djcamm

HI!
Thanks in advance for any help. I have a new to me 2000 S2k. Just yesterday the problem began. The maintenance required light was on. I thought this only meant it needed regular check up.

Then yesterday afternoon when I shifted from park to 1st, and then 1st to 2nd, the RPM's rose as I accelerated but my speed did not. I was moving forward, speed was increasing but barely. My speed increased eventually, and I shifted into third.
This did not happen every time---sometimes it shifted normally. But now this problem persisted today too. When the light goes green and I accelerate as normal, releasing the clutch, I barely move forward.

Any ideas what is wrong? Shifting in higher gears seems to be normal.

PLEASE HELP!
Kyle

AusS2000

Revving but not moving is a sign that the clutch is slipping.

You need a new clutch and driving lessons.

djcamm

driving lessons????

What can one expect to pay for a new clutch?

S2Krazee

OEM clutch setup will be about $350 if you source it yourself... You will want to replace the clutch, pressure plate, and pilot bearing... you should also have your flywheel machined, but chances are that it needs to be machined more than 1 millimeter, in which case you should just replace it (extra $$$ over the $350). The labor for the install will be $500-$1000 depending on where you shop around.

The driving lessons comment was a kind-hearted joke. If your car is a MY2000, it probably has over 80,000 miles and was due for a new clutch anyway. Typically when someone can't properly drive a car with a manual transmission they will burn up a clutch fast. You can avoid this by not keeping the clutch in the "friction zone" (the point between engagement and disengagement). This slipping of the clutch between these two points causes excessive wear. In other words, don't "ride the clutch". You need to find a comfortable medium between "dropping the clutch" when you shift and a easing the clutch out smoothly. Believe it or not, your clutch will *typically* last longer the faster you get your foot out of it. You will also save your clutch of excessive wear by matching your engine revs when you downshift (a skill that is useful on the street and on the track. Look up rev matching, or better yet, master the art of the heal-toe-downshift. It will save your clutch, brakes and shave seconds off your lap times.)

Hope this helps. Feel free to ask more questions.

Mike

AusS2000

I'm not sure how long you've had your car for or if the clutch damage was done by you or not.

But if you understood how a manual car works you'd understand that this is the only diagnosis for your symptoms.

So I recommended driving lessons so you can get a better understanding of a manual car and not have this happen again for a very long time.

djcamm

Mike thanks...actually very helpful. I will get the car checked out this week. From what it sounds like, yes the clutch is slipping and the car has 70,000 miles on it. Guess it is time to replace though that repair sounds very costly!

I guess I do ride the clutch too much. It is not a problem on a motorcycle, which I am used to. I thougth keeping the clutch engaged was no big deal. My mistake then! DOH!

Any other tips are always appreciated....

djcamm

Is the OEM the best set up if I am going to replace the clutch? The whole thing would need replacing? Sorry, newbie here. Don't want to get burned at the shop, if only a plate or something needs to be replaced.

AusS2000

OEM is best unless you are tracking or are heavily modded.

It is not recommended to resurface our flywheel and if you've been riding it it may well be crazed. So you might add a couple of hundred for a flywheel as well.

S2Krazee

70,000 is a bit shy of a typical S2000 clutch replacement. Even 80,000 like I suggested is a bit modest. A skilled driver could probably get 100,000 out of an S2000 clutch easily. I am a VERY aggressive driver and I got 85,000 out of my first S2000's original clutch. If you learned to drive a stick on the S2000, you might have caused some premature wear which is normal.

Keeping the clutch disengaged (foot all the way to the floor) wont cause excessive wear to the disk, but keeping it halfway out (when you're trying to "ease" the clutch out for a smooth shift) will cause wear. You should get your foot into and out of the clutch as fast as comfortably possible. Are you familiar with rev matching and/or heel-toe-downshifting? These are skills that you should master immediately so as not to pick up bad habits.

If you want some info on rev matching and/or heel-toeing please ask.

S2Krazee

From what I have gathered, you need to go with the stock setup. A puck style disk or heavy-duty pressure plate will be too aggressive for you on the street. They have harsh engagements and will tear up your transmission, rear end, and motor mounts if you don't know what you're doing.

You're pressure plate and pilot bearing may be fine (but probably not), but there is no reason to not replace them now while you're paying for the labor. You really need to just pay the money to have them replaced. As AusS2000 said, it isn't recommended that you machine your flywheel. BUT from my experience (having 2 S2000's, over 180,000 miles, and 4 different clutch setups) if it needs to be machined less than 1 millimeter there is no need to replace it. Chances are if it's slipping at 70,000 miles you have not only worn out the clutch, but have also torn up the flywheel, in which case you ABSOLUTELY need to replace it. Do NOT buy a "lightened" flywheel, as it will make the car hell for you to drive on the street. The rpm's will rise and fall too fast for you to drive the car comfortably every day.