Intro and Question - Honda Prelude Forum

Grandpa Mike · 05-28-2011, 08:56 PM

Hi All, I inherited an 88 Prelude from my grandson, 2.0si 2dr. 5mt,however grew up a ford man. Trying to show my grandson it can be done as the transmission fell out in pieces literally as we took it out. cracked differential housing and as the axles came out the gears fell to the bottom of the case. Plus holes punched thru the inside of the bell housing 1 inch in diameter.

I found a replacement tranny, (lucky) question for all here does it require a pilot bearing? I have the 88 Prelude Service Manual second edition. I dont see one in the pictures.

Life is going to be an adventure here. Motor mounts all 4, new rotors all around

Grandpa Mike

Colfax · 05-31-2011, 11:41 AM

Hi Grandpa, congrats on the Prelude. Sounds like that tranny was in bad shape. I used to be (and still am) a Chevy guy, but I don't mind helping out a Ford guy.

These cars are actually pretty easy to work on once you figure out what all you have to remove in order to get to what you want to work on.

3rd gen preludes don't use pilot bearings. So you can stop looking, lol. The clutch kit should contain the disk, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, and clutch alignment tool.

This kind of threw me too when I did my first clutch replacement. Good luck with the lude, and post some pics of it. We love to look at pictures here.

BTW, what did the new transmission come out of? Easiest would be either from an 88 or 89. If it's from a 90 or 91 you'll need to order a clutch kit for that and not an 88. The transmission splines are different and the flywheel is bigger, so you'll also need the flywheel from the donor car if it was a 90/91.

Grandpa Mike · 06-11-2011, 08:47 PM

The replacement is an 88 model year, only about 3000# off from the original, the speed sensor will have to be reused as some one over the years put a broken one in the trans. I purchased. (need to look harder on my part when buying)Thanks for asking

Colfax · 06-11-2011, 11:17 PM

You will have no fitment issues if it's an 88 or 89. The speedometers are cable driven for both of those years, and the speed sensors are the same. Good luck with the project.