Difficulty in shifting, It is hard to get in gear sometimes

Hey guys, whenever I am driving around town, or just simply starting off a drive by putting my baby into gear, I feel tension. Could this be a clutch going bad? I have MY00 with around 55k on it. Everything else is working great on the car. I was sitting still the other day in my driveway, and just ran through the gears slowly, and I noticed that with every gear I heard 2 clicks rather then just the one click going into gear. I know that might sound confusing, but it is kind of hard to explain. Any ideas?

First thing....GM Syncromesh Friction Modified tranny fluid. About $11/quart (need 2 quarts, car takes 1.5ish) from your closest Chevy dealer.

It was just 5k miles ago I put Mobil tranny fluid in there. Does it go bad that quick?

I mean no offense by this, but was the correct fluid used on the last change? Also, I don't know if Chevy dealers are carrying the GMSFM, I thought it was Caddy stock or the marketplace here on S2KI.

None taken. Yes, I am pretty sure it was the correct was used. I can't remember the exact numbers, but I know it was Mobil. There were several members on here that suggested it to me, so I know it was the right kind.

I bought GMSFM at a Chevy dealer in Orange County, CA few days ago. The GM part number is 12377916

Couple of things comes to mind and that's:
What is your driving style?
Could it be your synchros?
Do you rev match or skip gears?

I get the same thing, difficulty of shifting. I have not driven my car for about 10 days or more. All of a sudden it just happened.

I dont drive too agressive.

I never skip gears either.

I only skipped gears one time since I have had the car. By rev-match, do you mean reving up to the appropriate rpm when downshifting? If so, I do that occasionally. Would that cause a problem? I dont drive my car hard, well, I mean extra hard. As an S owner, we all have to get on it sometimes, right?

Rev-matching is always better when you downshift... Although not everyone does it......it's a good habit.

Sounds like you need to do a double check on your fluids in the tranny.

Are you absolutely sure you have the right fluid in your transmission? Everyone here seems to recommend either Honda OEM Tranny fluid or GM synchromesh Friction Modified.

I wasn't aware that Mobil made a tranny fluid for our car. If the Mobil fluid that you use was Mobil 1 75w90, that goes in the rear differential and not the tranny.

Oh sh*t, my bad, I had the two confused. I was talking about the diff fluid. I will definietely check the tranny fluid tomorrow evening. I haven't done this before, so how do I check it? Thanks a lot guys!

The diff fluid shouldn't affect the way your tranny shifter feels.

For the tranny fluid, you have to get under the car to check it. There's a fill bolt and a drain bolt. Instead of checking it, I suggest you change the fluid if you haven't done so already. Here's a how to written by xviper:

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83577

I suggest using Honda OEM Manual Transmission Fluid. Buy 2 quarts of this. You'll end up using about 1 1/2 quarts.

You can't really check it, you should just replace it, especially if you don't know when it was last changed. Changing it is not hard if you have some patients. If you don't know how follow the link below.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83577

As mentioned most use the Honda MTF or GM Synchromesh Friction Modified (I buy it at a chevy dealer).

so your not supposed to skip gears? i always go from 4th to 6th

Skipping gears on this car is a no-no.

Here's a thread that explains why. Woodwork is an engineer over at American Honda that specializes in the S2000.

http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=237209

Hope that helps

i'll be damned... thanks S2kenC

Since this problem as gotten a bit worse, does this mean I have a possible leak somewhere, or does this happen after the tranny fluid gets old?

If the tranny fluid replacement fixes it, it's because the tranny fluid needed to be replaced, which is very common.

If you did nothing wrong and this described problem happened over time like you say, odds are that it's just old fluid. I just did my tranny fluid, which was a breeze. Used Honda MTF for $5 a quart.

it might not be the same problem.. but
When I had a prelude (my first stick), I never rev-matched for one and half years.

In the beginning, it was pretty hard to put in gear sometimes. and then it got worse slowly.
When me and my friend opened up the tranny, there was bad wear on clutch.
Not on the clutch disk, but on the thing that holds the spring. (4 springs around the center to relieve engagement shock).

One side had so much wear, the spring almost came out. The new clutch (ACT) solved the problem and since then I always rev-match.

Well, I bought my 2 quarts today. Honda tried to tell me it took 3, but I figured they are just tryin to get me to spend more, as does this local dealer always does. Well see if this fixes it. Thanks for eveyrbodies help.