Today I pulled my tranny to replace the clutch on my 68000 mile 1999 S2000. Prior to removing the tranny, 1st and 2nd gear whine a little (a little like reverse) when cold. and third gear can be a little notchy from time to time. I changed the oil which improved the notchy 3rd gear but not the whining. So what I'm asking is, is it worth me having a specialist look at the tranny before I refit it, or is it something I could strip and fix myself, or is it just how they are and best left alone? Any help from all, especially BILLMAN250 would be very much appreciated.

 

Bump.

 

Have you owned it since new? What fluid are you using? I wouldn't imagine a 68K tranny would need much in the realm of a rebuild unless it was abused. Where do you gauge your mechanical ability? If you would feel comfy removing and rebuilding a motor, a trans isn't so intimidating.

 

No, only bought the car a few months ago. I changed oil for Honda MTF. I haven't abused it but looking at the clutch it's had a reasonably hard time at some point! The surface of the clutch pressure plate and flywheel look a little discoloured/burnt! Well, as regards to my mechanical ability, I managed to remove the clutch in my garage on axle stands. I've done plenty of clutches on fwd cars, changing engines, doing cam belts etc. I did once swap diff components in a fwd tranny. I don't think I have the tools to strip the tranny to be honest, and as anyone knows who's taken a tranny off of one of these cars, it's not a job I really want to do twice, especially on axle stands in my garage.

The whining pretty much goes when the tranny is warm and the notchy 3rd gear (from time to time) I think I can live with. So I'm thinking about putting it back with the new clutch as it is?!

Anyone with any input please chip in.

 

The car has been driven hard to have a clutch go at 68K. I've got 102k on my original clutch and a friend who tracks his car has 171K. So I suspect you've bought a car that has been abused.

My understanding on tranny re-builds is that it's cheaper to buy a lightly used one than open your current one up. If you're so motivated by the ap2 tranny - it has better gearing that will really bring your ap1 to life.

 

Fair point. But I'm only changing the clutch to remove the "clutch buzz" that the early S2000's had. The clutch was working fine, having said that the friction plate is quite well worn!