When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
I recently purchased a 2005 GPW S2000 with around 134k miles about 3 months ago. The car was in pretty great shape and drove pretty good too. Its might first manual car, but I always thought the transmission felt a bit notchy. The transmission fluid and some other fluids were changed maybe 1k before at a Honda Dealer based off the service history I got with the car.
Fast forward 3 months, its now become pretty much impossible to shift, up or down during any sort of high rpm situation (+5k). Anything in the 1-4.5k rpm range feels pretty fine. Anything 5k+ rpm and above feels like im shifting into a brick wall, and wont go in until the rpms drop, or it grinds if I try force it (I don't). Im also having difficulty even getting out of gear during high rpms (doesnt want to come out of first under high rpms unless forced out). The night that I first truly noticed this was also the first night that I think I heard clutch buzz (previous owner replaced the clutch). When im decelerating in 3rd around 3k rpm, my clutch will make a pretty noticeable buzz, and goes away if I get on the throttle at all, or if I engage the clutch pedal a bit. Its only been like this for maybe a few days, and the clutch buzz only occurs sometimes when I drive.
The first thing I did was check my CMC reservoir which looked pretty full, but with pretty dark fluid. The photos definitely make it look darker than it is, but it is very dark regardless. I then checked the CMC in the interior and noticed the tiniest of drops. Otherwise, it looked pretty spotless. I then took a look under my car to take a look at the slave cylinder only to find that the boot was missing. the interface point between the fork and slave cylinder piston looks like its got a bit of rust. I did drive it around this winter, but never when snowing. Im sure a bit of salt of spray ended up getting in and around that area.
Im a bit unsure of where to start. I've ordered a new master and slave cylinder, new boot, and parts to regrease my shifter. The more i've been reading though, the more I get worried. Im worried that my spline is potentially rusted. Im worried that the throw out bearing is going bad or the guide isnt greased and the bearing is seizing under high loads. Im curious if anyone was has any advice or guide on what my next steps should be.
You don't need to replace mc and slave. Just do a gravity bleed. Full fluid swap. That will stop the leak. From now on, do a turkey baster fluid swap of reservoir every other oil change. That will keep fluid fresh.
Adjust clutch rod for zero play. There is enough play internal to mc.
Between air and contaminated fluid, and clutch rod out of adjustment, you might gain enough to make shifting possible.
But since you are having buzz, that says po used a crappy aftermarket clutch. Probably also didn't lube the splines. Its probably not going to shift properly until you lube the splines. Its possible to get some lube down there using coat hanger method. But clutch probably won't last 20k miles. Plan to replace clutch sooner than later. Only use Honda clutch DO NOT use Exedy so called oem clutch. Its not oem.
Look for the thread for new owners. Lots of useful info.
May be the photo but it looks like molasses in the clutch master cylinder. That's a "before" photo I hope. I think the clutch recirculates the oil and removing and replacing it several times and pumping the pedal when full of fresh oil will eventually replace all the fluid without having to get under the car and bleeding anything. Someone please correct me if this is wrong!
See above two posts. I agree probably do not need new parts (except the boot). I'd do a full gravity bleed to make sure any air is gone and get the fluid clean as a whistle, and then use turkey baster method every oil change. But, I have a feeling that you are going to end up with the transmission off to do full inspection and replace/lube what needs to be dealt with. Its not the end of the world. If you do it right you will end up with a perfect clutch and no worries. You can do it yourself but it is not the easiest job. If you are near Billman he will do the whole job while you wait and the cost will be less then you fear. If you find after market parts in there I would replace with OEM.
Is you clutch pedal sort of sticky? If so, dabbing a bit of grease on the tips of the clutch fork using the coat hanger method might help. Also, clean up and grease of the end of the semi-spherical half ball at the tend of the rod that comes out of the slave shown in your pics, and the "cup" that receives the rod, will likely help any rough or sticky pedal feel.
There are good instructions about how to do all this in these pages and on the youtubes.
Thanks for all the feedback so far. Yeah the fluid definitely looks pretty bad, but I dont feel like its the main culprit. Just went on a drive and tried keeping my RPMs as in the 2-3.5k range and this thing is smooth. Absolutely no sign of that clutch buzz I was mentioning. I feel like the clutch buzz only flares up when I start revving it high, and fail at a shift or two. Clutch pedal isnt sticky at all, or atleast I dont believe it is. Its always right on my foot as im lifting it up. The only thing that feels like might be sticking is when I have the clutch pedal all the way down and I try shifting at high rpms, it feels like the clutch isnt disengaging (this is my fear of TOB not sliding smoothly on the pilot bushing).
Seems like everyone on the forum calls for TYP200, so ill be sure to snag some from amazon as I cant recall ever seeing a can of brake fluid like that in my local auto parts store. Also probably against Billmans repeat advice, I think im just going to swap my Master/Slave, based mostly off of this thread: https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-un...solved-895036/ . Im essentially going to try to do everything I can short of dropping the transmission since at that point, I feel like id just rather replace everything with new OEM parts for piece of mind, and I think thats a job beyond my skill level. I have a local mechanic (+30yr ASE certified mechanic) ive been good friends with for years who typically handles my tougher jobs on cars for pretty cheap (typically half the dealer rates), but im not sure if a full clutch service is something he'd take on.
Are there any threads or photos detailing how to get grease onto the splines through the window, or the pivot points I should grease on the fork? Seems like I can find great write ups for just about everything else, but when it comes to this detail I can only find a sentence or two of people mentioning butter knives or metal coat hangers.
Progress is going to be a bit slow as I get the parts this week, but I wont be able to work on it till the first weekend in May. Ill do my best to keep this updated as nothing bothers me more than threads dying without resolution. This isnt an issue I can live with long term, because whats an S2000 if you cant rev it high? So ill definitely have to figure this out over the next month or two even if it ends up costing me more than id like. Billman should figure out a way to clone himself and open up shops in Major metro areas. Im out in Denver. There's only one thread on this forums for someone looking for a reputable shop in Denver, and luckily the only result is a shop thats maybe 3min away from me, so I can always lean on that if I need to.
A decent temp fix is to adjust the clutch pedal for more total throw. Adjust the height higher than spec. It'll make heel and toe more difficult, but should make clutch livable. Once you replace clutch with OEM and GREASE THE SPLINES with correct lube, you can readjust pedal height to stock.
But before you do any of that, fully bleed fluid and make sure its all fresh fluid, no air. Then adjust clutch rod. That might just mostly fix it.
If you do have mechanic reppace clutch, make sure he understands he MUST grease the splines (and other places, like release bearing and guide), and must use the proper grease. Most mechanics fall back on their years of experience with an I got this attitude, not realizing the S clutch is not like most other cars. Recipe for clutch that seems to be ok at first, and quickly stops giving problems. Problems that kost mechanics woukd diagnose as bad trans. A snowball effect of bad work resulting in unnecessary work and expense. Make sure he knows how to do this job right first time.
A decent temp fix is to adjust the clutch pedal for more total throw. Adjust the height higher than spec. It'll make heel and toe more difficult, but should make clutch livable. Once you replace clutch with OEM and GREASE THE SPLINES with correct lube, you can readjust pedal height to stock.
But before you do any of that, fully bleed fluid and make sure its all fresh fluid, no air. Then adjust clutch rod. That might just mostly fix it.
If you do have mechanic reppace clutch, make sure he understands he MUST grease the splines (and other places, like release bearing and guide), and must use the proper grease. Most mechanics fall back on their years of experience with an I got this attitude, not realizing the S clutch is not like most other cars. Recipe for clutch that seems to be ok at first, and quickly stops giving problems. Problems that kost mechanics woukd diagnose as bad trans. A snowball effect of bad work resulting in unnecessary work and expense. Make sure he knows how to do this job right first time.
g
Im lucky to have a mechanic who'll pretty much let me work with him on repairs and is incredibly open to advice. With my bundle of parts I also a tub of that Honda urea high temp grease that I see everyone suggesting.
Is there a good way to bleed the new master/slave? I see everyone suggesting a gravity bleed, but for a fresh install, I feel like having someone on the pedal or vacuum bleed would probably be beneficial. I can get both no problem.
Not sure how to edit my post, or else I'd just add on to my previous comment.
Just got home and decided to try adjust the clutch freeplay rod. I for the life of me couldn't get a 12mm on it so I figured I'd give a 13mm a shot. Worked perfectly. With that discovery, I'm guessing the CMC was already replaced before with a non-oem version. I adjusted it a tiny bit which made my engagement point seem a bit higher versus pretty low before. Didn't do anything for my high rpm shifts though. Also that sound that I'm calling a clutch buzz really seems to be coming from my pedal or CMC itself, so maybe I'm misrepresenting this clutch buzz as some sort of noise my CMC is making. Sounds like it's coming from my left foot.
If I were in your shoes I would pull the tranny and see whats what inside there and be done with it. Use OEM parts. I'll be surprised if the various adjustments and bleeding etc. fixes your problem.
Now that I look at your pics - that MC looks brand new, and the slave looks new also.
Also, while your futzing around - I guess I would also pull the valve cover and see what you have for a valve train and, at a minimum, adjust the valves. Its completely unrelated.But, it is the other area that can cause heartache.
...Just got home and decided to try adjust the clutch freeplay rod. I for the life of me couldn't get a 12mm on it so I figured I'd give a 13mm a shot. Worked perfectly.
This does not make a lot of sense to me. Are you sure you made the correct adjustment? See you tube video here:
04-20-2019, 07:52 PM
AP2 Hard to shift at high rpms
