So the car now has 83k miles, and my clutch went out. I ordered a new factory replacement clutch for the car through bill Kay Honda. I will be doing the install myself. I have access to every tool I should need (power tools, extensions, etc) and a full lift. I will try to document this as well as I can. For those of you that have done this before, do any of you have any advice? I know this job is going to be a PITA.


thanks
matt

 

Buy the manual is the best advice I can give www.helminc.com

 

I've done 3 so far but I'm sure I pale in comparison to the Master above.
This link gives a good step by step.
The manual works through part by part. This one works it top and bottom. This way if you have a hoist all the top work is done before you lift the car. If using stands get the car a good height up.

Yes everything listed does need to get done as the motor needs to be lowered a few inches.

Don't forget the 24"+ extension for the starter bolt. Good luck finding it.lol (Hint put your cheek on the left front headlight and look through the brake lines)
Bring a friend.
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=83548

Good Luck

 

good luck, it is very much a PITA I have only done 4 s2000 clutches... just don't try make shortcuts or be lazy and not take off something, it is easier to remove things than waste a lot of time trying to get around them

 

I'm seeing the need for a new clutch now, due to having some slip. What is the recommended replacement for street driving? Back in the Spring at Barber someone recommended using the OEM clutch with perhaps a certain aftermarket flywheel. Lastly, who would be recommended in Birmingham for a job like this?

 

Head down to Montgomery and have Will at McConnell Honda take care of it.

 

I'm in the middle of this right now (trying to get the flywheel bolts out...). If I had it to do over, I'd probably take it somewhere and get it done - damn the cost. I've been without my car almost 2 weeks now and it's been one frustrating thing after another.

I agree that a) it's a royal PITA b) you shouldn't skip any of the steps.
A few notes:
- For the top starter bolt, I REALLY recommend one of those telescopic magnetic pickup tools with the built-in LED light (see pic below). Both the magnet and the light are godsends when trying to get the socket on that bolt. I ended up using 4 or 5 wobble extensions, a u-joint and a bent coat hanger.
- Fastenal sells the Allen head cap screws for the driveshaft for about $0.50 each (vs. $3-4 or so from the dealer). Whoever did the last clutch in my car stripped them out. Vicegrips are good for getting out the stripped ones.
- When you back out the bolts to lower the front subframe and engine, lower the jack SLOWLY and maybe wiggle the engine a bit at first. When lowering mine, I turned the handle slightly too much and dropped the jack too fast. Instead of following the jack down, the subframe stuck for a second and then dropped 3". I really hope nothing broke when the engine dropped like that...
- Make sure you get the car up high enough to get the transmission clear (if you want to remove it). IIRC, the bellhousing is about 16" tall and about 14" wide.
- The far back exhaust heat shield bolt (on the vertical black heat shield) only needs to be loosened. It's a pain to get to.
- The 17mm 12-point socket I have is really loosey-goosey on my flywheel bolts. I don't know if that's common, but it might be something to watch out for. I just ordered a 21/32 socket - I'm just going to hope for the best...

Magic wonderful amazing pickup tool:

 

I had Wilbur do mine. He even let me help. Excellent work and well worth it.
The clutch I used was:
ACT HS1-HDSS kit with OEM disc
If you'd like to try mine for pedal effort, I can drive it to the next TAC meeting, but I don't get to B'ham very often.

 

I had Jordan do mine and I helped a bit and got to watch. Got I done in half a day at a great cost - especially since I didn't have the tools to do it myself. Glad I didn't too because its a heck of a project!