hello, I have a 05 AP2 with 60k miles. I notice that when I move to 2nd gear, sometimes it is tough to get into gear. It grinds and I have to pull the shifter extra hard to get in gear. This only happens in 2nd gear, the other gears are smooth. Is this normal or do I have a problem with the gearbox?

 

2nd & 3rd gear roughness is quite normal with the s2000 transmissions im afraid. You can try changing out the trans fluid to new honda mtf or amsoil syncromesh 5w30 as well as new clutch fluid and adjustment to lengthen the clutch MC push rod to engage earlier which should help along with a heavier gear knob such as the skunk2 weighted knob to smooth out shift feel.

Also this should be posted in the tech forum which I imagine will be moved to shortly.

 

Re-grease your shifter. My guess is it's never been done and this along with new tranny fluid will make a large difference in the feel. Weighted shift knob as mentioned above can help a little.

It should go without saying that this car doesn't like speed shifting until everything is nice and hot. So slow your shifting down and you shouldn't grind.

 

Same. Happens rarely but does happen

 

How fast are you shifting?

 

Not fast at all.

When are we suppose to change out the tranny oil? I'm not sure previous owner did it. I have 60k miles on 2005 model.
When are we suppose to change out the clutch fluid? Not sure this one will matter as much.

 

Every 30k for both or more frequently if you track the car.

 

when is it difficult to shift to 2nd? when the car is cold, or after it has warmed up?

since it's gotten cold where i live (around 30* in the morning), shifting to 2nd isn't smooth until the transmission warms up, which seems to take a little longer to warm up than the engine. this is even after recently regreasing the shifter and changing the transmission fluid. this happens every year i've owned the car.

 

There are a few school of thoughts on when to change out the tranny fluids.

Iirc, Spoon's Ichishima-San advocates changing the tranny oil when the engine oil is changed - ie every routine servicing. This may sound like an overkill to some, especially for non-trackers. Personally, I change my tranny and diff oil once every two servicing intervals since I don't track the car. Cheap insurance if u consider the repair cost and downtime involved.

 

Aren't tranny fluids only suppose to be replaced every 120k miles?