90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

So I was leaving the track (road course) yesterday and did a pull in second gear to get on the highway when I heard some noises from the trans and coasted to a stop. After the initial pop noise there was a constant knocking/ticking as I slowed down. After a little bit of sitting trying to figure out the issue I noticed some oil leaking from the bell housing. I got the car towed home and took it apart this morning.

Setup is: 90 civic HB with turbo b16 (~305hp), cable b16 J1 transmission, Quaife LSD, Gearspeed synchros, stock axles and 205/50/15 direzza zII tires.

I bought the trans used with the Quaife already installed and rebuilt it with Gearspeed synchros and new bearings less than 10 or 15k miles ago. Daily drove it for a short time before it became a dedicated hdpe/weekend car.

Here are images of the carnage. The rest of the gears/ syncros still look great thankfully:

Evidence before pulling it apart:




Internals:





Final Drive:




Now for the questions.

A friend has a hydro GSR FD and countershaft sitting around, Will that fit with my internals?
If not what aftermarket final drive options do I have?
What cases are interchangeable with mine? 90-91 LS? any others?

How do you recommend cleaning the other internals to be sure I get all the metal bits out? I also want to be sure I don't have anything in the Quaife diff but don't want to void any warranties.

Runnerdown

The J1 is a unique trans and has been experiencing a fading aftermarket and oem parts supply.

-Hydro GSR FD is not compatible.
-90-91 cases are interchangable as long as you know how to set the mainshaft and diff shims up.
-Cleaning of the parts will require a complete breakdown of every piece to clean the shafts and detail all the shifting pieces. Metal debris hides everywhere on trans parts and in the cases.
-If you plan on keeping the car a while it may be worth it to just do a hydraulic trans conversion as they have a strong aftermarket and parts availability options.

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

I do plan on keeping the car a while, but aside from the final drive the transmission is pretty good shape with upgrades like carbon syncros and a Quaife differential. At this point I would rather not invest the money into a new mount kit and differential for a hydro transmission which i'd also have to buy. That is if I can find a decent oem or aftermarket FD.

In doing some more research I found this site: http://forums.g2ic.com/showthread.ph...nd-gear-ratios
If this is right the 90-91 LS's have the same 4.4 FD. I need the case anyway so I may just go that route.

The only aftermarket final drive I have found for the J1 is the M factory 4.92 which I am afraid will be too short for a turbo car. Anyone have any experience for these?

My current transmission has these teeth counts:
1: 39x12 - 3.25
2: 39x19 - 2.052
3: 34x24 - 1.416
4: 32x29 - 1.103
5: 29x32 - 0.906
FD: 66x15 - 4.4

Makes for a fairly short transmission already. (138 top speed) a 4.92 FD would drop that to 123 and make my shifts 5-12mph shorter depending on the gear.

Runnerdown

J1 has a really short 5th. I ran one for years in my olf ef. Problem was as parts began to wear out I had a hard time getting replacements. It also has an unusually small 5th synchro that is prone to failure.

If you can get a decent used case or FD then you have an good repair option. The 4.92 I think would be way too short. Contact Synchrotech, they may have what you are looking for.

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

Is there any trick to getting the FD gear off the differential? My impact is not doing anything.

Runnerdown

The bolts are reverse thread

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

That will do it, guess I should have looked at the little arrows on the bolts.

sportsman1539

You could probably just get a countershaft from any 90-91 tranny since they are all 4.4 fd.

I honestly would try and find a b17 tranny. Similar gearing to what you have now but a lot stronger and parts are a lot easier to find for them. B16 hydro, gsr hydro, and itr all use the exact same sleeves, synchros, hubs etc. In fact all you would need is a ys1 cable casing and any of the hydro trannies will swap into the casing

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

Will my quaife differential fit in a ys1 transmission? If so that changes things.

sportsman1539

Yes that quaife should bolt up to any 90-93 tranny, ls hydro, and b16hydro.. The only ring gear it wont bolt to is the gsr hydro/ itr trans.

Btw I have a b17 gear set with a worn 2nd gear synchro ill sell ya

Mista Bone

I should have a early cable LS 4.40 FD laying around if needed.

Best to keep the counte rshaft and pinions matched as a set.

90civichbsi

iTrader: (1)

So I bought what I thought was a 90-91 LS S1 trans today for $150, turns out its actually a JDM B16 S1 with an LS 5th gear. Looks like I'll have some usable spare parts when I am done.

I do have another question, does acura/honda typically keep stock of the various shims for rebuilding transmissions?

Mista Bone

Shims would be stocked at the Cali warehouse, #91 I believe.

K series uses PL3 diff shims. SOHC D16 88-2000, B16/LS 88-2001, GSR/ITR 97-01 all use them for example.