I work for Bayside Transmissions in Palo Alto, and I've been learning/building transmissions for the past 3 months and some people might think thats not a long time, but I've been learning and building with a Tranny Builder who has been doing this for 20 years.

My transmission right now, has a bad 3-4 gear synchro. Even at low RPM's the transmission would grind and I thought it might be the clutch fluid or the tranny fluid, so re flushed both and replaced both. Even after doing this, and spending a decent ammount on GM synchromesh fluid, it still did it. So I looked into the prices for a used AP2 tranny.

Used AP2 tranny goes for around $1500-$2000.

There are pro's and con's to buying a used AP2 tranny and rebuilding your AP1. Here are some:

Buying a AP2 Tranny:
Pros:
-Lower final drive (not the one in the diff, the one in the transmission on the secondary shaft.)
-Shorter 1-5 gears, 6th gear is longer for crusing
-Carbon Synchros (these synchros do not wear out as quickly, and feel "smoother")
-There maybe more, but for time sake, I'm gonna leave it to those
Cons:
-Your buying a used transmission (need I say more?)
-You don't know if the owner ever changed the tranny fluid...
-Rebuilding this transmission IS more expensive

There are pro's to rebuilding your AP1 tranny, and I would much rather rebuild my AP1 tranny than buy a AP2.
Pros:
-You know your tranny is basically brand new
-Most places offer a war.(our shop we offer a 3 year/30k mile)
-You get carbon syncrhos!
-You can upgrade your tranny to install a secondary shaft and the carbotech final gear
-The OEM final drive in the tranny is a better setup for turbo (depending on your setup, and this can be debated)
-Trannys are cheaper (cores are cheaper, as well as used trannys)
Cons:
-You have to modify your tranny to get the final drive
-Your rebuild may cost more than the AP2 tranny

Cost AP1 vs. AP2 for rebuild
**Price here are from a friend that works at a dealership, these are DEALERSHIP PRICES**
AP1 REBUILD LIST for GEAR SETS:
Core: 200-300 (I got my core with a bad 5-6 gear)
Mainshaft: $210
1-2 Gear: $800
3-4 Gear: $1200
5-6 Gear: $700

Total: $2710

AP2 REBUILD LIST for GEAR SETS:
Core: 800-1200 (This is for a bad 1-2 gear core)
Mainshaft: $210
1-2 Gear: $1200
3-4 Gear: $1600
5-6 Gear: $900

Total: $3910

Remember, these prices are just PARTS not labor. Labor will end up killing you, and most transmission people will charge MORE for newer cars. If you wanted to modify your final drive:

Carbonetic 4.46 Final Drive: $628.95 (from AJ-Racing)
AP2 Secondary Shaft: $135 from the Dealership
Total: $763.95

So for the Modified AP1 4.46 rebuilt transmission is : $3473

This is still almost $500 cheaper than the AP2 rebuild. Just to let you guys know, you can buy the 5-6 synchros by themselves for both transmissions. But you cannot buy them separately for 1-2 and 3-4.


So if your thinking about buying either A: Rebuilding your AP1 tranny or B: Buying a AP2 tranny, here is a quick write up that might help you out. Hope this helps you guys in your choice.

(If you ask me what I think, I say go with the rebuild, your always better off with peace of mind, and 3-4 months down the road, you can always take it back to the tranny shop. )

Let me know if you guys have any questions!

 

Thanks

 

Nice post!

 

Thanks guys, I saw a lot of people thinking about rebuilding their trannys and I tried searching before doing mine, so I figured I'd share the info with my fellow S2Ki'ers

 

Wow...you can get a brand new AP2 tranny from Majestic Honda for $3218.45. Of course that doesn't include shipping.

 

i'd choose option C.