6 speed tranny in an 89 dx hatch, will it work

hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
in Engine & Drivetrain
i want to put a manual in my hatch, it is now an auto, its a 89 dx hatch the tran does not change from 2nd-3rd or 3rd-4th all that great its getting to were it wants to rev up between gears an i figure the tires are gonna kill the auto trannys any way,
i would like to put the 6 speed wagon tranny in it,

my question is will if fit because of the awd part of it, i dont want to make my car awd i just want the tranny for the low first gear,

i know it will bolt to the engine but i was worried somthing else would cause a problem?

does it use different axles then my car has?

would any pedal manual asembly an linkage out of a hatch work or does it need to be out of a wagon?

i just want to know of any things that would cause problems or reasons it would not work

thanks for any help

Comments

  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    first of all, you would need all the parts needed for a AT->MT swap,... pedals, linkage, tranny, axles, clutch cable, clutch...

    yes the AWD tranny has different axles.... also, im not sure it would work without the rear driveshaft all that well, but im no expert and am prolly wrong, haha (usually happens that way).

    pedals and cables and such would work from a hatch. what you would need (assuming you can use the AWD tranny) is a cable shift linkage from a RT4WD wagon.

    honestly i would just put in a DX or Si tranny from a 2WD civic. plus those trannies are really easy to find and are plentiful vs. the AWD tranny. um, and its an easier swap to go manual as well.....

    i'll let everyone else tell you im wrong though :D
  • hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
    well either way i go awd tranny or si hatch tranny, if the axles are different does that mean that the spline is gonna be different if it is will the axles spline be different at the hub meaning i will have to change the hubs to ?
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    no you dont have to change the hubs... i think with the AWD the axles are different lengths. with the DX/Si you can use your stock axles..

    not sure though about the AWD axles.. someone else needs to back me up on this.
  • hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
    i never sat an read about doing a auto to manual swap so i dont know about the axles, i know i need pedals, linkage, shifter, clutch, clutch cable, i never seen anything about the awd tranny in a hatch anyway, if i do a five spd swap i want the lowest geared five spd for a d that i can get at a good price
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    i think the Si tranny would be the lowest geared, they are a bit harder to find though and a bit pricier then a DX. but if i were you i would go with that.
  • hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
    i did not know if there were any lower then the si or not, a guy i know he works at the honda dealer where i used to work told me he ordered one from over seas that was lower geared then the si but i dont know if thats true or not, theres not that big of a difference in the dx an si, if there was much of a price of differecne in those 2 i would go with the dx. i just want that low gear in the 6 spd for off roading
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    yeah, idk maybe a DOHC ZC tranny or something like that is geared lower. i think we had a discussion on here before about tranny gearing, try searching =)
  • hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
    HF__________________________3.25(for you hypermilers)
    EF,CRX DX & ZC________________3.88 Final drive
    EE(wagon)&EX(sdn)(thx.Davens)___4.058
    CRX SI________________________4.25


    but there was some talk of the awd beind a 4.4 not a 4.0
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    :o 4WD Wgns are 4.428.
    The 2WD is 4.O58.

    If you want to do a 4WD tranny swap.There's a member on here that did the complete swap into a CRX.Do a search.

    :o Sounds like you just want lower gears.King Motorsports has a lower final drive gear.I think it's a 4.7 FD.It's not going to be cheap & you need to almost completely dismantle the L3.
  • hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
    i keep serching but i have not found anything that is very helpful, if anyone knows a link that could help please post it
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    http://www.hondacivicwagon.com/board/vi ... php?t=2285
  • hooptyrider89hooptyrider89 Band Wagon
    im glad u found that cause i couldnt, that was helpful, if the only major problem is the tranny mount then that should be no problem to fix, ythanks for the help wagodizzle, an noboby said u were wrong either lol
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    :P no problem man
  • Mista BoneMista Bone Wagonist
    hooptyrider89 wrote:
    HF__________________________3.25(for you hypermilers)
    EF,CRX DX & ZC________________3.88 Final drive
    EE(wagon)&EX(sdn)(thx.Davens)___4.058
    CRX SI________________________4.25


    but there was some talk of the awd beind a 4.4 not a 4.0

    where is the DX 3.722 and HF 2.95?
  • SiWagonSiWagon Council Member
    Mista Bone wrote:

    where is the DX 3.722 and HF 2.95?

    The DX 3.722 is for 96+ Civic &

    the HF 2.95 is for 49-state(USDM).
  • farfetchedfarfetched Wagonist
    Those 6 spped 4WD transmission aren not true 6 speed. To upset you further, you cannot use (very awkward) low gear in town...Every time you shgift from LO to 1or2 you loose so much momentum, the engine bogs down to the point you have to start all over again...
    Been there done that many times!!!
    Cheers!
    P.S Besides that when my waggy was in 2WD mode, I was getting worse MPG that now...when I put it back in RT4WD mode...Loving it!!!
    :wink:
  • Mista BoneMista Bone Wagonist
    SiWagon wrote:
    Mista Bone wrote:

    where is the DX 3.722 and HF 2.95?

    The DX 3.722 is for 96+ Civic &

    the HF 2.95 is for 49-state(USDM).

    Incorrect.

    88 Civic/CRX was 3.722, 89-91 is 3.89 and I'm finding the 88 HF was the 2.95, 89-91 was 3.25.

    I'd also explain that the 88-89 doesn't use the 1mm spacer was were as 90-2000 does next to the thrust washer on the mainshaft.

    But then correct info just confuses the masses :)
  • judebertjudebert familEE
    How different are the axles? If I replace my '88 4WD transmission with a '91 hatchback (HF, I think?), will I be able to keep my axles, or will I need to take the ones from the HB?
  • wagodizzlewagodizzle Council Member and EDM expert
    judebert wrote:
    How different are the axles? If I replace my '88 4WD transmission with a '91 hatchback (HF, I think?), will I be able to keep my axles, or will I need to take the ones from the HB?

    the HFs were only available in the CRX.


    i think (??) the 4WD tranny had a half shaft, so that both left and right side axles were the same length....? if it did then basically thats the difference between the 2WD tranny axles and the 4WD.

    if you swap out for an HF tranny you can just get regular Civic or CRX axles for your car.
  • HaydzHaydz Moderator
    RT4WD transmission is cable shifted.
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