Poopsface

Ok so ive had this 97 Civic coupe EX MT 1.6L non-vtec sohc with aftermarket intake and exhaust with a 140k miles on it for 12 years. Its gotten stolen once and then towed back to my house and it sat for 3 years.
I started restoring the damage whoever did to it while they had it for 2 weeks and all the damaged to it from it sitting for so long in the past 6 months, I just need a little bit of advice and feedback as ive never worked on a tranny before. I only have about $600 i can spend and wouldnt mind gaining some performance out of this major DIY project.

These are the problems with my car:

1 needs a clutch. its about 3/4 gone. while im replacing this i want to fix everything else wrong in there. was looking at a stage 2 exedy ceremetallic clutch with spring hub kit for the daily driver, weekend racer. if i can afford all of the other parts i need for the tranny, otherwise stuck with stock.

2 throwout bearing is bad, when i let my car idle in neutral it gets loud the second i release my clutch pedal, sounds almost like the baffled sound of the excess air coming out of the hose on an aircompressor. i push the clutch in and it stops. comes with standard clutch kit. easy enough.

3 Reverse whines 3 times as loud as when i first got the car. i dont know what this is. any way to reduce it back to tolerable or nonexistant would be great info

4 if i let off the gas while driving in 3rd n 4th gear (not sure about 1rst or 2nd becuase the RPMS make the engine too loud to notice it if its there), and let the engine wind down im starting to hear it whine like it does in reverse.

if i accidentily let my clutch slip when accelerating hard in 1rst or 2nd the transmission makes a sound that is similar to the tires screeching while peeling out but the squeal isn't nearly as loud. i was told that was my shifter fork.

6 the gear box started to leak oil all the way around the top side of the gasket, its slow it takes about3 months before my oil light comes on after doing an oil change but its there and i think my check engine light came on because of it (have to get an engine code to confirm). i understand if i change my clutch this will be fixed when reinstalling the gearbox.

7 I am not sure if this is my top or bottom end as i cant listen to where it is coming from from inside the car; but when i start accelerating in 1rst n 2nd while driving normally and not trying to race, i noticed that the sound of the engine rev almost doubles in between 3-4000 rpms. It never used to do that but it gets LOUD like i dont have an exhaust on it and im clueless as to what this problem is. If im gassing on it its loud to begin with.

8 Idle surge, if i start my car it idles normally just below the 1 but if i drive it and it gets warm when i stop at a traffic light and leave my clutch pushed in my idle drops to just above 0 like its about to stall. causing me to have to rev my engine while sitting there to keep it above the 1. need to know all of the possibles so i can change parts out one by one or just take them off and clean them

Sooo my major question is there a great place to buy a transmission rebuild kit that comes with everything i need for this project (ie clutch kit, throwout bearing, shifter fork and the other parts im not aware of) or am i going to have to buy a clutch kit and the rest of whatever parts i need seperately, looked on the internet and its all confusing to me as most parts stores do not have pictures and since i dont know what the parts look to begin with i cant make a list of what i have to get so i can everything done in one shot.

Second question is there any kind of DIY videos anywhere on the net i could watch for my exact transmission?... the chiltons manual i have wont be able to help me bc ive never done this before.

third question hints or tips from an expert to a novice?

Thank you in advance,
Mike

ScottDR

Mike,

Due to the symptoms you should put your money into a used EX transmission (and be sure to use Honda MTF and change it when recommmended) and a new stock type clutch as you have no reason to upgrade (not a high output DOHC engine that is built etc.). That's my best advice for a novice. A bent shifter fork requires cracking open the transmission (which I've done) but would not recommend anyone doing without a factory service manual and a friend who's done it before help out. And the whining makes me think it's too late anyway as the fluid has been very low for too long.

For the 'doubling of noise' check for exhaust cracks or damage caused by the people who stole the car (and check the intake).

Also, you mentioned EX with non-VTEC. That would definitely not be a North American model as all EX models in NA had SOHC VTEC (D16Y8).

Poopsface

nm about the non-vtec thing just confirmed that its a d16y8 engine s40 tranny and it does have a vtec, i just never noticed or heard any difference like u do in the newer versions, and i just did the DIY for cleaning out the solenoid filter screen for it thing was completely clogged hope it makes a difference.

as far as the rebuild thing i have a friend that has 8 years of transmission experience to help me, so fixing this is either an option or its not. maybee i should just get a new car, but after all of the work ive put into it i dont want to start over on another car. gonna post pics in a few

exhaust is brand new so the loudness has to be coming from something else. its like the sound of the engine volume doubles like it u were playing a driving game and decided to crank the volume while acceleration it has to be coming from somewhere

Poopsface

i was too lazy so i just posted a link to the pics i had on my facebook.

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?ai...=1357034199582

ScottDR

I would not go and get a new car. You should be able to find a used transmission for under $400, which is less than the long list of parts you would need to change. Yours sounds like it was running on very little if any MTF for too long.

Poopsface

after taking in ALOT of information in the past few days trying to figure out my best course of action i have one more question and a new symptom.

Always trouble getting it in reverse and sometimes when speed shifting while gassing it it grinds into 2nd gear if i dont push the clutch in slow enough, bad synchro or a dragging clutch?...ive read that it is different from different types of tranny becuase some trannys have revers syncros and some dont. so someone with experience with an s40 trannys should know the answer to that. this will tell me what rebuild kit i need and an appx of how much itll cost total.. my friend said hell def. help me rebuild it for a case of beer and a night at the bar

thanks in advance. Mike