2002 Honda Fit transmission conversion (CVT to man

Greetings all . don't laugh but I have a 2002 Honda Fit with approx 55,000km on it with a "dodgy" automatic transmission. Obviously it is an import. Recently the transmission developed a noticeable judder when taking off from rest which I am reliably informed is the starter clutch plates within the transmission. Honda NZ Ltd are in denial of a problem with these transmissions but most auto trans shops know all about it. Rather than spend $3K on rebuild I'd rather put in 5 speed manual gearbox (for about the same money). I can't find anyone who has done one of these but the consensus of opinion is such a conversion is "probably doubtful" . Anybody know of anyone who has done this! Discussion welcome. Thanks , Johnno.

www.nzhondas.com

Those boys live to swap engines and gearboxes!

They will probably give you mischevious ideas though, I was reading up a while ago there about a Fit that had a supercharged K20 Integra engine making about 200kW.

Hi jsteven,
Firstly with conversion ideas, I would totally hit the international message-boards and google. I know there were a lot of these used for Malaysian taxi's etc with disastrous results so there is bound to be someone somewhere who has done the conversions and probably has a guide with pictures.

Here is another idea, from my understanding one of the key weakness's with that transmission is the lack of oil filter etc. Apparently you can get around the problem and have them be quite reliable by cutting the service interval in half. That's been the consensus with those using them for Taxi's etc.

So if the 5 speed situation looks bleak I would suggest pricing some parts yourself from cvt.co.nz, ebay etc etc. I have not had a Honda unit apart myself but in general they can be surprisingly simple, so if you are considering doing the gearbox swap yourself with research you may be capable of fixing the CVT.

Also, before embarking on that mission I would suggest sitting down with pen and pad and working out the economics of the situation. You may find it cheaper to sell the Fit as is and start again. Personally I would sell the Fit "as is" and buy a Punto (for probably not much more than the Fit is worth "as is") but thats another story all together!

Totally check out the likes of http://www.hondafitjazz.com they have online guides to removing the transmission etc from memory and will probably have lots of advice.

Thanks Richard . yerp, these guys have never done one (that is changing an auto for a manual, done hundreds of ordinary replacements forFIt/Jazz . its a really common problem) nor have strong brothers in Auckland, Wellington or Christchurch. Keep the help up though. Incidentally Honda NZ Ltd here in Chch are rebuilding between five and six of these a month. No wonder the guys at Dog and Lemon say avoid CVTs. Johnno.

My Mum and Motherinlaw both have NZ new Jazz's. Same problem. Mums they flushed and used Honda CVT fluid and inlaws they tried it, but replace CVT. All for free. But the recall notices keep coming. They wont support imports.