Hello All,

I bought my daughter a 2001 Honda civic ex, her first car. Needs a transmission, BMXA. Here's my question(s)

I'm a former Honda mechanic But never opened a 'Slush-box' or auto trans before. I can buy rebuild kit & filter for $100, watch youtube & attempt to rebuild clutches & all seals/gaskets. ***Or***

Buy a BMXA at local junk yard... Sorry, Auto salvage yard... For $100. But the 2 they have are installed in a 2003 & 2004 civic, they can't tell me mileage or issues why someone sent to them.


Is a rebuild as easy as it looks or should I roll the dice with salvage unit???


Shawn...

 

In all my years of car maintence/rebuildings , I too, have never reworked an auto tranny, so I may not have an accredited opinion. But, I would stick in a used tranny and get her back on the road. Then, take the original tranny apart and see how simple or complex it would be to reassemble with new parts.........if you feel good about what you find, pop for the kit and put it together. If your set up good , swapping a tranny is just a few hours work.......pop in your rebuilt and see how she does. If your rebuilt proves reliable, you have a spare or a reliable used tranny for sale. All knowledge costs somebody somehow........

 

Well, She doesn't turn 16 until OCT... So I have time. Co-workers think I should rebuild hers.

 

I rebuilt a B7TA out of an Odyssey, first time doing an auto trans. No mystery, just make sure you have a paper copy of the factory service manual.

For what it's worth the prev owner gambled on a junkyard unit and lost that bet. LOL Needless to say, I wouldn't gamble on it.

In my case, the trans was actually in very good shape. I suspect what was going on was the valves in the valve body were sticking, wreaking havoc on clutches and shifting in general. I ended up replacing 1 and 2 clutches, and the first steel in each gear. The piston from each gear kinda wore a bit of a groove in the first steel, that's why I replaced them. But really they all measured up fine. The clutches in 1 and 2 were a LITTLE worn, but that's to be expected for what was probably a 150K mile used unit to begin with. I used a transgo shift kit and sonnax oringed valve ends also.