Hello, hello ladies and gentlemen. Hopefully most of you regulars to this forum are familiar with me. I've been giving advice on here for almost a year now (some of it hopefully was helpful ), but I figure it's time for you to possibly help me.

OK, here we go:

History

Purchased a 1990 Civic Si HB for $3,000 back in 2000, even though it had 230K miles on it, I knew the previous owner and all the work that went into it, so I decided to buy it. The car was absolutely solid and had a lot of firsts in a vehicle for me; was made after 1990, had a/c and a moonroof, 5-speed trans and was much quicker than anything I'd ever owned. The Honda "scene" had just started to pick up, and I decided to start modding. Dropped in a B16A and some basic bolt-ons and was ready to go.

Then it got stolen six months later

Cops found it in an alley stripped near bare. The engine, trans and everything connected to them were gone along with many other exterior parts (spoiler, headlights, etc.), and to add insult to injury they hacked up my engine harness to boot.

Got $1000 for it after my deductible . Decided to go a little more conservative this time, get a better alarm, etc. So I dropped in a DOHC ZC, got a nice quiet exhaust (Thermal R&D, verrrrrry highly recommended) and an AEM intake. Eventually a Megan Racing header found its way onto the engine as well.

Other recent repairs / mods:
JDM rear spoiler and steering wheel
New fuel injectors / filter
New wheel bearings, rotors (Brembo blanks ) and pads (PBR metallic)

Current Condition

Front:


Driver's Side:


Passenger's Side:


Rear Hatch:


Those wheels are sawblades from an 89 Integra LS in case anybody was wondering

Engine Bay:


Problems
1.) Trans bearings going bad on the mainshaft
2.) Erratic Idle
3.) RUST!

Future Plans
1.) Fix said problems above
2.) Paint wheels
3.) Reinstall A/C

I probably will be getting to several of these this summer. Your comments are welcome and appreciated, I will be updating as I begin digging into these issues.

Cheers,
Eron


Modified by wiZCo at 5:36 PM 5/29/2007

 

Nice Wizco gl expletive thieves

 

Thanks Dusty

Si (L3) Transmission Rebuild

Picked up an Si transmission from a local tuner shop (All About Speed), the guy said it needed bearings but everything else was in good shape. Got it for free since I've given him a lot of business in the past (lack of a space to work on my car forces me to have him do the harder stuff), and figured I'd just rebuild it myself.

There's three things I'm looking for when I go in here:

1.) Bad bearings
2.) Bad synchros
3.) Warped oil guide plates
4.) Anything that is broken

OK, I followed a combination of three sources to disassemble this thing, two were from the CRX / Civic FAQ (*gasp* OMG, there's useful info in the FAQ! )

Bauley Civic's ISB inspection: https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=596873
CRX WORLD trans rebuild: http://www.angelfire.com/on4/c....html
And my Helms manual (like it says in Bauley's thread, Helms manual owns j00)

Well, for you n00bies and you vets alike, since this was my first teardown, I'll give you step-by-step disassembly instructions:

1.) Remove trans from car , place it on a workbench or a clean floor


2.) Remove all exterior brackets, etc. and the reverse sensor
3.) Drain transmission fluid through small bolt on bottom of trans that accepts a 3/8" ratchet (blue)
4.) Loosen and remove the bolts holding the two halves of the case together (red)
5.) Undo the 32mm seal plug on the top of the trans using a 3/8" ratchet (green), this will expose my best friend, the snap ring:


This little ring holds the upper trans case to the countershaft, essentially holding everything together. You will need to expand this ring until it "pops" open, then attempt to separate the two case halves. Be patient, this took me a good 30-40 minutes before I got it to work. The cases should separate very easily if you've done it correctly.

6.) Separate the case halves, you'll be left with this:


7.) Remove the Reverse idler shaft, arm and gear (the arm is held on by two 10mm bolts, the gear and shaft slide out easily)


8.) Undo the Interlock Guide Bolt from inside the clutch housing (8mm allen head):


9.) Undo the bolt holding the shift arms in place (12mm) (orange):


Then, you should be able to easily lift out both shafts, forks and the differential, leaving you with the picture above. You can also see the Input shaft bearing (ISB, green) and countershaft bearing (yellow)

Both shafts:


Differential:


Now it's time to inspect everything and order parts . Will update later today on my findings.


Modified by wiZCo at 5:58 PM 5/29/2007

 

awesome Ive never opened up a tranny like that before I been too much of a puss. I will eventually, as long as it aint an auto tranny

GL w/ everything

 

Trannies scare me!

Good work, I may have to come back here when my Si finally takes a ****.

 

Well, as I'm sure you could see, most things look OK inside this transmission. All of the bearings are in good condition except for the input shaft bearing and the clutch release (or "throwout") bearing. You can usually tell if a bearing is going bad simply by spinning it and listening for any abnormal noises. If there are any noises, I'd replace it.

I show the ISB location in a previous pic. The throwout bearing is in the clutch housing and is pretty inconspicuous:



To remove it is very easy. Just undo the single bolt underneath, this will allow you to slide the clutch release arm out of the trans case:


Then, just slide the bearing out and remove the spring from the bracket:


All synchros look fantastic, no round edges or broken / damaged pieces. This makes me very happy

Both oil guide plates look fantastic, no heat warping:

Top of case:

You can see the other one underneath the countershaft bearing, trust me, it's good.

Differential appears to be in good shape, maybe somebody can verify this for me. here's a shot of the pinion gears:



So, in all, only two bearings were bad, but I'm going to replace all of them since I'm in here. I'm also going to replace the shaft seals on both sides of the differential, as they seem to spring leaks on me at the most inopportune times.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by low91rex &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">awesome Ive never opened up a tranny like that before I been too much of a puss. I will eventually, as long as it aint an auto tranny

GL w/ everything </TD></TR></TABLE>

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Tippyman &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Trannies scare me!

Good work, I may have to come back here when my Si finally takes a ****.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks guys.

I was actually quite scared about starting this whole thing but it's actually been pretty easy so far. I'm not going to be changing the bearings myself though, I'd rather not screw those up . I'd think the hardest part would be actually removing the transmission.

 

looks amazing! crazy to see a tranny apart, if only i knew about the tranny throwout bearing replace trick before... wat pain it was to put in...

 

Parts list:

21120-PG2-003: trans pickup magnet (mine was really gunky)
91002-PS0-003: ISB
91005-PL0-008 (x2): Differential bearings
91101-PL3-B03: Countershaft bearing (clutch case)
91205-PL3-A01: Oil seal, clutch housing *
91205-PL3-B01: Oil seal, clutch housing *
91206-PL3-A01: Oil seal, trans housing
22810-PL3-005: Throwout bearing
91004-PL3-B03: Mainshaft top bearing
91003-P21-003: Countershaft top bearing (1)
91006-PL3-A03: Countershaft top bearing (2) ~ has groove for snap ring

* Came in two sizes, got both to be careful.

Total: $231.07

 

dang wizco this thread should be stickyed for trans info...freakin awesome job, keep up the updates for the reinstallation of everything

 

Great build up.Gl on the project.Nice write up too!!!

 

lookin good
get shifter bushings while your at it.

 

You have my blessings and best of luck with her

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by 89efDUSTY &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">dang wizco this thread should be stickyed for trans info...freakin awesome job, keep up the updates for the reinstallation of everything </TD></TR></TABLE>

We'll see how much Vap and Toad love me

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by garageEF &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">lookin good
get shifter bushings while your at it.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Done and done , got some ES's waiting for the re-install.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ace$nyper &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You have my blessings and best of luck with her </TD></TR></TABLE>

Now the thread is complete, Max has officially chimed in. Thanks d00d.

 

ive read some of your post so im subscribing to your build good luck

 

Not many throw a up any pics of trany work, nice job man

 

mmmMMMMM transmission tech.

 

Thanks guys

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by STREETWERKZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">mmmMMMMM transmission tech. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Damn, Ace$snyper and STREETWERKS in one thread?!? I must be teh awesomes!

 

That's is a clean SI, is your exhaust black.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by wiZCo &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

Damn, Ace$snyper and STREETWERKS in one thread?!? I must be teh awesomes! </TD></TR></TABLE>


now youre jsut asking to get it locked.


im going back to the first post and re-reading. as i am rebuilding a few YS1 trans that i have in my garage.

 

do you have a bearing removal tool for the countershaft bearing removal? and if so, which tool do you use?

Did your outer mainshaft bearing come out without any trouble? when i disassembled my transmission, the outer mainshaft bearing stayed in the case.. but the manual and your example both show it coming off on the mainshaft.

good info and good pics.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Ilovemyef9 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">That's is a clean SI, is your exhaust black.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Thanks, it's a lot dirtier than it looks.
The exhaust is actually stainless, it's probably just the picture.

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by sanimalp &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">do you have a bearing removal tool for the countershaft bearing removal? and if so, which tool do you use?

Did your outer mainshaft bearing come out without any trouble? when i disassembled my transmission, the outer mainshaft bearing stayed in the case.. but the manual and your example both show it coming off on the mainshaft.

good info and good pics. </TD></TR></TABLE>

I'm actually taking the pieces to a transmission shop to do the bearing work for me since it's really not frugal for me to buy extra tools for one job. But no, the outer mainshaft bearing stayed on the shaft after case removal. It's actually one of two bearings that you don't need to use a seal driver or puller on to change (the throwout is the other).

 

looking good, I can't believe I did my TOB without removing that single bolt to make it easy lmfao (I carefully popped those spring things into the TOB with it all still in the bellhousing). You may just have inspired me to rebuild my damn YS1 myself, but who knows. I keep going back and forth on doing it myself or continuing to try and track down my friend whos rebuilt countless Honda transmissions but he is remaining elusive...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by STREETWERKZ &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">im going back to the first post and re-reading. as i am rebuilding a few YS1 trans that i have in my garage. </TD></TR></TABLE>
I thought B and D trannies were signifigantly different?
Either way post up about rebuilding those YS1s so I can copy you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Bob_760 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">


I thought B and D trannies were signifigantly different?
Either way post up about rebuilding those YS1s so I can copy you. </TD></TR></TABLE>


they are. but at least i can get an idea before i tackle the chore.

 

Yeah, all I really need to do is swap the diff with my S4C, but I wanna check the bearings/synchros while I (or whoever does it) am/is in there. So all you really gotta do is spin the bearings and listen? What about checking gears/synchros, anything that isn't obvious?