To be, or not to be

[Mooky_Stank]

Scroll down for shorter question.

Alright so here's the deal, forgive me if this is in the wrong forum, I didn't know exactly where to put it because it's an open-ended question.

I have a 2004 Honda Civic Si K20A3 with +120k miles. I bought it as it is from a friend with Apexi exhaust, an Injen short ram intake, and performance headers (I can't remember the brand.) Now when I got the car my friend was the second owner, and I knew that he had ragged it some. But the engine still sounds great and she has some kick in the ass for an a3 with what it has on it. The only thing was I noticed that when I would shift from second to third it would make a little chirp. Not like a long grind just a quick little noise. Well he said that the Honda dealer said it is a synchronizer ring and it was a shit ton to buy and replace and all that, so he didn't worry about it. And he said it was nothing I would have to worry about either.

Well now that I have the damn thing I have read into and see that it's a common problem on a3's and that they have bad tranny's. Thanks friend.

My short question is this:
I have a K20A3 with a bad synchronizer ring, I want to build this car as a daily driver, but I would like to get more hp out of it than the A3 tranny can handle anyway. Should I
1. Do a A2 tranny swap. Would this make much sense? (I think that's possible I don't know a whole lot about working on cars, which doesn't mean that I won't do my best to research and understand, and relay to a certified mechanic, lol, whatever advice you give me.)
2. Do a full A2 swap. Probably what most of you are going to say.
3. See if it's possible to find a synchro ring, which I looked in to and damned if I can find it.
4. Just get the ring from Honda.
Your feedback is appreciated, please feel free to make any suggestions. I really want to make this car something special.
Thank You,
Mooky

 

[hondafreak513]

Swap it all for the a2... just my $0.02..

 

[Mooky_Stank]

Yeah I figured that's what most people would say. I found one online for like 3500 online, but I'm not sure how detailed of a swap it is. I know the engine and tranny that's all fine and dandy, but then I have to figure out what to do about mounting all the different shifting mechanisms inside the car and under, going from the console shifter to the floor.

 

[Mooky_Stank]

Bump for any Honda-techs or mechanics opinions.

 

[hondafreak513]

So the shifter is up in the dash.. I suspect it has the cable shifting also.. There should be a way to make it work on the a2 trans..

 

[FLounder]

if you want the car for a daily driver, i would either put in a new trans and call it a day, or if you have the dough, do a A2 swap and call it a day. a k20a2 with boltons, kpro, and a tune can make some pretty nice numbers.

if you want to go real fast, then build the motor you have and turbo it. probably wont be as reliable for DD duty though.

 

[Mooky_Stank]

Ok so I found the part #s for the 1-2 and 3-4 synchro sets on k20a.org. does anyone live near the florida panhandle, that would rebuild a tranny or knows of a trustworthy honda specialty shop that would not bone me like the honda dealer.

 

[Mooky_Stank]

ok I talked to a k expert on K20a.org and he said that even though I have the weird dash shifter it doesn't matter, the cables and everything bolt right up to the six speed. I just would not (edited 1/24/11 @ 8:22 p.m. est) have reverse lockout. So what I might do is get the a2 tranny. If I can find one for cheap

 

[hondafreak513]

I thought they would work..

 

[reckedracing]

if its a daily give it some new syncromesh or new honda MTF fluid
yes it does make a difference
if it still works i say just drive the thing and dont jam it into 3rd gear
you will get bored of it sooner than later and end up selling it and losing your ass on it

instead just drive it as a daily and take care of it
then save all the modding money you have for a real car, and sell this one when you are sick of it and get something nice that rides nice and handles well

trust me
that rsx isn't gonna be your thing for all that long

well, i notice you're 34, not the typical young punk that comes on here
take a look at the B series 3rd gear syncro replacement write ups
there might even be a write up for the transmission you are referring to
they are pretty simple if you follow the directions and pictures
then reconsider and see if you want to give it a shot

also, ask a couple local shops how much to fix it if you pull the trans for them

 

[Mooky_Stank]

Actually I'm only 24, 34 just happened to be my number of posts. Lol, don't know if you consider that a young punk. I know absolutely nothing about working on cars.

And it's not an RSX it's an EP3, and no I'm not gonna get tired of it. It's a real car to me, I have a thing for hatchbacks, and after totaling my 94 I wanted something that was newer and more reliable (transmission aside) for someone who doesn't know a lot about working on cars, which as the 90's civics get older and older I'd have to attend to a lot if I got another one.

I've done the B swap and all that good stuff, now I'm ready to move up. If you have a different opinion that's cool. What I will probably do if the synchromesh doesn't work, I've found a guy that has rebuilt EP3 transmissions with the 06+ LSD in it.