Hey guys, and thanks in advance for any help you can extend me here. I recently purchased a NFR MY00 s2k with ~70k miles on it. Having never owned an s2000 before, there are a few things I am worried about, mostly in the area of sounds/feelings the car makes, as listed below.

1. A small rattling sound that seems to come from the transmission, gets more intense as rpm climbs, also makes this sound when clutch is pressed to floor and when car is in nuetral. Could this be my aftermarket exhaust rattling, or something more serious?

2. Second gear. It seems alot harder than the rest to shift into, from what I've read this is a problem in earlier MY of s2000, but I'm not sure if my problem is the same, as it's only shifting INTO 2nd, and mostly only from first, that causes it to feel stiff.



Like I said, any help here would really be awsome, as these issues (mostly #1, wich I just noticed tonight) are eating away at me inside

 

read any TSB?? im pretty sure theres two that talk about your problems.. i could be wrong

 

#1 is very common on that year. #2 is happening on my my02. Been happening for over a year with no real change, New 07 formula mtf made it easier but it's still there.

 

For Question #1 check for any loose nuts inside the engine bay. Better if you from the bottom of the car. I had a loose nut around the engine bay that was causing a rattling sound also.

Also does the car vibrate a lot?

 

Im really not too sure on this one, but it might be a bad throughout bearing in the clutch. you should ask a trustworthy mechanic, or maybe someone can chime in on this.

 

As for it being a throwout bearing, would it contribute that my clutch seems to vibrate a bit during engadgment? I can hear a slight grinding sound when it engages, but can't feel the clutch slipping at all?

 

New honda MTF fluid made my funny second gear just the same as the rest real good stuff. Never hurts to change your mtf fluid

 

Clutch chatter. I have it and just installed a new spec stage I clutch. My throwout bearing is also making noise at idle without the clutch depressed, but doesn't do it unless the ac is on. Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't clutch chatter normal?

 

From what I've read on here chatter is normal, it just worried me because I've never experienced it driving other cars ( my moms MY05 mazda 3 had none )