Hello all. This is my first post and just wanted to say that this forum seems very infomative and straight up, no bull. I like that.

So I need a new engine\tranny in my '97 prelude and got quoted like six grand from the Honda dealership. Riiiight. So I'm getting a JDM engine and before I start all this madness I thought I would post here and see what advice you guys have for me.

First off, the engine I'm getting comes with a 5 speed manual tranny. My car has the tiptronic autostick. It sucks and I think that the transmission had something to do with my engine going bad. Because it sucked.

Would you guys recomend getting my car converted to manual, keeping the price of the engine the same but upping the price of installation A LOT. Or find an automatic transmission and deal with the autostick.

Second, I read the rules about posting and soliciting, but I would really appreciate some feedback about garages in the Chicago area. I read several reviews of different places and none of them seemed very good. Again, I'm new to this and I really don't want to get screwed. Please e-mail me with advice if we can't discuss certain garages in posts.

Thanks again for an awesome site.

joshuastyx@hotmail.com

 

the SS tranny sucks ***. IMHO it is worth it to swap to the 5spd. also if you get a new engine find out what year it is from. it may be an OBD I engine and your car is wired for OBD II. no big deal, just a $100 conversion harness for the ECU. also i believe you will need an ECU as well so make sure you get that becuase the auto ECU wont work with the 5spd.

it sounds like a lot of hassle but many people have done it and its not too big of a deal.

 

true. SS blows. as mentioned in about every other post.

but about the shops in the chi-town area, i'm not from there so i cant mention anything specific, but i can say that once you start looking, you're not going to find a shop with a perfect record where everybody loves them, doesnt exist. So, talk to some people in the area (search for members here - in and out of the prelude forum) that have work done from those shops and go visit, and see how you feel about it. if you feel comfortable with leaving your baby with them, you good to go.

p.s. whatever the shop you choose says its going to do for you, get it in writting

 

whats wrong w/your old engine? i need a block.

 

yep. dump that SS junk. If you do get the JDM engine, I suggest you replace all the common tune-up parts (water pump, plugs, wires, etc..etc..) and make sure to replace the clutch and flywheel while you have it out - saves plenty of hassle later if you have future problems with it.

 

Dude, have you checked out http://www.chicagolandpreluceclub.com

I belong to that club and trust me, talk to bulldognprelude on there, he can do the damn swap, parts provided by you, and not rape you.

Talk to him, he can do this, he is doing the ss -> 5 speed swap as i am typing this post.

Let me know. naujcdl@hotmail.com