Hi all,
I recently bought my 3rd 2000 Honda Civic (I just love these cars). It appears to have had a transmission leak and it sounds like the input shaft bearing is bad. I drained and replaced the fluid and it helped quiet the noise just a bit for now. This car is just my fuel efficient driver, nothing fancy, fast or flashy. Transmission has 210k miles on it and the following numbers:
S40-2003402
E5F P4A

My question is this:
Do I rebuild this transmission or do I try to find a used transmission and hope that it doesn’t have any problems? I have a bead on a tranny from a ‘97 LX sedan for $150 so I kinda figure there’s not much to lose in buying that, and worst comes to worst I can always rebuild the other one while it’s out if I have to. From what I have seen rebuild kits can be had for under $150 with bearings and synchros. Any recommendations for best places to shop for rebuild kits would be appreciated.

Thanks!

 

Price on rebuild vs buying used?
Are you capable of identifying a bad transmission when buying used?
How soon can you install the tranny so you won't get scammed if it doesn't work the way it should?

 

1) rebuild kit +/- $150 used tranny $150
2) no idea how to identify bad tranny
3) I could bolt it up pretty quickly, but I don’t think local craigslist seller offers a warranty.

 

- I never found a quality kit for 150 but hey all you.
- I would suggest looking at local yards.

 

I also asked in the original post for any recommendations for sourcing a rebuild kit specifically because I don’t know what I’m looking for. If I’m looking at $300 for a quality rebuild kit, then that makes the $150 craigslist tranny I found seem more reasonable, eh?

Thanks.