That's my point. If there had been one on there in the first place I would never have had the problem. However, for as long as I can remember, there's never been one on the car. Looking at the exploded diagram from the link it shows that there are two different configurations, one with the washer, another without. I therefore wonder whether the car came like this or at some point during the six years I've owned it, it somehow was left off during an install. Regardless though, like I just said, the linked diagram shows that there is a variation that does not have the washer and after this past Saturday's event, it's not a safe variation to have. I've been autocrossing the car for around three years and the problem didn't surface so I caution everyone to just check their car.

And you're right, it's just a fancy washer. Wish I'd seen that I could buy one before a spent the time on my "super special custom fix."

 

OH SHIT!! I'm an idiot. I just realized what the hell happened.


If you look at the exploded diagram you'll notice that the shift extension connects to a bracket (#15). The bracket contains the bushing so there is no need for a washer. Now, on a B-series tranny, the config is different. There is no bracket and therefore the washer IS needed. When I did the swap (B-sereis into a '98 coupe) my car never had the washer, so I just used the bolt to secure the bushing/shift extension to the tranny. :o :o
It worked just fine (a year of hard driving and autocrossing) until Saturday's lapping sessions. Damn...what a friggin' stupid mistake.

So folks, what have we learned? When you do a B-series swap into a civic, BUY THE DAMN WASHER THAT INSTALLS ONTO A B-SERIES TRANNY.

Doh!