Thread: No 5th gear

I have already solved and repaired all the mechanical issues except for this. I have the funds to buy a new tranny, will the b15/p11 bolt right up?

P11 would be your best bet if you can find one local. B15's are easier to come by and are generally cheaper but have shorter gearing. Both are originally hydraulic transmissions. You would have to either buy one already converted to cable, do it yourself, or convert your car to hydraulic.

What is your new clutch setup again? Did you upgrade or just replace it with a stock equivalent?

Truthfully, if you are running a beefy clutch and HD pressure plate, I would just go ahead and convert the car to hydraulic. The pedal feel will be way better and you will not have issues of the cable wearing out over time.

However, this may also be more work than are willing to endure since you seem to want to have the car on the road as soon as possible. So I'd suggest just picking up one that is already converted to cable and be done with it. It essentially a bolt on affair, you just have to wire up the sensors to your harness and mess with the linkage a bit.

Hope this helps.

Replaced with stock equivalent since the motor is bone stock. I'm looking to keep this car mostly stock with the exception of a few bolt-ons. It's going to be my daily driver. Its on the road now and I drive it to work mainly. My route to work doesn't have any roads with speed limits over 45 mpg so not having 5th gear is not too much of an issue other than using a bit more gas. I'll compare prices on the repair kit opposed to getting a new tranny. If they are around the same price I will probably just get the new tranny and keep this one around for when I have the time and patience to repair it. I'm going to go which ever way is the best bang for my buck. So far I have about $1300 in the car and it is now mechanically sound with the exception of the 5th gear.

I do believe that is utter hogwash. I believe there's a mix of B14 transmissions out there with the new style gear and the old style gear. The older style becoming less and less common as the B14s continued to be built. So a 1995 B14 transmission is extremely likely to develop the issue where as 1999 is less likely.

That's my guess anyway.

I could agree with that. B14's are a definite maybe on 5th pop-out.

Also....

SeaJayEmm - the threads on the differences between your tranny choices are right here:


Driveline & Transmission - SR20 Forum

Scan that section and all the way down the page. A whole treasure trove of knowledge.

Plus our forum from "How To":

http://www.sr20-forum.com/general-maintenance/

Another three or four threads on your specific questions.

I have the names of the previous owners dating back to 1998 from service records. I am thinking about contacting them and asking if they experienced 5th pop out.

How many miles on the transmission? It usually developed somewhere between 80k and 150k miles. (Likely aggravated by failing engine mounts at that mileage.)

Used B14 trannies run anywhere from $150 to $400 in the classifieds. If it's a $1300 daily driver, I'd just snag one of those, bolt it up, and call it a day. You could even do it for cheaper if you have a u-pull-it salvage yard close by and don't mind getting down and dirty. No guarantees on the u-pull-it stuff though.

Either way you source one, be mindful that the open dif trannies require a different driver's side axle then the vlsd ones. You probably have a vlsd, if it's an SE-R.

hammerin hank, where in PA are you located?

The car has 164k on the clock. 5th didn't work when I got it a few weeks ago so I have no idea when it went out.