REVscene - Vancouver Automotive Forum

PuYang · 10-10-2010, 07:53 PM

@tillerz: hahaha yeah, thats my fear. may i ask where you got yout swap done? (if it was locally).

right now, theres still the possibility that its not the tranny problem. maybe the fluid is low, maybe my car was cold. etc etc. i will be driving it a bit tomorrow near my home to test.

luckily i transit to work on weekdays, because theres no employee parking. and its right across a skytrain station. so weekday routine is fine (except i cant drive to the gym ;s), my weekends are more screwed if this keeps up.

i do plan on keeping this car (or switch to another prelude), so, im still looking into the swap. my parents are also helping me look for azn mechanics lol, who have experience with this issue.

here is a very dumb question, but nontheless, i must ask.

when you do a swap, am I responsible for finding/buying all the parts used/new, for the swap? or is it something the mechanics can do? say... they get all the parts together for me and do the swap, and i pay them? cuz im ASSUMING they can still get most of the parts needed from honda right? (at a more expensive price).

Tillerz · 10-10-2010, 08:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuYang

@tillerz: hahaha yeah, thats my fear. may i ask where you got yout swap done? (if it was locally).

right now, theres still the possibility that its not the tranny problem. maybe the fluid is low, maybe my car was cold. etc etc. i will be driving it a bit tomorrow near my home to test.

luckily i transit to work on weekdays, because theres no employee parking. and its right across a skytrain station. so weekday routine is fine (except i cant drive to the gym ;s), my weekends are more screwed if this keeps up.

i do plan on keeping this car (or switch to another prelude), so, im still looking into the swap. my parents are also helping me look for azn mechanics lol, who have experience with this issue.

here is a very dumb question, but nontheless, i must ask.

when you do a swap, am I responsible for finding/buying all the parts used/new, for the swap? or is it something the mechanics can do? say... they get all the parts together for me and do the swap, and i pay them? cuz im ASSUMING they can still get most of the parts needed from honda right? (at a more expensive price).

hey, i got mine done at garagefive performance in Richmond.

labour was about $600ish for complete swap. (im not sure if this was the exact # but it was around that much, it's been two years since i did it)

Shops can find the parts for you, but it becomes pricey, when i told Keep Performance (the local shop i bought parts from) to find my parts it cost me $2000 + i bought a new clutch and flywheel so it came out to be approx $2500 + $600ish install.

im sure garage five will be able to source parts for you as well, but look for it to be around the same price range.

you could always source the parts out yourself, but it will take a lot of time to find everything, but you would save money for sure. but some things are super hard to find.

if you are looking for good asian mechs for the swap, go to garagefive, they have a lot of experience doing 5spd conversion for preludes, a few of my friends also got it done there.

remember that that price was for used parts. if you are buying all new from honda, it will cost you more than the price that some of the ludes are selling for right now.

PuYang · 10-11-2010, 03:52 PM

^thank you SOOOO much for that reply.

that really put my mind at more ease; regarding their rep, and about the parts. (was picturing myself spending months on the internet finding each part lol).

~600 for labour? wow, i pictured it to be alot more.

thank you very much again (and thanks to everyone else who posted with advice!).

Evolution auto has replied my email, saying they can do it, and have tons of experience with preludes. im asking them for a approx quote/time.

hopefully garage5 will reply me, because seems you guys all recommend them.

THANKS!!!

Tillerz · 10-11-2010, 03:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuYang

^thank you SOOOO much for that reply.

that really put my mind at more ease; regarding their rep, and about the parts. (was picturing myself spending months on the internet finding each part lol).

~600 for labour? wow, i pictured it to be alot more.

thank you very much again (and thanks to everyone else who posted with advice!).

Evolution auto has replied my email, saying they can do it, and have tons of experience with preludes. im asking them for a approx quote/time.

hopefully garage5 will reply me, because seems you guys all recommend them.

THANKS!!!

no worries dude.

evolution auto preformance is a great shop as well.
they worked on my turbo lude, my buddies turbo lude, and my other friends NA lude.

great guys, know what they are doing, and have sick custom work! props to kevin and phil.

Mugen EvOlutioN · 10-11-2010, 05:02 PM

DHP can certainly do the auto/manual swap for you, its just is it worth it?

they did the red G35 TT 500whp from auto to manual swap.

My first car was an auto, and i kept thinking about doing a manual swap, at the end? its not worth it. Just buy a better car thats manual already and be done with it

saves the hassel

PuYang · 10-11-2010, 07:44 PM

^thanks guys.

evolution auto has quoted me for 800 labour, and APPROX 1000-1500 for parts, and 3-4 days of work. doesnt sound TOO bad to me ;] kevin is very nice in the emails, and evolution auto is much closer to where i live (burnaby), instead of richmond.

@mugen evolution:
i know, and completely agree that its always easier to buy a new manual. however, my current car is ALREADY showing signs of the dying tranny that preludes are known to have. so... it means i need to FIX this current problem and sell low? or NOT fix it, and take a huge loss too. either way, swap is looking more and more good at this point.

i also have some SMALL mods, which help tip the scale towards just swapping. plus, as my first car, i have formed quite a bond with it. all those little scratches etc, doesnt bother me. i love it to death!

thanks again everyone for your help. it is starting to look like i will be going to evolution auto, since they replied quite fast, and im ok with the price/time needed. it being fairly close to my home is also a plus.

i will post/bump this thread if anything new comes up (or tell you guys my results). or if i have any questions in the future. so for now, thanks again for everything~!!

Mugen EvOlutioN · 10-11-2010, 09:43 PM

^

ya in that case it is hader to sell even if u were to sell

the ludes auto tranny are kinda known to be fragile and so on plus a 10 years old car

good luck tho

underscore · 10-12-2010, 10:00 AM

If they're small mods, they aren't hard to change over. For the current tranny, how long has it been since the fluid was done?

PuYang · 10-12-2010, 12:16 PM

^they are small mods, but is still more things to hassle over. which adds up to leaning my towards the swap. plus, more importantly, needing to fix my current tranny before selling.

well, i actually only owned the car for a few months. and only given it 2000kms. (yeah, VERY less). bought it from a honda dealership, who set it up good to go until my next maintenence (which is about 4000-5000kms away, and oil change at around 3000kms from now).

the car has ~118,000kms total, which is actually pretty good on the tranny's part already lol.

i just got the reply from garage5:

"Hi,

We have done the swap multiple of times. The cost are approx. $3000-4000 depending on what type of parts u want."

the email was extremely brief, and charging more than evolution auto. and they are farther away. so.... i think i'll go to evolution auto! that is unless you guys believe garage5 is better, and therefore CAN charge more?

thanks!

RabidRat · 10-13-2010, 02:30 PM

If your tranny is already starting to go then ya that'd a totally different story; it'd be much harder to sell for sure. Good luck with the swap!
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Mugen EvOlutioN · 10-13-2010, 02:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuYang

^they are small mods, but is still more things to hassle over. which adds up to leaning my towards the swap. plus, more importantly, needing to fix my current tranny before selling.

well, i actually only owned the car for a few months. and only given it 2000kms. (yeah, VERY less). bought it from a honda dealership, who set it up good to go until my next maintenence (which is about 4000-5000kms away, and oil change at around 3000kms from now).

the car has ~118,000kms total, which is actually pretty good on the tranny's part already lol.

i just got the reply from garage5:

"Hi,

We have done the swap multiple of times. The cost are approx. $3000-4000 depending on what type of parts u want."

the email was extremely brief, and charging more than evolution auto. and they are farther away. so.... i think i'll go to evolution auto! that is unless you guys believe garage5 is better, and therefore CAN charge more?

thanks!

tranny is probably 1500-1800

swap for labour $800-1000

may need new clutch,flywheel etc another $1g

PuYang · 10-13-2010, 02:48 PM

^hi, thanks for the feedback ;]

evolution has given me a full break down of the quote.

after tax (HST T__T), and labor/supplies, im looking at ~3000$.

unfortunately, im still awaiting for a lower KM transmission, as the one he found he so far has 200,000kms on it! O___O! keep in mind mine is currently 118,000kms

he is in the process of helping me locate a newer one. which would increase the cost slightly. but still within 3000s.

i'll let you guys know the results when its done! hopefully soon. i will lol and cry if my car dies on the way to the mechanic ;s

Mugen EvOlutioN · 10-13-2010, 02:50 PM

200,000kms

does sound pretty damn high especially u are dropping $3gs to get it done

fsy82 · 10-13-2010, 03:17 PM

Let me chime in here. Number 1 I applaud you for deciding to switch from auto to manual. My first lude I had to rebuilt the tranny 2 times before I gave up on it. I sold the car and got a manual prelude now and will never go back.

My wife has an 98 2 door Accord V6 and its tranny was dead and I got it fully rebuilt with warrany from Mr Transmission. They stuck with their qoute and also added a friction kit and transmission cooler. The reason why these transmission's fail is because number one Honda sub contracted the transmission to be built by GM and number 2 the transmissions create alot of heat.

This is where the friction kit and transmission cooler helps a ton. Now my wife's Accord shifts with no problems and drives real smooth. So before maybe spending a ton in swapping to manual talk to Mr. Transmission and see what they can do for you.

If you need more info feel free to PM me.

Cheers!

PuYang · 10-13-2010, 04:58 PM

^hi thanks for the info!

but, i kinda do want to start driving manual as well.

however, im not arguing here, but from the information i gathered from prelude forums, they say theres nothing really to save the transmission from dying. are you sure your method is all that it needs? because if the cooler is all it takes, i doubt so many people on preludes forums would be bashing the ss preludes, and they wouldnt run away from auto preludes like its the plague.

secondly, since you said you switched to manual, im wondering why you didnt try the coolant fix? (unless you are like me, wanting to drive manual anyways ;p)

not trying to argue, just wanted clarification. i was under the impression that the auto ludes were faced with inevitable doom!

fsy82 · 10-13-2010, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PuYang

^hi thanks for the info!

but, i kinda do want to start driving manual as well.

however, im not arguing here, but from the information i gathered from prelude forums, they say theres nothing really to save the transmission from dying. are you sure your method is all that it needs? because if the cooler is all it takes, i doubt so many people on preludes forums would be bashing the ss preludes, and they wouldnt run away from auto preludes like its the plague.

secondly, since you said you switched to manual, im wondering why you didnt try the coolant fix? (unless you are like me, wanting to drive manual anyways ;p)

not trying to argue, just wanted clarification. i was under the impression that the auto ludes were faced with inevitable doom!

Hey no problem man,

At that time which was like 5 years ago I never knew a friction kit and transmission cooler would help the situation. Again you would have to get the tranny rebuilt with the friction kit and transmission cooler added. The transmission as it is right now will fail eventually.

I actually sold my prelude and got a Eclipse and then traded that for my current prelude.

Hope that answers your questions

PuYang · 10-13-2010, 05:23 PM

haha alright, thanks for the clarificatoin.

ill ask around the prelude forum where i frequent to see if anyone knows of that easier fix ;]

ToneCapone · 10-13-2010, 07:32 PM

Props on going for the swap, I wanted to do this as well but my mechanic said dont do it "it is too expensive". Then my 98 prelude tranny went out... twice. The first round it was just slipping and eventually stopped going anywhere. The second, similar to you, it started with this heavy clicking sound - at first on occasion then super loud constant click. Id be interested to hear how the swap goes + the price for everything so update the thread when you get it done! GL

PuYang · 10-13-2010, 07:53 PM

^thank you for the support!

yeah, my first mechanic tried talking me out of it too. which, obviously is the smart thing, so i dont blame him at all. however, given my current situation, its the best way to go.

"too expensive" is a stupid argument though. its not the mechanic's place to tell you what you can or cant afford. which is why i kinda left on bad terms with that first mechanic. he also said "its too expensive, not worth it". he doesnt know how much money i make, or how much i care about my car. so why should he judge how much i should spend on my car? obviously, hes "trying" to save me money. but the way he said it made it sound like hes too lazy to do it, even if i paid all the money. (why be a mechanic then if you're just gonna talk all your customers out of doing anything to the car).

im currently being quoted from evolution auto performance for ~3100$ after tax (hst) and everything, so that should give you an idea ;]

kevin @ evolution auto is very nice, and is currently helping me look into a low km transmission. you can read about it a few posts up^

underscore · 10-13-2010, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fsy82

Hey no problem man,

At that time which was like 5 years ago I never knew a friction kit and transmission cooler would help the situation. Again you would have to get the tranny rebuilt with the friction kit and transmission cooler added. The transmission as it is right now will fail eventually.

I actually sold my prelude and got a Eclipse and then traded that for my current prelude.

Hope that answers your questions

Thanks for this info, my gf has a 97 Lude that is still a baby km wise, but from what I've heard the tranny will go eventually. Now I know that when it does go, to add a friction kit and cooler.

I want to supercharge it eventually, but I'm guessing with an auto this isn't a wise choice.

PuYang · 10-13-2010, 11:35 PM

^hi guys. i posted this friction kit and transmission cooler thing etc onto a prelude forum that i go to often. they said it doesnt work ;(! not gonna argue with them, cuz some of them are prelude "specialists" and flame noobs lol.

which is what i assumed (no offense!), because everyone runs away from the auto prelude. if it was such an easy fix, then it wouldnt have been a big deal...?

@underscore: my advice is to tell her to enjoy the prelude if its still low kms and pray it doesnt die soon ;D! mine is 118k kms, and can still technically drive. just kinda scary hehehe. and of course, there are the odd auto preludes out there that never have problems! its really hard to tell someone to sell their car. no one knows the bonds you make with it ;(

underscore · 10-13-2010, 11:45 PM

Yeah it's already made a strange clunk going into drive once, I'm hoping it'll last a few more years at least. She babies the hell out of the car (doesn't even hit VTEC!) and once I learned of the possible problems I baby it everytime I drive it too. She loves the car and wants to keep it a long time, is there a common engine/tranny swap that people do to keep it auto but rid the car of the problem tranny?

PuYang · 10-14-2010, 09:11 AM

^never heard of any "common" thing to do to keep it auto. you can simply fix the auto tranny and prolong its life. however, from what i heard, it costs nearly as much to fix the auto as it does to do a complete manual swap. (which is why im going straight to the swap after my first auto issues).

i hear too many stories of people fixing the auto, and having it die again not long after. making the costs quite a bit higher than getting rid of it.

obviously, i cant tell you what to do in your situation. no one can force you to change to manual, or sell your car. just pray nothing serious happens ;]

@the vtec not kicking in; not sure if you guys care about having vtec or not, but you guys should go check that out xD!
not sure if you guys bought it used or not, but make sure you have the right prelude engine lol, sounds dumb i know, but i read someones story about buying a 5th gen prelude, and the previous owner swapped out the engine for a older accord engine (non-vtec) kinda got ripped off imo

underscore · 10-14-2010, 10:15 AM

Oh no, the VTEC works, she just never hits it haha. I have a few times and it's pretty fun. She's tried manual a few times and doesn't like it tho, so I know eventually some other kind of auto will have to go in there. I'll be doing the labour either way, so it's only parts/tranny rebuild costs that I'm worried about.

PuYang · 10-23-2010, 05:28 PM

Hi, sorry for bumping this thread. just thought id let everyone know, i got my car back from evolution auto today.

overall they did a good job, everything seems to be working. great customer service and assistance etc.

upsetting part is that they didnt help me get a shifter, so they stuck my automatic shifter knob in the spot. looks super ugly with a shift boot coming down from a auto stick lol.

currently practicing manual now. i kinda suck at it. having a hard time finding the right point where the clutch disengages, so im constantly stalling from the start.

my friend let me practice manual on his GTI VR6, and i did ok on that. my car for some reason feels harder for me to find that sweet spot ;[ my clutch pedal is also super hard to push down, so my left leg is getting some crazy work out!

thanks again for everyone's feedback/suggestions. never would have completed the swap without your recommendations.

and thanks to kevin at evolution auto!