Putting in a new transmission

[VF1223]

Hey everyone,
New to the site but hope to be picking up a 240 soon as a little toy on the side. I found an '89 S13, stock, KA, auto, etc. for $500. The body is in decent shape and it's mostly mechanically sound. Only problem is that the car needs a transmission, I was wondering how difficult it would be to 1) find a used trans (auto, manual, doesn't matter) and 2) how difficult it would be to install one. I'm reasonably handy but I've never swapped a transmission before. I've got a bunch of friends back in NY who have these but I go to school in MS and just would need the thing to be drivable until I can get it back home where I'd have plenty of people who know these cars to help me do whatever I'd really like with it. Can anyone help me out and point me towards finding a used trans (preferably within a reasonable distance from Oxford, MS) and towards what I need to know to swap the trans? Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks guys.

[bb4_96]

Transmission are cheap. Ebay or the For sale forums on here or car-parts.com. The transmission is just like anyhting else.. Hard if you don't have the patience or the right tools. Google an Auto to manual 204sx swap to find a walk-through of how to remove and install the transmission.

[j20accord00]

agreed, if you search you will find ALOT of threads on the swap. parts needed and small steps and tricks to help you.

I just did mine a few months back on my 92. hardest part was findind the dust plate/shield that goes between the trans and motor

other then that it was s breeze

[91RMKS13]

It also really easy if you take the engine and tranny out together.

[fcdrifter20]

It also really easy if you take the engine and tranny out together.


why would you do all that extra work for??

even if you have nover done one before and dont have acces to a lift, shouldnt take you more than 3hrs

oh and dont forget to take those 4 torque converter bolts off before you force the tranny off or yuor gona make a biiiiiiiiigggggggggggg mess

[slim_240]

oh and dont forget to take those 4 torque converter bolts off before you force the tranny off or yuor gona make a biiiiiiiiigggggggggggg mess

+1 msglength

[91RMKS13]

From my experience it is a just as easy to take both out together than to take the tranny out by itself. Niether way is all that hard but that is just my opinion. It also gives a chance to take care of any other work you might think of.

[anfitch2k5]

dont mean to thread jack but im in the same situaution with a s14 chassis... anyone know if s14 and s13 auto trans are interchangeable? cause i found a s13 auto trans for real cheap...

and as for original poster, pulling the trans on my sr20 i found it easier to loosen the bottom bolts of the motor mounts and jack the front of the engine upwards getting a better angle to pull the trans out. im not sure if its the same on the KA but just a note that might help!