DIY: Differential Swap

[Fico]

Tools
10mm socket (1/4 drive deep well works best)
12mm socket
10mm allen key
14mm allen key (or ghetto bolt)
snap ring pliers
Press (or take it to a shop)


First start off by taking a 10mm allen key and removing the lock for the shifter, then remove the 4 10mm bolts on the shifter. You may need to giggle it a little to get it out but it should pull out.



my bolt was in so tight i bent the Allen key


Next Remove the 14mm plug from the end of the trans, i didnt have a 14mm key nor could i find one so i locked 2 nuts on a 14mm bolt and used a wrench( its also really in there and i had to use a wrench propped against my leg to get it loose...



Remove all the 12mm bolts from around the housing along with the bolt that holds in the reverse gear shaft(its on the front of the trans on the underside)....


There is a 72mm snap ring that will be visible once the 14mm plug is removed, use a pair of snap ring pliers to prop it open as you pry the case apart using the convent leverage point as supplied by honda
(my picture of it got corrupted but its easy to figure out)
next remove the oil diffuser (dont know what its called so i made up a name, its just a plastic tray and it pulls out)


there are two 12mm bolts that hold the reverse fork in remove those along with the reverse gear and shaft...

then pull the gear sets and shifter forks out and your left with just the differential and ring gear...


You will need to pull the bearing and speedo gear and ring gear off the differential, but you need a press ( i took mine to a local shop it took about 20 minutes to pull the bearing and gear and put on new bearings and the speedo gear) And yes get new bearings, there about 40 bux a piece at napa and they are not sealed as they appear, thats just a dust guard.

once everything is pressed on the differential you can throw it back on along with the gears, and scrape the old gasket off the case, replacing it with ultra flange II from honda. button it all back up and your done! not so hard now was it??


And as always im not a professional nor do i claim to be, so im not responsible for what you do wrong But i was able to do this in my studio apartment without a problem.

[Aug]

bump for some weird white kid

[Aug]

i meant my racially obscure brother

[Fico]

i meant my racially obscure brother

ha ha thats more like it!

[Tnhatch03]

great write up man1

[Fico]

great write up man1

thanks man! anything to help out my ep brothers!

[locoep3]

nice man good job

[2004ep3hatch]

yea this is good. i know who im inviting to come over and help me install my lsd when i get it!

[Fico]

yea this is good. i know who im inviting to come over and help me install my lsd when i get it!

ha ha yeah boi!

[Aug]

pie

[Fico]

pie

yes?

[SyckSiR]

im gonna guess u meant jiggle....as i doubt that bolt moved when u laughed at it! lol

[davisj3537]

Next Remove the 14mm plug from the end of the trans, i didnt have a 14mm key nor could i find one so i locked 2 nuts on a 14mm bolt and used a wrench( its also really in there and i had to use a wrench propped against my leg to get it loose...

You might want to add in the end of the thread how this bolt comes out so you can make sure everything pops back into place when putting the trans back together. You don't want to skip this step.

[Fico]

im gonna guess u meant jiggle....as i doubt that bolt moved when u laughed at it! lol

ha ha yeah, i typed it up really fast because i saw a question about the install on the forums so it finnaly motovated me to write it up. lol


and davis elaborate on what you said im having a hard time following what you ment?

[davisj3537]

That huge ass bolt pictured above has to be removed so you can slide some things into place when putting the tranny casing back together. I think it is the top of the gear sets that slides into a groove just directly underneath that bolt if I remember correctly.