S40 B000 Transmission Swap - Casing Also!

[Wreckless Hype]

[MENTION=98398]Osiris19[/MENTION]

Girlfriend has a 2000 EX 5 Speed, S40 B000 transmission (EJ8 VIN)
Starting grinding, popping out of 5th gear, not going into 5th gear, the whole 9.

Found another EJ8 S40 B000 trans. Good price, good mileage, looked good except for the mounts on the tail casing. So here's where I'm at right this very minute:

This is her CURRENT trans, casing is broken where it mounts to the engine block:

This is the DONOR trans, mounts are broken on the tail casing where the main mount holds it to the passenger side of the car, next to the fender well:

Pulled all the bolts holding the casings together, pulled the top piece out with a 3/8 in drive to get to the snap ring. Had the girlfriend hold that apart, best she could while I knocked it a little loose, stuck pry bars in as I went, making sure not to touch anything inside, and wiggled / jerked it upward:

Casing came off, gears still sitting right there for me. I had 3 ball bearings fall out from somewhere, have no idea where. Can't for the life of me find a spot where they might go... (sitting in the middle left of the casing)

1. What did I just possibly break (why are these loose)?

2. Any tips on an easier way to get her current trans apart so I can just swap the casing? I need the mount to not be broken, this is the reason I am doing this.

Thanks guys! Osiris19, I tagged you because you seemed pretty confident when you mentioned it, so I thought you might have a little insight...

Edit: Pulled the magnet out as it looked kinda grimy. Should it be cleaned off?

 

[Osiris19]

Sorry I didn't get back to you before. Was finishing up odds and ends with my engine swap.

Anyways, wow. Those casings look beat up. Usually, ball bearings don't just fall out. The races they ride on are usually nicely tight together. Check both main shaft and counter shaft bearings between your gearsets and make sure they aren't broken/loose. Clean the magnet out. Check it for shards of metal and shavings too.

I forget if there's a snap ring at the tail case, but it should pull right off after removing the case bolts. The shafts ride on roller bearings that sit in indented cutouts in the tail end. They take a bit of wiggling but as long as you don't scratch the mating surfaces, pry bars are okay in the right spots.

What exactly are you having trouble with? The two halves not separating easily?

Differential also has two ball bearings. One on each side. Check those as well.

 

[young_]

I just want to say.

I love watching you grow up, Jared. Bravo.

 

[Osiris19]

I just want to say.

I love watching you grow up, Jared. Bravo.

Haha thanks, Nick. Aren't you 19? I turn 21 soon.

 

[mymmeryloss]

I just want to say.

I love watching you grow up, Jared. Bravo.

We keep waiting for you to grow up...

 

[Wreckless Hype]

So I was having a little bit of trouble getting the halves apart. I got the snap ring inside apart to break them loose. When this happened, the ball bearing fell out. I realize my mistake when reading the DIY B16 Rebuild, I saw the 12mm that comes out with the springs loaded inside that hold the ball bearings. I looked and found the 3 bolts on the bell housing and noticed they were empty, so I set them aside for the rebuild.

The bell housing that was destroyed around the mount was pretty much thrown aside. I checked the gearing, nothing looked visibly chewed up, everything spun easily and no noise. The bearings seemed to spin just fine. So I took that as a good sign and left it alone. The trans fluid was dark, but there was a lot of it, so it likely wasn't changed, but I don't think it was leaking.

Pulled her trans, got it apart, gearing didn't really look all that bad either, but I don't really know what I'm looking at. Her throwout bearing was pretty worn, didn't spin freely and was pretty loud. Everything else seemed to move ok. Her magnet looked about the same as the one above but there were a good amount of chipped metal shards in the fluid. So there was some bad news bears going on there. Pulled the halves apart, removing the 12mm bolts with spring and ball bearings first. Everything came apart smooth, the busted trans was put aside with the busted bell housing from the donor.

Cleaned the inside of the good bell housing, removed all of the little shards and that. Got the 2 dowels in place and Honda Bond the whole thing. Slapped it together, got the snap ring around the gearing, put the ball bearings in, bolts with springs in, torqued everything down and grabbed some new seals. Greased up the output shaft seals and got those done.

Put the passenger side axle in to spin the input shaft and got the trans bolted up in no time. The driver side axles was pretty beat up so I got that replaced. Greased up the spindles and slid those in. Axles in, ball joints in, calipers on, starter, clutch line, etc. Adding fluid, noticed it was leaking from the driver side axle. It came out a bit while torquing the axle nut on. Popped it in to click, filled the trans.

All the gears were there, clutch was fine, no more leaks. Went to put the VSS in, went to loosen the bolt and it slipped out of my hands and then, boom, right into the trans. I literally almost started crying, after wrenching on this thing non-stop since Friday afternoon. I used a telescoping magnet to get it out after fishing around for it. Got the VSS in, took it for a ride.

Car drove very well, no grinds, nothing. Smooth like butter. Shifts better than my car. Got it up around 5k and tried some quick shifting in 4th and 5th, nothing, just all there. I was pretty stoked. Noticed there was no speedo. CEL came on for VSS malfunction, P0500. Ok...

Pulled the VSS, checked power, no problem. Checked the signal, sat at 4.86v, never moved, even when I spun the wheel. It would sometimes flicker, but there was no pulse. Really weird. She's had issue with it in the past, but it worked before. The middle pin is also pretty corroded and wiggles a bit. I pulled my VSS out (Same exact car, everything, year, etc) and plugged it in. With the key on, I can spin the gear and the speedo moves, so her sensor is shot. Getting that ordered tonight, but she's taking it to work tomorrow regardless, so we'll see how she does!

Hopefully I'll hear good things and not get a phone call saying she broke down. I don't know s**t about transmissions, so this was a huge learning experience for me...

 

[mymmeryloss]

Damn bro. Sounds like you knocked it out of the park!

 

[Wreckless Hype]

High hopes but low expectations. It's not a confidence in my work issue, it's just that it always seems anything that can go wrong, will. So if she can get to work and home tomorrow with nothing to report, other than, "Man, feels great!", then I'll be happy.

 

[Osiris19]

Those VSS break all the time. The driveshaft inside that spins with the input shaft breaks and the sensor won't see anything anymore. But glad to hear you got it all working. Like I said, manual transmissions can be overwhelming at first, but if you take your time and make sure everything is where it is, good things happen.

 

[young_]

Haha thanks, Nick. Aren't you 19? I turn 21 soon.

Nah, been 21 since June.

We keep waiting for you to grow up...

Ouch.

 

[Wreckless Hype]

Those VSS break all the time. The driveshaft inside that spins with the input shaft breaks and the sensor won't see anything anymore. But glad to hear you got it all working. Like I said, manual transmissions can be overwhelming at first, but if you take your time and make sure everything is where it is, good things happen.

Seems to be running fine. Pretty relieved since it was literally the first time I've opened a transmission. Seems to run well, just waiting on the replacement speed sensor. Thanks again for the help.

 

[Osiris19]

Anytime. Glad it worked out for you.