Ghostrider2k

Long story short, bought a 2004 S2000 from a man in Sacramento about a week ago. Car drove fine on way home. The next day I'm at a stop light, try to put car into first gear, gear lever moves forward, I 'think' it's in first, I try to take off and car does not move. I press clutch back in ALL THE WAY and move gear shift UP into first, gears grind. I move gear lever down into second then back up and it goes into first. Later in the day I try to shift into first again at another stop light, gear lever moves up, but I 'think' it's not all the way in, I press a bit harder and feel a slight resistance and a little movement (as if the syncro's are lining up?) and take off in first. Sometimes pressing harder into first works, sometimes it doesnt and I grind and must shift to second then first to get the car into first, sometimes it doesn't happen at all (when the car is cold, this happens less but it happens pretty fast).

My question to ANYONE in the forum who can HELP me is: Is the clutch bad and need replacing? Is the syncro's going out? What is the ACTUAL problem?

I have since called the original owner of the car and told him about the problem I am experiencing. He told me he thinks that I am 'getting use to' the car and the clutch. This is my SECOND S2000 and I am 32 years old and have been driving stick for 10+ years.

I know legally there is pretty much nothing I can do, but I AM going to ask that he help pay for a new clutch or tranny seeing as how he NEVER once mentioned it had a problem. In fact I remember him saying "The clutch works perfectly, the car shift great, all the syncro's are working perfectly." The fact that he mentioned synchro's stood out to me at the time but I thought nothing of it as the car did in deed drive fine. I did see him struggle one time during a test drive to get it into first and I asked him about that. He then slid the car into first and took off and said "No it goes into first fine". I should have gone with my gut. Anyway I like the car a lot otherwise but this clutch/tranny issue is really putting a dark cloud on my experience and I want the car to WORK as it should and as it was described.

HELP!!! What is wrong with my car! How should I go about fixing it? Do you think the seller should kick down any money?

I don't know if this is the original clutch or not but I would guess that it is. The car has ALL the service records on it and I did not see a new clutch on the sheet. Although it HAS had the 105K service done. Do they do a new clutch then? If it has a new clutch (car has 114K on it now) then would it more likely be the tranny? HELP!

Carbon Blue

sorry to hear about your misfortune, but AP2 04-up s2ks do tend to go through clutches a bit faster than AP1's because of the CDV, unless the previous owner drove it like they stole it, it could be a clutch/sycro problem.

rob-2

Clutch is not replaced until it slips. I'd put money on it that it's the original clutch.

Might ask him for help but it would be iffy if he'd throw in money.

twohoos

First, your symptoms relate to synchros, not clutch. Second, sounds perfectly normal to me. In 20 years driving sticks, I've always rocked the stick btw 2nd and 1st once or twice while at a stoplight just to make sure the synchros are lined up.

If it really bothers you, do a search here and try a different transmission fluid.

Ghostrider2k

I've been hearing that a fluid change may help. I am going to try that first and go from there. Any suggestions on brand? And just to double check how much fluid does a AP2 take? Thanks for the replies guys! I'm trying not to replace parts that do not need it. The car was driven by a woman driver and like I stated before was ALWAYS serviced at a dealership on time. Could this just be 6 years of use and 114K miles on the trans causing this? The clutch NEVER slips, EVER! It feels like new, nice and firm.

jeffbrig

Wishful thinking, but don't expect a dime from the seller. Used cars are purchased as-is, he's not even obligated to have a conversation with you after the deal is done. Try the new fluid from Honda (green on the label), it's supposed to be better than the older fluid from Honda. You need 2 quarts. If it was dealer maintained, it probably hasn't been changed very often, but many on here find frequent MTF changes to be helpful. I do mine every other oil change typically.

Ghostrider2k

Where is the best/cheapest place to buy Honda Manuel Transmission Fluid?

Ghostrider2k

I will need 2 quarts, but how much do I actually put in? I asked my local dealership and they said 1.56 quarts. Does that sound right?

rich85tpi

I bought the transmission fluid from my local honda dealer.

I bought 2 quarts. After you drain the transmission, you put the drain plug back in and then add fluid until it comes out the fill hole. I don't think you can overfill it unless the car isn't level. (I jack up both the front and the rear when I replace the fluid.) There was some fluid left in the bottle.

Ghostrider2k

Ahh, thanks you guys for all the replies. I just went to my local dealership, thought about hunting down jack stands and said screw it and had them change it right then and there. The results... HUGE DIFFERENCE! NO LONGER HARD TO PUT THE CAR INTO FIRST OR ANY GEAR FOR THAT MATTER! Thank you to all who responded, I am extremely happy with how the car shifts now! Thanks again guys!