Tallest geared tranny for '97 civic HX?
 

So I want to swap out the tranny on my HX for a taller geared tranny, what's my best bet? I kinda 'have' to do it anyway as the tranny in the HX is leaking so it either has to be rebuilt or replaced, and if I can get a used one for around 300 then it would be cheaper to replace it. Rebuilding it will cost about 800 and replacement is only 250+ the Transmission.

California98Civic put together an awesome list of Honda transmissions a while back... ah yes, here it is:

http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...ios-26279.html

I can't tell you what is compatible with your engine though.

If the transmission is leaking that does not mean it needs to be rebuilt. Imput shaft seal or axle seals are the only leak points. Leaking at the bottom of the bell housing is imput shaft seal and you need to drop the tranny. Axle seals can be done with the tranny in the car. Could be as simple as the axle not being completely in place. Imput shaft bearings seem to be the most common bearing failure in Hondas. You can tell if the bearing is noisy by putting your ear on the shifter and listening for the noise which sounds like nuts rolling around in a can.

Might also be the speedo sensor o ring.

regards
Mech

In addition to what Mech says above, consider the shifter linkage seal too. But if you do want to swap it, you can see the variety of possibilities in the list I made. Your tallest choice, however, is the 1992-1995 VX/CX with the 3.250 FD. It is an easy direct bolt-on.

The 92-95 is compatible with 96-00?

Also, thanks mechanic, I'll replace those first and see what happens.

I believe the CRX HF tranny is taller, but it's cable rather than hydro. Dunno about the bolt pattern.

Not sure about OBD2 compatibility on the pre 96 transmissions. On Nissans there was a sensor that counted the teeth on the flywheel ring gear and it did passive cylinder balance by comparing the rate of acceleration and deceleration of the pistons on each combustion cycle.

It can tell you which cylinder is not producing as much power as the rest as a percentage and is a valuable diagnostic tool.

I'm not sure about Hondas but OBD2 was required on 96 models. Ask me how I know about it?

I rebuilt a 95 200sx which was a coupe version of the new model Sentra for 1995, first year of OBD2 for that model. The sensor was broken in the wreck. Nissan quoted me $850 for the sensor. I checked the manual version and it was $35. They had made a mistake in pricing the auto version of the sensor and they finally got it straight.

That sensor lit a CEL every second engine start. It was not a primary system sensor, just a part of OBD2 diagnostics that allowed cylinder balance to be compared without disabling anything.

regards
Mech

Oh wow, I'll look into it before doing anything. Idk if I'll even replace it, if replacing those seals fixes it, I'm not gonna waste the money.

Not 100% sure, but I don't think OBDII Honda transmissions are wired any differently from OBDI's. They're largely dumb boxes and should work fine if they bolt up. In my OBDI tranny (Del Sol), there's only the VSS and reverse switch to turn on the backup lights. The differences (I vs II) should be only in the alternator, distributor, and maybe a knock sensor. (??)

Read this in another thread, it does seem it will work.

Any '92 - '00 D-series transmission will work (this includes all '92 - '00 civics and Del Sols, except the '99 - '00 Civic Si, and the '94 - '97 Del Sol VTEC)


Also guys, I noticed while driving around (about 95F temp outside) that my coolant was between 201-207F, is this normal? Just making sure.