By Jacob (206.163.180.30) on Tuesday, September 04, 2001 - 11:54 pm:

I know that the 4 spd out of the civics is great for lower speeds because of the low final drive of 4.93. And the 5 spd out of the 1300 cvcc is desireable because it is a 5 spd with the 4.93 final drive.

I was wondering if it was possible to put the 4.93 out of the 4 spd into the 5 speed. Because I have the 5 speed, and the 4 speed. The 5 speed has ZERO identification numbers on it. It has a place on it for a small metal panel that would have the number, but the metal panel is not there.

I figured I'd just make sure it had the 4.93 before I installed it.

Any thoughts....?

Thanks

By Todd (63.50.56.61) on Wednesday, September 05, 2001 - 04:37 am:

You cannot fit the 4-speed differential into the 5-speed. The ring gear on the diff is the same, but the pinion gear on the shafts are different. You have to swap them as a set and the 5-speed shaft is longer than the 4-speed.
Do this: Put an old clutch disk on input shaft of the 5-speed. Play with the shift linkage until you are certain you have the tranny in third gear. Rotate the clutch disk while watching the differential (the part where the axle goes in). Count how many times the clutch disk rotates in the same amount of time it takes the differential to rotate once. Since Honda put the same third gear (numerically) in all the 73-83 trannies, this should tell you what the final drive is. It should be somewhere between 5 and 6 rotations. Be specific as the difference between 4.93 and 3.875 final drives is 5.8 rotations to 4.6.

By Jacob (12.111.187.18) on Thursday, September 06, 2001 - 10:43 pm:

Why not 4th gear? Aren't pretty much all transmissions a 1:1 ratio in 4th gear? Then I would be able to do it myself...

Just wondering.

By Todd (12.110.136.90) on Friday, September 07, 2001 - 08:10 am:

None of the Honda trannies from 73 to 83 have a 1:1 ratio. All trannies have a 1.181:1 in third, so take the number you get and divide it by 1.181 and that's your final drive.

By Anonymous (203.25.25.77) on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 01:04 am:

What about bearings? I have a 5 spd with a bearing rumble and a couple if good 4 spds. Can I swap over bearings or do I have to get new ones? Or would I be better off getting a new 5 spd?

By Todd (63.50.56.9) on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 - 12:22 pm:

Some of the bearings do interchange.

By glen (203.25.25.89) on Saturday, September 15, 2001 - 02:20 am:

My 5 speed has the bearing noise when it is neutral so I guess it is either the input shaft bearings or cluster bearings. Todd, do you know if these are the same as in the 4 speed?

By Don (209.181.52.94) on Saturday, September 15, 2001 - 08:22 am:

Why would you put old bearings back in a trans when you will have to buy new gaskets anyway. This will be a waste of time and money if the bearing goes south in a week -month -year?
If you get new gaskets and seals and new bearings you have a quailty piece that you can rely on.
I paid 120 for a complete rebuild kit. At the least you should spring for new bearings for the ones that are bad and new gaskets; all the bearings except one are the same between the 4 and 5 speeds. Also check the case where the shift shaft goes through, they can be worn. I just replaced the case and put the early guts into it.

By Todd (63.50.56.89) on Saturday, September 15, 2001 - 08:51 am:

Neutral? Could it be the throw out bearing?