose to help others struggling with an issue with their car. It's like arguing over a color, it's purple, no it's violet.... Asking clarifying questions (wasn't necessary as the poster already clarified, used but new to him, not one he had sitting around) is more productive so as to get to the root of the problem.

In this case, root still isn't clear. Is it a bad used transmission or is it just because it's the wrong transmission for the car so the TCU doesn't match up and it complains going into reverse?

 

so does anyone actually want to try and help me out? I'm new to the forums. and also everything I've read (particularly on honda-tech) says that the a4ra and b4ra can be swapped without issues.... could I have read bad information? or do you think the USED tranny I got was damaged from the get-go? would it be worth it to even try to replace shift solenoids considering they are ~130$ NEW...

 

no, it isnt. the transmission if properly installed is bad. you should check to make sure your axles are properly seated. y7/y8 transmissions are NOT the same. it will physically go thru the gears, but it won't work correctly.

 

axles are properly seated. The car drives fine just makes the noise on occasion when switching to reverse. Do you think I should drive on this tranny until it dies, or buy a proper one now? Also how serious are the risks of running this tranny? Could I face possible engine damage? and also consider a used b4ra is about 400-500 around me. Just let me know what you would do considering I'm on a tight budget and the car already has 190K.

 

no, there is no real risk to the engine. sounds like reverse is just on its way out. where are you located?

 

I'm in San Francisco... everything is expensive here.. might just try to find a b4ra at a junkyard near me or something

 

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Thanks for that! Ill have to use that site in the future.. looks real useful! I guess Ill just have to pick up a new tranny sometime soon! /thread

 

One thing to check when picking up a used tranny somewhere is their return/exchange policy.

Some used parts places all sales are final, others want you to get a working part and you can keep swapping until you are satisfied.

I personally avoid the all sales as-is/final places.

Best of luck.