Hiya, I just bought a new fit. Its a 2009, my friend suggested that I check it out since he couldn't and his friends are moving to Hawaii shortly and they want to get rid of it for cheap. The clutch failed and they parked it in their driveway for a few months. I looked it over and happily paid the 1000 dollars they were asking since they didn't want to deal with the clutch and it supposedly has other issues. I immediately ordered an Exeedy(?) clutch kit and replaced the badly cracked windshield.
The Fit has just over 80k miles, is a manual transmission Sport model, and the biggest drawback is the interior, they smoked and hauled farm supplies so it's pretty neglected. I started by pulling the transmission and the inspecting the clutch, since I couldn't get any movement or idle speed change from any gear with the engine running it was clear that the clutch was dead. Once I could see in the bell housing that there were fibers everywhere and heat marks on the flywheel which I ended up having resurfaced, it was clear that they had destroyed the clutch.
I used the OEM Exeedy(?) kit from Amazon for about $150 and I changed the fluid in the transmission as well. I used the Honda OEM MT fluid and torqued everything to factory specs.
The previous owners were a bit eccentric, their battery had failed them on the regular basis so they 'stuffed' a larger one in and the terminals were bent to fit. While looking over the rest of the car I saw that the fuse for the brake lights and horn was missing so I installed a new 10 amp fuse and everything worked without issue, so who knows but it left me wondering if there will be lots of little issues since the guy who I bought it off of was dealing with a partner who had early onset Alzheimer disease so he could have messed with little things and no one would know, but for a 1000 dollars who knows right?
Any way, so I swapped in the new clutch, resurfaced the flywheel and did a fluid change, replaced the windshield, resurfaced the headlights and detailed the engine bay. Once it was all back together I started it and let it warm up for the first time in a while, there was a slight grinding noise with the clutch out and the transmission in neutral, researching the forums it seems like a reasonable explanation that the transmission main shaft bearing would be toast after a few clutches were grenaded on a sub 100k transmission. On my way home the steering while turning right would intermittently become hard, almost like a torque steer but without a sharp pull, just a sense that the steering would be harder while turning right, as if you had hit something while turning like ice or loose gravel. I tried to reproduce the effect but it would only happen intermittently. Once in my driveway I shut off the engine and everything went dead, no dome light, horn, remote access, everything was dead. I manually locked the doors and opened the hood to see that the positive battery terminal had popped off its post despite having tightened it only a few miles before. Since they shoehorned in a larger battery it would seem likely that while turning right the battery terminal rubbed against the intake box and got pushed upward, potentially causing a short and a loss of power to the electric rack and pinion resulting in a heavy steering feeling. I'm ordering a correct battery and scheduling a detailing for later in the week.
I think that the valve spring recall needs to be done, I'm calling my local Honda dealer in the morning. I think the transmission is slightly damaged from the multiple failed clutches (the previous owner admitted to destroying multiple clutches in a failed effort to learn stick) I'm researching what different transmissions will fit, or if there is a way to alter the gear ratios to get a taller 5th gear for better economy. I'm researching clutch slave cylinders that do not have a delay honed in since I really do not like the soft feeling that the Fit has. I'm thinking I'll get a new flywheel, a more aggressive clutch (probably a stage 1), a more traditional slave and master, and a rebuilt trans with closer ratios from 1 to 4 and a taller 5th gear, maybe JDM spec things are different? Any suggestions are appreciated.

 

Welcome! For $1000, you could even sell it for parts and come out ahead. But, it sounds like you are a competent wrench and will get the car back to tip-top shape with little difficulty.

 

Welcome to FF!

The larger battery thing is popular around here as well. Why? I have no idea. In almost 200k miles we're only on our second OEM size battery. But, we ran the OEM Yuasa and now an OEM Honda battery. I think people have problems when they go cheap.

We also have the OEM Exedy replacement clutch. Installed at around 130k miles and have a bit over 60k on it. It is soft, but so was the original. I don't think you'll need a different clutch. They hold up fine unless you plan on adding substantially more power. Here's a link to help with the clutch delay valve. Last page has the current direct swap part, but worth reading through...

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...-hardline.html

I am not aware of any taller 5th gear for these transmissions. If you find something, let us all know. For the GD, and maybe GE, the 2003 Civic Hybrid final drive appears to be a direct swap. Not the whole transmission. Just the final drive. It would drop from the 4.3.. final drive to a 3.6xx.

Keep us updated and good luck with the project.

 

Thanks for the info and comments.
I installed a new battery and took it for a test drive today. The power steering issue is resolved and all the other electronics are functioning correctly.
Unfortunately once the transmission warms up there is a considerable amount of bearing noise, much louder than when its running in neutral and the clutch is out. When I installed the clutch I drained the old transmission fluid and it was black as engine oil but very thin in viscosity. I used about 2 quarts of Honda manual transmission fluid when I reinstalled the transmission. The fill hole is in the same plane as the drain hole and about four to five inches above the drain hole, maybe there is a taller fill hole and I didn't add enough fluid? Fingers crossed.
There is a small but noticeable amount of burning clutch smell when I exit the vehicle. I'm assuming that some of it is the clutch breaking in, and some of it is due to the slave cylinder and hydraulic fluid. The reservoir is at the minimum level and there is some oil present on the slave cylinder boot. I also think that some of the smell may be due to the delay valve and my style of driving. I've already ordered the delay valve bypass components and a new slave cylinder.
I'm not sure if I will buy a used transmission, a rebuilt one, or one from a different application.
I called the local Honda dealer and I have three outstanding recall issues to address; both front airbags and the lost motion springs. I probably won'y take it in until I resolve the transmission issues.

 

Yay! Another STICK driver! Ony one other thing:

 

 

 

I contacted a local trans re-builder who does a lot of Honda transmissions. The Fit trans is specific to the Fit and other Honda's won't work. I'm going to buy a core for 350 and take it to them since I cannot keep my Fit off the street with it's trans out, perhaps my core will have some value.
I cut the battery tray and positioned the battery to keep the terminals from rubbing.
The clutch delay bypass components arrived this week, I might get to it this weekend but I have other projects to finish first.
I'm taking it to the Honda dealer on Monday for airbags and lost motion spring recalls.
My local auto detail shop has a smoke killing 'bomb' that will arrest the odors but they're booked out for a week, once it's back from the dealer I'll drop it off to be cleaned.
I'll take a bunch of pics and share soon.
Cheers!