how to: itr tranny rebuild and upgrade

[Black R]

I made this for another forum that's more tech oriented, but figured you guys could use it too.

I don't know where to post it, but seeing as how allmotor cars (like mine) need all the advantages that gearing can offer, this seemed like a good place:

I'm making this thread because I've done this so many times in the past and using other people's write-ups online + the helms has helped me. BUT I always find myself wondering why people don't post certain things, and realized the only way to have a 'how to' that suits me is to do one myself. I think the majority of enthusiasts don't have readily available access to a lift or air tools, so some of my write-up is specifically for us.

In this thread I will attempt to show how to remove, rebuild, and reinstall an itr transmission. I will be including as much detail as possible, and all torque specs as well. In this instance, I'm freshening up the tranny with some upgrades: ATS close ratio 1,3/4/5 gears, syncro's (as I had a third gear grind), and possibly anything else that needs to be replaced (bearings, etc). This usdm itr tranny has previously been modded with the addition of an ATS 4.9 final drive and ATS metal lsd.

*Please don't freak out - YES I'm going to use a close ratio gearset with the 4.9 final drive. Yes, my top speed will be 128mph on 245/50/15's. And no, it's not a concern for me because it's mostly an autox vehicle.* I'm by no means saying that it's simple/ easy, etc!

The first time I dropped the tranny to install just the 4.9 final drive. I hadn't done much before that other than change the oil and put on a cai and header..... So I popped my cherry with the helms and h-t and I'm glad I did it. =)

The next time I dropped it (a couple months later) just to install a clutch and flywheel.

The next time was to help a buddy, and it's just snowballed from there - helping friends, etc when they needed it.

But I will say that the more you do it, the easier it gets, and the less time it takes. That's why some of those techs at honda are so damn quick.

I'm typically very slow and methodical with my work though - as it's usually just for my own cars and I don't like to be rushed/ hurried and mess up or forget something.

My goal is to encourage others learn to do their own work. You get to know the car better that way, and understand the intricacies of the entire car. It really is quite fascinating! I'm hoping that this will help people not make the same mistakes I have, and possibly show some nice shortcuts on how to get it done as well. =)

The start of the story is when I was just driving along in 5th gear cruising on the hwy after completing exhaust work that would get me dB legal for the autox the next day. The rpm's shot up for no reason and the car started to slow down. I figured the tranny just popped out of 5th gear or something, so I tried to put it back in, but it wouldn't go. Now 4th! Nope. 3rd? Unh-uh.
So after almost getting rearended 8 times, I coast the car with the hazards on to the emergency lane and have it towed. I suspected clutch failure due to the symptoms.

I have since removed the tranny and found all of the splines wallowed out on the clutch disc, so that will be replaced. I have pics and will post them up asap along with the write-up, so stay tuned.

[Black R]

How To prep work:

Park the car on a level surface. Put chocks under the rear wheels and set the ebrake nice and tight. Break the lug nuts loose on both front wheels. Just a 1/2 turn or so so they will come off easily once they are in the air. Jack the front of the car up as high as you can get it, so you'll have plenty of room for the work involved. I like to jack the front of the car up by the front tow hooks because that makes it easy to put the jackstands under the forward jacking points in the next step. I don't like to jack up under the front jacking point because I'm worried this may crack the welds on a jdm front end equipped vehicle.....
Now remove the front wheels and put them out of they way.



Next, you'll need to pop the hood and disconnect the negative terminal on the battery. Make sure you have your alarm and radio codes if necessary. Remove the factory or aftermarket front upper strut tower bar. Now remove the intake elbow and box/ air filter if you have them. I have toda itb's, so I get to skip this step.

[Black R]

How to (Continued):

(*I always place nuts/ bolts in order somewhere of removal from left to right along with the parts removed so I know which is which when I reinstall. Optionally, you can use clear tape and tape them to the parts you removed with them.)

Now I have JimFab traction bars on my car (modifed with an integrated skidplate), so this is an extra tedious step in the process..... I unbolt from the front lca's and from the front crossmember area. Some other traction bars don't bolt up the same, so you may have an easier time than I.


Next step is to drain the tranny fluid while you're down there. Put the drain plug back in the tranny so you don't lose it! =) I always use a new crush washer - but some people re-use it... :crook:

I have a hytech header and it fits quite snug near some bolts that will need to be removed. I will need to remove it in sections to get the room I need to work those bolts out. So it's a good time to unbolt the header from the cat (or resonated test-pipe in my case). I will also undo the bolts that hold the header sections together. If you don't have an aftermarket header, or your header has enough room, you may be able to skip this step and save some considerable time. I also disconnect the primary o2 sensor at the clip and leave the sensor in the bung on the header. While I'm under the car, I also unbolt the shifter from the linkage and drop the shift rod down. This is easier than trying to wrestle with the bitch-pin under the car (which we'll deal with later).















Now it's time to go back up top and remove the radiator fan. I'm using a slim fan in front of the header for clearance, but the process is the same - just unbolt and pull it up and out. Make sure you unplug it first! Then set it to the side. This gives me enough room to undo the nuts and bolts holding the header on. Then I drop the header down and wiggle it to get the clearance I need. Since I have already separated the secondaries and collector of the header, I just kind of let it hang down and am able to get to the bolts on the tranny to block brace. We'll get back to that later.

[Black R]

How to (Continued):

Next, disconnect the plugs to the VSS and backup sensor. That's pretty easy as it's just some plastic clips.

Then unbolt the clutch slave cylinder and pull it out gently. *DO NOT PRESS THE CLUTCH PEDAL AGAIN UNTIL THE TRANNY HAS BEEN FULLY INSTALLED BACK ON THE CAR WITH THE CLUTCH SLAVE CYLINDER BACK ON!* If you do, it will pop out and you'll have to bleed it, etc - no fun! I take great care not to bend the clutch slave hard lines, and I move it up and out of the way of the tranny - over near the passenger side headlight housing area..... zip tie it there if needed.

Now unbolt the ground to chassis on the tranny housing.

Next we're going to undo the cotter pins and 17mm castle nuts on the lower ball joints. Now I like to use a pickle fork and put it next to/ inboard of (NOT ON) the lower ball joint. I leave the handle of it projecting out towards the front of the car. Then I put my breaker bar (3" long steel pipe) over then handle and stand on it... it'll make a loud POP and the lca drops from the lower ball joint. =) Do both sides the same way. Then lift the Hubs up and out of their place on the lca balljoint area and wiggle them out. It helps to have a buddy or bunjee cords to pull them outwards a bit. DO NOT separate the joints of the axle accidentally! While there is some room there, use a big flathead screwdriver or prybar and GENTLY pop the axle out of the tranny. BE CAREFUL NOT TO DAMAGE THE SEALS ON THE TRANSMISSION TO AXLE AREA!

*NOTE: on the driver's side, you will need to undo the three 17mm bolts holding the intermediate shaft to the motor. Then use the prybar method to separate the intermediate shaft from the tranny. Once removed from the tranny, you can let these hang and bunjee them out of the way. I wrap them with a shop towel to avoid any dust/ dirt getting on them.

Next, is just a series of bolts. I'm going by memory right now, but it's still pretty fresh in my mind: remove the two 14mm holding the starter on (one short, and one long). Then pull the starter out and up. You should zip tie it or bunjee cord it up and out of the way. Next is three more 17mm bolts on the top and front of the tranny towards the passenger side. I basically break each bolt 1/2 a turn, then go to the next one. Once they're all broken loose, I work my way around removing them. Now is the underside. There is a series of 17mm holding the underside of the tranny from the engine side and through the tranny to block support as well. There are also some 12mm holding this brace, and another 17mm higher up on the firewall side, near the two 19mm bolts going through the big rear motor mount T brace and into the tranny. Remove all of these and set them aside in order.

Now it's just the tranny mount that's left to undo. I break each of the 19mm 1/2 a turn and then put a floor jack under the tranny with a block of wood to cushion it. Then I finish undoing the tranny mount bolt first, then the two nuts.

Once this is done, it's time to drop the tranny. It's hard to explain, but you lower the floor jack a bit and the motor and tranny combo will try to tilt a bit. Make sure the tranny is clearing the mount bracket and the starter as you lower it. You may need to make some minute adjustments here... Now you are going to "wiggle" the tranny off the motor. This can be difficult sometimes, and is easiest with two people. You are basically trying to separate the tranny by pulling it towards the passenger side of the car, but lowering it enough to clear the frame rail in the engine bay. Just wiggle up/ down, left/ right - all the while pulling it towards the passenger side. Some trannies wiggle right off, and some take serious effort. Mine was very hard to do this time - but that is because the splines of the clutch were wrecked and holding onto the input shaft on the tranny.

Once you see the case start to split from the motor, you can have a buddy put his hand through the tranny case and hold onto the starter hole. Keep wiggling and it'll slide off a bit more and try to drop suddenly. Be prepared with the floor jack and wood. I like to leave a big flat sheet of plywood on the floor so the case doesn't drop accidentally and crack on the concrete. Now slowly lower the floor jack and then gently rock the tranny off the floor jack. It'll now sit on the floor and you can slide it out from under the car. =)

You are almost halfway there now! =)

[Black R]

How to (Continued):

Now is the time to look at the clutch and flywheel and examine them.








You will remove the 6 (or sometimes 9) 12pt bolts that hold the pressure plate to the flywheel in a criss-cross star pattern to avoid warping the plate. Break them 1/2 turn then work your way around loosening turn by turn until they're free.

Next is to remove the flywheel. It is 8 12pt bolts with very thin heads. Use a screwdriver through one of the holes in the flywheel to brace it while you unbolt them (they are 80ft-lb going on, and often very difficult to remove). Take great care to NOT strip them!

Now is a good time to resurface the flywheel as well.

If you are upgrading, installation is in the reverse order of removal, but with some specific torque instructions, and some other tips. I'll update that later - once we have the tranny rebuilt. =)

Stay tuned!

[Black R]

More pics of the work:






























WTF, why is this bearing so damn loose? It's normal.

[RiceBoy]

very nice write up...

[Black R]

just for kicks, here's a quick vid of 3rd gear from the dyno last night:

http://www.we-todd-did-racing....5NTQx

[ATLtech]

Amazing Writeup! I'm a Tech for Honda, and I even learned a bit. I love the ITB's btw.

[HeLLo iM iZzY]

+1 for some helpful shit.

[Da_unknown]

+1 for u ken.. good stuff..

[EJ_Allmota]

tight ass writeup homie.. had no idea you got down like that... Much respect..

want me to post one of the pulls??

[Black R]

yes if you have a decent vid (with no #'s please! ), i could use it..... how's the sound?

you wouldn't think I could rebuild a tranny, eh?

especially when I can't even get a strut tower bar on by myself.....

[green91]

Damn ken thats a nice write up. Ive always been a fan of your EF. I bet that short gear set really keeps that car in a nice powerband.