Gearbox Refurb

[R1 Indy]

Looks like the gearbox on my S2000 is fked

It sounds like a supercharger on acceleration, and a bag of spanners on deceleration. Its also getting rather stiff to get into gear, especially from cold.


Im thinking i would be better off getting it refurbished rather than a used box off eBay which could go the same way?

Can anyone tell me rough cost of getting a box refurbished?

And any recommended refurbisher's? i am in Bristol, but guess i could have it couriered, but would prefer local.


I can probably manage to remove the box myself (just completed a head gasket change which was successful). As i guess a lot of the cost must be labour removing the box?

Cheers

[R1 Indy]

Thanks, have just called these guys: http://www.reconditionedgearboxes.com/Manufacturer...


If i get it down to kent they will fit a fully refurbished box with 12 month guarantee for £995 inc Vat which is a lot less than i was expecting.

I was expecting around £2K + fitting. Its not worth getting my spanners out and loosing my knuckles and 7 pints of blood for that price!


Has anyone used them?

Cheers

[R1 Indy]

Six Fiend said:

This place is just round the corner from me in Fishponds and popular

http://www.bristoltransmissions.co.uk/home/

Thanks, just spoke to them, looking at £600+vat for replacement of just the bearings. I would have to remove and re-fit the box.

[R1 Indy]

Krikkit said:

If you can do a head gasket you can do a gearbox refurb. DIY imo.

Yep I think it's going to be this.

Something just doesn't ring true about : http://www.reconditionedgearboxes.com

The fact they claim to have a rebuild S2K box on the shelf I find hard to imagine, it's not exactly a high demand!

The Ltd company has only been going 6 months, yet they have 2 depot's and clearly loads of ready to go box's......

And £995 fitted for a fully refurb end box just seems too cheap...


I think I will remove the box myself, have a look at the bearings, if I need a pro to remove/fit the bearings then I will seek a pro. But at least I will know it's been done right. Plus can check the clutch etc myself.

All 3 bearings on the output shaft (which research shows are likely the culprit) are actually only £150 from Honda.

[R1 Indy]

mighty kitten said:

It's a rwd box so pretty straightforward compared to fwd trans axles .plenty of pictures and a few bearings you can do it yourself

Yes its not looking too impossible to remove the box so far.

I had a good crack at it this afternoon, just need to remove the prop, clutch cylinder, raise the engine a few inches (to get to top bolts), remove the gearbox mounts, then the bolts to the engine, and then the bit I'm dreading of bringing it down without crushing myself.

Then i can open it up.

I also assume it would be best to drain the oil whilst its still in the air?


Should i be able to tell which bearings gone by looking at it?

Also how will the bearings be fitted? do they need pressing out?


If it turns out its knackered there are a few on eBay but they are £400-£500 then there is the logistics of collecting it, and it may not be in much better condition either!

This is the parts diagram, looks like 3 main bearings.

Edited by R1 Indy on Thursday 4th February 20:00

Edited by R1 Indy on Thursday 4th February 20:05

[R1 Indy]

Thanks, is this the sort of bearing puller i will require? http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Upgraded-14pcs-Gear-Bear...

Or is it something a bit more sophisticated than this required?

[R1 Indy]

Argh! Starting to regret this now!

Out of the 6 bolts that hold the prop shaft to the box, 4 are completely rounded!

Obviously this has been off before.

On the plus side after drenching in pen fluid, the 2 that are not rounded came out relatively easy.

But not sure how I'm going to get the other 4 out

They are 6mm Allen bolts, and there is only around 2mm clearance, so can't get a socket over the top etc.

Tried turning it with stillsons but they just slip off!

Anyone got any good tips to get these buggers out?

[R1 Indy]

Thanks guys, I've managed to now get the prop off.
I ended up drilling a 6mm hole through the side of the bolt head, inserting a long screwdriver, and after a couple of snapped screwdrivers they came out

However I'm now in another world of pain....

I needed to lower the subframe a few inches in order to get to the top tranny bolts.
Only on one of the bolts, it appears the welded nut inside the chassis seems to have come loose!
So when I either tighten or loose the bolt, the nut just spins inside

Looks like I may have to make a hole in the chassis to access this bolt?

[R1 Indy]

Well the box is finally out!!




Ive cracked the rear open, the top bearing does not look too bad? It looks like to completely remove the rear, i need to get the main shaft bolt off which will be difficult as the shaft will just spin!




Im pretty sure its been opened before, as the instant gasket is a bit messy, also is it me or does the rear look like its been repaired?




Im in 2 minds now weather to get it fixed or just get another box? As i will need a new rear mount (was damaged) and cant find one. Plus if this box has been repaired before??

[R1 Indy]

Thanks, the more i look at it, the more it looks like its been welded and grinded back.

Im pretty sure this would not be how it will have come from Honda?


But i cant get my head around how it would have been damaged up there?

I wonder if this is why my gear selections have always been a bit rough?


If this is the case i think i will go for another box.

[R1 Indy]

I have a theory on how it may have got damaged.

The chassis mount plate/bush has always been very bent/damaged, so wonder if it could have bottomed out on a speed bump etc and pushed the box into the chassis?

However there is no obvious damage to chassis etc.



Anyway have just picked up a 06 box with around 50K miles (although no evidence of this) for £320. which seemed good value (as long as it works!!)

I believe these later boxes also have stronger carbon tipped gears, and lower ratio lower gears, so more acceleration?


Will probably take me another month for installation, if its anything like the ball ache of removal!!


Am i likely to get anything for my old box on eBay? or straight to the scrappy?

[R1 Indy]

Good News!!

All back together, and she works better than ever!

The gear shift is so smooth, took a nice drive into wales yesterday and the smile is still on my face


The only issue is there is still a metallic rattle somewhere, which comes at random times, usually when slowing down, but also happens if i rev from idle it will rattle when the revs are coming down.
Im thinking/hoping this is something like the exhaust rattling against a heat shield etc.