Hey guys, i just picked up a sweet 1988 accord lxi for dirt cheap with only 93000 miles. As luck would have it there is a manual parts car in the area from 1991 for practically nothing. I am wondering if i can swap the manual trans into the 1988 accord? I know there would be a lot involved in doing that but its worth it to me if I can get a cheap manual replacement in the wings in case this transmission wasn't maintained terribly well. It is slipping a little bit I am gonna change the atf sometime tomorrow once the dealer opens and I can get some dw1.

Any input would likely be helpful! Thanks guys!

 

It can be done and having a donor car is the single most important first step you can take. Like you said though, it will be a lot of work. Keep us posted on your progress.

 

Well so far I've picked up a bunch of dw1 atf. Plan for today is to do a drain and fill then look at the parts car. If the auto works well after 3 of those I will probably pull the necessary parts out of the donor car and wait for either: A. The auto to go out. Or B. Me to be tired of driving an automatic (more likely).

 

Typically in a swap Auto to Manual, the most fiddly bits are doing the clutch pedal mount/linkage and the shifter mount/trim work/linkage work.

 

The 88 and 91 are different generations of accords, so you need to make sure the transmission will easily bolt to the engine block and the transmission mounts. IMO, there is a lot of work to do this swap between the same generation vehicle. You may want to find a donor car that is the same generation as your accord.

 

Believe me I am looking! There were only two on craigslist both autos this one was way nicer for cheaper. The Honda atf seems to have done the trick for now. I'm still going to pick up the parts car I figure if nothing else I'll have some quality seats rims and a big piece of the swap.

 

I'd rethink this.....and this is coming from a big 3rd gen Accord (86-89) guy. The A series engine in the 3rd gens is not the same as the 4 cyl F series found in the 90-02 Accords.

Just think about this fact. The 86-89 manual trans Accords have a cable going to the clutch fork. The 90 and up use a hyd clutch set up.......

 

Hmmm yeah sounds like a lot more fabrication work than I would like.