How do you replace the transmission on a Honda Accord?

Answer 1

I've never done an automatic, so this is how to replace a manual... Jack the car up and remove both front wheels. Disconnect the battery and remove it from the car--you need the space. There's a castellated nut with a cotter pin sticking through it coming out the bottom of the steering knuckles. Remove the cotter pins, then the nuts. Use a pickle fork and a three-pound sledgehammer to separate the ball joints, then remove the drive axles. Crawl under the car and remove the skid plate. Unhook the shift rod. Drain the transmission and unhook the clutch cable. Remove the starter. It also helps to remove the air intake pipe. Basically, unhook ANYTHING that connects the car to the transmission. Get a transmission jack up against the bottom of the transmission. Unbolt the old transmission, pull it away from the engine until it's clear and lower it. If it won't pull, check along the bottom of the engine...two bolts screw in from the engine side of the seam, and they're on the bottom of the engine. Change the clutch. Use a transmission jack to put the new transmission in. Technically you don't NEED one--Accord transmissions only weigh about 70 lbs so if you're strong enough and have a buddy to help you can conceivably put one in by hand--but holding 70 lbs above your head so your buddy can get the bolts started is enough of a near-impossibility that the transmission jack is a wise investment. Once it's in and tightened to the torque specs in the service manual--you need one when you do this--put the car back together. As the book says, installation is the reverse of removal. It's very physically demanding labor but not all that mechanically complex. Most decent backyard mechanics can do it.