Rep Power: 268

So I took apart my donor tranny to check it out, per bomerman19's DIY. The gears have notches which I am certain are not typical, but just need to know if it is beyond worth keeping.

The notches are on the mainshaft and countershaft gears, as follows:
Mainshaft:
1. Bottom Gear at base of shaft (no photo)
Score at bottom 1/5
Nick at top of gear fingers



2. Top Gear at base of shaft (photo above)
Score at top 1/4
3. 3rd Gear (photo above)
Score at bottom just under 1/2
Score at bottom 1/4



4. 4th Gear (photo above)
Score at top 1/4
Score at top 1/5
5. 5th Gear (photo above)
Scores at top and bottom 2/5

Countershaft:
1. 1st/2nd Synchro Hub (no photo)
Can feel a small score at the bottom 1/4



2. 2nd Gear (photo above)
Minor score at top 1/4
3. 3rd Gear (photo above)
Score at middle
Score at bottom 1/4



4. 4th Gear (photo above)
Score at middle
Score at top 1/4
5. 5th Gear (photo above)
Scores at top and bottom 2/5

To me it looks like something was inside the case that got pulled up into the gears. The notches aren't extremely deep but quite visible. What should I do? There is a warranty on the tranny, should I take it back and look for another one? Or is it not worth worrying about, put it together and get a good 100k miles out of it? Someone please help me!

 
Rep Power: 217

I took apart a Saturn manual tranny in school, but I can't remember if the gears had any notches on them, though. I would at least have it looked at by a professional if you're unsure first. Or see if you can find a photo to compare. My only guess if they were meant to be there, it would be for the fluid and heat dissipation. The patterns just look too uniform. What about the speed gears? Do they have the same notches on them?

 
Rep Power: 268

So looking on HondaTech, there are some tranny rebuild threads. Look at these photos:

This one is from THIS link:


and this one is from THIS link:


It appears that it is normal for a used gear. The new gear photos they have do not show any scores. So if I replace the gears with a new gear and start the tranny, will I have the same scores anyway?

 
Rep Power: 217

The gears are touching, so yes, there will be some scoring. It's good you found some other pics. I would assume there is going to be some type of pattern once things get moving. I would wait and see what the others say because I've never actually done any real transmission work outside of class(yet).

 
Rep Power: 268

Hasn't anyone one else looked inside their transmission?

 
Rep Power: 811

this is one reason gears get worn down with use and why you will never find a trans that lasts forever. i was talking to a mechanic i know about this and he has never seen a used trans that did not have some type of gear damage like that. he says its very common to get rebuild requests where they looked much worse than your pic shows. he even has a few around the shop as damaged to show to customers. so to answer your question, unless you get a new trans you will see those marks. some better and some worse depending on the age and condition of the used trans. in reality, transmissions are designed to wear out even if you baby them and change the fluid often. its just the nature of the machine. autos and manuals alike are wearable parts. there is always something that will go out, whether it be the clutch friction material, or the filter clogging, or the gears. there is too much going on in there.

 
Rep Power: 268

Thanks Gearbox. I was hoping they were common, after seeing the posts at HT. Looks like I get to keep her and swap all the bearings to make her last a while...

 
Rep Power: 811

did you consider using the TCI rebuild kit since you have it open? supposed to make these trans bulletproof and they are only around $250 for the whole kit with all new clutches and seals.

http://www.tciauto.com/tc/civic-mast...kit-01-02.html

 
Rep Power: 268

Wow, I had not heard of them. It appears they are only seals and gaskets, no bearings. If so then this is getting a bit more expensive than I bargained for. And I don't see how there are that many seals in the tranny. Are these for all seals getting to the tranny or throughout the engine? Do you know if they have diagrams for install? Does it include a clutch, or are these internal clutches? So many questions, and the site does not seem very navigatable.

 
Rep Power: 811

there was a member who installed the kit but i dont know how much info he included. its a ton of work and the whole trans needs to come apart. the kit comes with all the seals you need for the trans work. the most important part are the red eagle clutches. the oems are junk, well mostly the secondary pack that causes 2-3 gear slip. the tci kit replaces the stock clutches and seals. pretty much its an overhaul kit so you are replacing oem parts with these new ones. the filter is nasty in there so they also include a new one of those.

https://www.civicforums.com/forums/1...uild-pics.html

 
Rep Power: 268

Starting to make sense that this is for an auto tranny. I have a manual. Explains most of the confusion. I don't see anything on the TCI site about manual trannys either. Sent them an email thru the Contact, hopefully get a response.

 
Rep Power: 811

okay! lol. yeah i thought you had an auto since they are the ones you should be worrying about opening and making sure they arent junk already. the manuals seem to be fine. the insides just looked too similar to me. my first reply applies to both manual and auto so you should be fine using what you have.

 
Rep Power: 268

So TCI responded and they only have auto applications. Does anyone know of any aftermarket bearings for the manual tranny? For instance: I'd hate to put a OEM plastic input shaft bearing in it to have it break again. Someone out there has to have something more reliable.

 
Rep Power: 268

So I am ordering new OEM bearings for the tranny. $260 for all. Are there any bearings I do not NEED to replace? Needle bearings on the shafts seem like they should get too much damage, of course they are less than $10 each. So in all, $350 for the tranny and $260 for new bearings total $610 for a rebuilt tranny. Not too bad, since I can only find junk trannys for $700 now...