Transmission Question

[Dave1215]

Hi everyone,
I took my 95 Civic LX 5 speed into the mechanic yesterday and I just heard back from him with a problem, I thought the throw-out bearing was going as I heard it wasn't changed with the clutch, however, I find out that it isn't that and there is a bearing inside the transmission that is failing and I am going to need a complete transmission rebuild. How much do these run and should I go to a junkyard and try to get a transmission or just go with the rebuild? Currently, it has a VX tranny on the D15B7 block any help would be appreciated thanks!
Dave

[thisisntjared]

do you trust your mechanic?

if so, how good are you with a wrench, breaker bar, crow bar and a couple of bricks?

[Gary Palmer]

I'm not sure I would depend on one mechanic's opinion, on something like that. What was the noise you were hearing? Was it only when the clutch was depressed? How much do they want for a rebuild?

In a lot of cases I think they use a rebuilder and will just swap the transmission out. The problem with that is your more likely to end up with a non-VX transmission than not, then your mileage is likely going to drop.

[jadziasman]

Dave,

If you go to honda-tech.com and search for input shaft bearing in the old postings it will tell you all you need to know about the two bearings most likely to make noise on the mainshaft of the trans. I was brave/lucky enough to repair the bearing noise in my VX by myself in my own garage with help from honda-tech. It is not an easy repair because it is really a lot of work to remove the trans from the engine. The actual replacement of the bearings themselves are not too hard to do. The labor is the big cost. I estimate it will cost $700 to $1000 if you go to a mechanic to replace the VX trans with a rebuilt one. If you have a place to work, a helm manual, honda-tech instructions and another car while you work on your Civic, you can get the repair done in a week or less. I replaced the clutch at the same time (it was slipping a little) as the mainshaft bearing in the trans on my VX last August and it has been running great ever since.

If you would like more info on what I did, it's posted on honda-tech under the same name as I use here. If you want to attempt the repair I would be willing to guide you through it. I can tell you what tools you'll need and how to do it. Success will ultimately fall on you. But if I can do it, I'm sure most guys can. If you have trouble you can always have the car towed to the mechanic to take over - been there done that too!

[thisisntjared]

Originally Posted by Gary Palmer

In a lot of cases I think they use a rebuilder and will just swap the transmission out. The problem with that is your more likely to end up with a non-VX transmission than not, then your mileage is likely going to drop.

but your car will be quicker.

[kwtorbe]

I'd find another vx or cx tranny. I got one for $41. Now I just need to find the time to travel back to Tulsa and install it.

[Dave1215]

Hey sorry I was at work,
I trust the mechanics pretty well they've been my dad's mechanics for ten years and haven't cheated him yet but as for what they were telling me it was looking like $2,000 for a rebuilt tranny...as for the diagnosis it didn't completely go away when the clutch was depressed but it decreased to almost a whisper...jadziasman, I tried looking at honda-tech for a thread with that and couldn't find a link...I was thinking about going junkyard hunting but don't know exactly what to look for in an okay junked transmission so I don't know how to go down that route what tools would I need for a bearing removal though?

[Gary Palmer]

If you go junkyard searching, the biggest two suggestions I can make are to try to find a car that has clearly arrived their because it's been hammered in an accident. That way, their is at least some liklihood the transmission was running Ok, before it was killed. The second thing is check to see if it has transmission oil, or if you really want to know the deal, find something to drain the oil into. If it's clean, their is a good chance the transmission is OK. If it's got metal filings or anything, leave it alone, cause it either has, or will have some major issues.

On the bearing, you can use a dremel tool and a cutoff wheel, to stress relieve the old bearing, so you can get it out. Then, typically, you just need to use a flat surface, a block of 2*4 and a sledge hammer.

[jadziasman]

Dave,

If you are really interested in DIY trans work, Here is the thread that will get you started. Go to the last page and you will see my contribution but look at the original author's detailed post afterward.

http://www.honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=596873

[SVOboy]

Just pick up another transmission, I had a cx/vx tranny for a while that I got for free...it's much cheaper than a rebuild,