DJ8684

The next couple of little projects I ended up doing were fixing my scratched up, peeling shift surround piece and swapping out my shift knob with my Greddy/Trust shift knob. First thing I did was drop off my shift surround piece at that same shop that I mentioned above that quoted me on getting some other things fixed up. I wanted to test out their quality of work and customer service on the shift surround piece to see if I felt that I could trust them to do the rest of the work. Granted, body work and an interior trim piece are nowhere near the same level of work but now that I established a customer/client connection with them, I can feel more comfortable knowing later they'll do a quality job.

The other little project I did with the shift knob was simply swap out the Greddy shift pattern with a VeilSide 6-Speed pattern. I ended up picking up this shift knob used off eBay from another Honda owner so I knew the shift bolt pattern would work. When I received it, the shift knob was in much better shape than I expected. It does have some light scuffs and scratches that would easily buff out later but honestly, it doesn't really show as much as it does in the photos. I tried hard to find a Greddy 6-Speed shift pattern but since they are discontinued, it proved to be too difficult. Now, at this same time, lots of companies were producing this shift knob style with slight variations in color... VeilSide, TopSecret, Greddy, etc. Fortunately, VeilSide still produces their shift knob patterns. I know... I know... why waste your money or time on a stupid sticker but I think the attention to detail really makes the difference in some cars and where I envision the car going, this fit the bill.

I essentially just heated the top of the shift knob for 10 minutes with a hair dryer blowing directly on the top until the adhesive material loosened up. I used a staple removing tool as it was thin and smooth with an arched tip to slide the sticker off without bending or folding the sticker in case I would ever like to sell it to someone else as OCD as me. hahaha. I actually really like this shift knob on the S2K. It sits lower that the OEM and Skunk2 that was on there from the previous owner as it doesn't require the locking nut either to hold it into place. I know it's not everyone's bread and butter but I sure like it.

DJ8684

Last update for the night is the next couple projects. The first one is the set of VTEC solenoid seals. The one part of the set is the OEM seal and the other is from Kraken Automotive. Those will be going on when I doing my next oil change.

The other project is to re-grease and replace some of the shifter pieces to help the car shift smoother. It really doesn't have any sort of issue in this department but I was inspired by a couple of videos I saw on YouTube of a couple other S2K owners and figured, well the car is 17 years old and judging by the condition of the clutch master fluid, I doubt the grease on the shifter has been re-greased any time soon. I was going to do this job sooner until I pulled up the shifter surround piece and found the insulation that goes around the shifter all crumbled to pieces. I ordered a brand new one from Honda and will have it mailed down to me along with the vent that's sitting at my family's house in Iowa. My poor mom's basement has essentially turned into a Honda dealership parts department. haha.

DJ8684

UPDATE

I finally got my new vent in the mail. It had been sitting at a family member's house back in the States for at least a month after it arrived from Japan. I also got a few more OEM replacement pieces I'll be trying to install later this weekend. Here is the A/C vent before and after. You can see in the first picture on the left where the old one was broken on the little tab. The new one fit like a glove. I posted it with its part # because I think they changed the part number. At least, ordering it from Japan, they had like 2 or 3 different part numbers. It could have been for the color variations. I don't know. Either way...

DJ8684

UPDATE 90,659km (56,332 miles)

So, I finally got around to rebuilding and re-greasing all of the shifter components. Instead of turning this into a DIY how-to post, I am simply posting up my project for the day from the beginning to the end. You can always find more detailed how-to threads here or I used some of the videos on YouTube to help guide me.

One thing to note, that before I had did this, my shifter was having some difficulties going into 6th gear. I was hoping that this would help with the issue but it didn't do much to fix that. Now, I'm thinking it could be more of a synchro issue or possibly just needing to change the transmission fluid. That'll be my next step. After pulling it all apart, it was clear that my shifter was in dire need of re-greasing. It looked like dry mud caked onto it so I'm glad I ended up going through with the job. Also it was good to see that someone, somewhere removed the shifter because the plastic ring was broken.

A recommendation for helping to get the little pivot ball onto the shifter was to put it in a cup of boiling hot water for 10 minutes. It helped to loosen up the plastic a little so it popped right on when I applied a little pressure. If anyone has any questions about the process, you're more than welcome to PM me.

DJ8684

.Boston.

Many thanks for all the detailed pictures of the shifter re-grease.
I just received all my oem parts to do it this weekend
Excited to see what comes next for your AP1.

DJ8684

Thanks! There are some really good videos that I followed on YouTube when doing my swap. Glad the photos could be of some help! Good luck with the swap.

DJ8684

A video I made from our meet here in Panama this past Sunday.