I took a chance on doing this myself since the guy who was supposed to do it was apparently busy. I thought to myself, I am mechanically inclined and not the dumbest bump on the log, soo... I want to outline it a little because I have a couple questions I want to put to rest about what I did.
99 GSR tranny using a Helms...

Removed the casing (bolts, circlip,fork shaft spring/bolts

Removed the reverse idler gear

Removed the changer assembly

Taped the splines of the main and counter assys.

Removed main/counter assys.

Removed differential.

Removed ring gear (kind of a pain on those bolts holding the assy. still while removing them (a friend helped hold it and thought he got the *** end of the deal,lol))

Removed the upper ball bearing (above speedo gear) (This was a PITA because we wasted so much time finding a 3 legged puller and then had to dremel the legs so the claw could get under the bearing. When that didn't work, we finally decided to put a cutoff wheel on the dremel and hash through the side of the bearing in three places so the puller could have a place to bite. It worked, and the bearing came off smoothly.

Removed the speedo gear. Heated this up with a torch, going around slowly for a couple minutes, with puller attached, gradually pulling it off. Went smoother than I thought. I WAS VERY PARANOID ABOUT BREAKING THIS.

All parts were cleaned with brake cleaner and then oiled with 10W30 before installation.

Installed speedo gear, heated it up slipped in off part of the way, kept heating, and tapped it down.

Installed both bearings using PVC section of pipe, piece of wood and hammer.

Installed ring gear, torqued to 75 ft/lbs. I did not use loctite (was planning to, but forgot to pick some up) Hopefully that will be okay.

Installed diff. back into casing.

Installed main.counter assembly.

Installed change holder (the top of the shaft that slides in on this piece I measure to about .5 inch. Helms says .43-.48. Is this okay? And can you mess up on installing the interlock (3 pieces here) or does it go only one way?

Installed Reverse idler assy.

Up until now everything was going smoothly. I turned the gears...was smooth, but did not change the gears...couldn't figure that part out.
I was ready to put the housing cover back on. I used Black RTV to seal the case. But trying to get the case on, something gave me fits and it would go about 1/2 inch from closing all the way. Well 30 minutes passed, and i was getting frustrated. I thought I needed to clean off the RTV and start over. Cleaned it, and then test fitted the case again, and bam, I moved it somehow and the bitch went down all the way (LOL). So we laughed our *** off after cleaning the RTV off right before this happened.

Now, I am going to seal it tomorrow and hopefully the original shim that was in there already will be ok...

So my questions are:
Is the black RTV gasket maker ok to use or do i need Hondabond?
No loctite on the re-used ring gear bolts is ok?
~.5inch okay for the change holder rod measurement (Helms says .43-.48)?
The change holder will fit only one way?
Oh, the ring gear teeth count was 66. This IS A GSR TRANNY RIGHT?
Should I pull the oil seal and check the clearance just to be safe before I seal it up?
This is supposed to be a 99 GSR tranny. THe 99 GSRs are supposed to have the tapered roller or ball bearing bearings? (This one was the sealed)

And just a side note to anyone wanting to do this. It's not really that hard. But have the right tools and know before what you are planning to do and get the Helms and I think anyone who is mechanically inclined can do it. I think I learned a lot as well. (Hows that for counting my chickens before theyve hatched?????) Hope its all good when it goes in...




[Modified by b20guy, 11:18 PM 3/23/2003]

 

Nice job. Now i feel alittle more confident about tackling this kind of job myself...

 

I would follow the helms manual to the letter. The internals differ depending on the year sometimes...(as long as it works it's all good) Black rtv vs, hondabond....probably not much different....if the manual says to use thread locker...THEN USE THREAD LOCKER. Metal parts physically deteriorate over time because there is a physical expansion due to heat and a contraction when the metal cools down, over time this will loosen a bolt and that's why thread locker is used. You don't want a bolt on the ring gear to loosen do you? Also you need those clearences to be exactly what the manual states, clearances are there for a reason. It could cause excessive mechanical wear or a vibration to occur. It's funny how people dismiss a few thousands of an inch and then end up rebuilding after a few thousand miles. You're going to need a shim kit to properly shim the differential. I wouldn't use the original shim unless it was the exact same differential assembly (even then those things wear down also so I would just check the clearance if it's off by a a few thousandths I'd replace it)
Hope that helps.



[Modified by WundedSaint, 9:09 AM 3/24/2003]

 

I will check the shim, anyone concur on the loctite (on already used bolts, 12k tranny, torqued to 75 ft./lbs?) Is it really necessary?

 

Yay for DIY!

I hope everything turns out OK....I have no experience in this so I can't give you any advice.

 

I used blue loctite on the final drive gear, not sure if it's necessary though. I likewise had to wait 3 days for the appropriate shim and considered this delay unfortunate but necessary.

 

you say you used helms did you have to buy the 98 dition and then buy that stupid addon thing

 

AAHH a good tech thread....I have been waiting a while...

 

Honda offers a variety of shim sizes for what you need. Look the different ones available up on http://www.hondaautmotiveparts.com

 

trannies are the one place where I am still a little afraid to venture. I have never had to work on a FWD tranny before, nor have I even seen one apart. Block stuff, head, suspension, interior, wiring, etc. I'm cool with so I am mechanically inclined. How hard is it to learn more about trannies? I am thinking of buying a blown one and just tearing it down to figure **** out. It would also help to get a new helms. I needed money and had to sell mine a long time ago.

 

excellent post!!!!!!!!!
two for you!
1) black RTV is fine.
2) not using loctitie is fine.
3) change holder should be okay at .5
4) no idea on the ring gear...
5) nah I wouldnt check the oil seal, its a '99! and you would see lots of grime if it were bad now.
6) tpaered roller bearings the require preload were phased out many years ago, so YES your 99 GSR tranny should have SEALED bearings... also, you should measure the gaap and order the correct shim if you do end up needing one. Without the proper clearance or with too much play the differential can wear the bearings prematurely.... not good.

good luck though!

 

Are these tapered roller / sealed bearings the carrier bearings? (do they serve the same purpose?)

 

DIY fin ownz

 

Pictures are worth 1000 words. If you had taken pix, you would not have had to type so much...

Good write up though!

 

Well I took the tranny back to work today to open it again. I disassembled it, and applied loctite to the threads, retorqued to 75. Was so much easier with two pieces of wood and a bench vise, which I did not have yesterday.

I checked the shim and at first thought I was off. It was measuring at about .2mm, specs call for 0-0.1mm. Then I realized I did not snug the bolts down. Did that and checked again. The .127mm feeler fits, the .158 doesn't, so I think I'm good there.

I went ahead and had Honda deliver some Hondabond just to be on the safe side, and to have some for later. So, it's all done now.

I've really got the closing of the tranny case down pat now... Slide it down (will be about .5 inch from closing), grab the left and right side and I give it this little Fonzi bump and it closes down to about 2mm. Then open the circlip, tap the housing on the top with my hand (makes the circlip start on the upper bearing, then take a screwdriver to the locknut visible thru the circlip opening, and pry slightly up and the clip locks into the groove.

The swap is scheduled for next weekend, wish me luck.

Oh for the interested, it's a b20z2 (2001), skunk2 IM, b20 TB, ITR exh. manifold and cat, and GSR tranny (with quaife).

I urge all of you to try it, even on a junk tranny. I promise you it's not that hard.

 

I just have the thicker 98 Helms manual. BUT the B18B1 tranny shows to have the sealed bearings and the internals were identical so I used that as a guide. The 98 B18C1 shows the tapered bearing along with thrust washers, etc. more stuff.

 

IAhh I knew someone would mention this. And I had a camera too. I began to snap photos, but as the process moved on, I kinda forgot. You make me feel so guilty now!!! I'll post what I have when I get a chance.

Oh and can anyone verify the teeth count to be a GSR tranny? 66 teeth is what I counted.



[Modified by b20guy, 6:03 PM 3/24/2003]

 

Dont worry. I have done several installs that would have made nice threads, but taking pix would have slowed me down.

 

So you're out of spec by 30% or so, right? That's not acceptable.

 

I decided to change the shim, just so I don't have any f-ups. It also gives me a chance to take pics again (except for the bearing removal and ring gear installation).

I examined the current shim, it has a 40 stamped on it. Is this 40 thousandths of an inch? The first shim listed in the Helms is as follows:
A, Part# 41441-PL3-B00, 1.0mm (0.0394 in)

Am I to assume that my shim is this shim? noting how close .0394 is to 40.

If I am .027mm over max standard (.1mm), then the total gap without any shim is 1.127. Using the next shim up, 1.050mm would yield a clearance of 1.127-1.050=.077mm, within the standard of 0-0.1mm.

Using a 1.100mm shim, the clearance would be 1.127-1.100=0.027mm.

Sounds like I should go with the 1.1mm shim IF the 40 on my original shim means what I think it means.

Does this sound right?