posted 01-26-2002 11:15 PM Well guys, Over the past few months there has been a little debate on whether or not the two are interchangeable. Let it be known that they ARE IN FACT INTERCHANGEABLE with absolutely no major complications. My SR tranny was grinding in 3rd and my slave cylinder was shot. I acquired a KA tranny from a buddy for $75 (Thanks Jeremy , bought a new slave cylinder, bought a new clutch master, and bought a couple new clutch lines. I had a buddy switch the bell housings for me ($75). The bell housings are a little bit more difficult to switch than one might think. I originally brought it to AAA transmissions and they wanted upwards of $700 just to swap the bell housings on the two trannys that were already out of the car. Their reasoning was that to swap the tranny's bell-housings you have to open up the internals of the tranny (its not just a un bolt and re bolt up job) as the bell housing ends about half way into the internals of the transmission. They said it would take them half a day in labor to perform. If you get this load of BS go elsewhere. A buddy of a buddy came over and switched them in about 30min for $75. If you know what your doing it didn’t look very difficult. The slave cylinder:I originally bought a slave cylinder from AutoZone for $12.99. I always heard that dealership parts are much better quality than after market and for that price range i figured i would go check out the factory unit. In setting them side by side and holding the both of them i can tell you this: 1.The factory unit is much heavier (if that means anything) 2.The factory unit seemed to be constructed much better. The only down side is that they wanted $45 at the dealership. However, what’s $30 more for an important part of your hydraulic system? The Clutch Master:Well, we got the tranny in with out any problems. However, after spending 30min trying to bleed the clutch with no avail we guessed that my clutch master had seen better days. Back to the dealership i went to spend another $75. We installed the Clutch master and still couldn’t get the air out of the system. I made a phone call to Joel (
http://www.unstable-hybrids.com ) and he recommended that we take out the little distribution block that sits on the frame rail that looks to serve no purpose but to add and extra complicating bleeder screw into the system. We took that piece off and connected the line from the clutch master directly to the slave--no more distribution box. We then bled the clutch once more and instantly gained pedal pressure. THANK GOD!! The lines:While i was on a dealership splurge i decided to replace some of my 12 yr old lines. I replaced the rubber one that comes off the slave cylinder and the metal one that connects to that. $25 Once it was all said and done we took the car off the lift, started her up, and took her for a spin around the block. SHE FELT LIKE A DREAM. My pedal and the point at which it engages/disengages is now totally different. The clutch and the shifting is now Silky smooth. I absolutely love the way it now feels. Note: Before installing the tranny look inside the bel housing. There is a little button looking piece that can be in three different positions. Pushed In/ flush with the bell housing/ or Protruding out: Make sure that the button is Flush with the bellhousing or you will not be able to shift once the tranny is installed. I have since put about 300 miles on it and it still feels great. 1/4 of one of those miles was at the drag strip a couple of hrs ago: 13.50 @102.53mph 2.1 60ft. I hope this comes as a sigh of relief for all of my fellow SR owners. The more interchangeable parts we know about, the better off we are. -Aubrey'91 Hatchback SR20DET