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.
Hello guys, first time I post, but I wanted to ask around the forum how normal it is to get the 2nd gear to break in a stock S2000. I have read other threads where it broke but mainly on tuned ones. Has anyone experienced such a failure in a stock setup?
Mine is an European '07 model and it is all stock. Car has around 65,000 km ~40,000 miles. After opening the transmission at the shop we saw that the 2nd gear on the main shaft has had 3 of its teeth completely knocked out..
I use the car as a weekend drive and this actually happened in the first 150km after my main refresh from winter where I changed all oils (engine, trans, dif). I didn't also experience anything strange while driving spirited but I only realized something was wrong when I had to slow down in some urban area and re-engage the lower gears (1st -2nd). There I heard a very worrying grinding noise while driving in 2nd and drove it straight back home to stop the car.
Its not common...almost unheard of as a "for no reason" type of failure, as far as I know.
Maybe there was some prior abuse?
What fluid was used in the trans?
I bought the car 2nd hand when it already had 45,000 km so it is hard to say. In general the whole car looked in a good condition when a did a pre-check before buying..
I changed my gearbox fluid in a Honda dealership so used the original Honda recommended oil. Do you think the Honda gearbox oil it is not up to the task?
Improper shifting (banging 2nd improperly) seems to be the cause.
Where those 6 times on a stock car?
Also when you say banging the gear what exactly do you mean? For example even when I shift quickly, I always make sure to fully depress the clutch and release after I engage the gear (so I don't really try to make the absolute fastest gear change in other words). Also when I am downshifting from 3rd to 2nd I try to rev-match but I cannot say that I do it in 100% of the changes. There might be a few times that I don't. Is it critical even in a few cases in your opinion?
I bought the car 2nd hand when it already had 45,000 km so it is hard to say. In general the whole car looked in a good condition when a did a pre-check before buying..
I changed my gearbox fluid in a Honda dealership so used the original Honda recommended oil. Do you think the Honda gearbox oil it is not up to the task?
Honda MTF is fine.
Originally Posted by efd
Where those 6 times on a stock car?
Also when you say banging the gear what exactly do you mean? For example even when I shift quickly, I always make sure to fully depress the clutch and release after I engage the gear (so I don't really try to make the absolute fastest gear change in other words). Also when I am downshifting from 3rd to 2nd I try to rev-match but I cannot say that I do it in 100% of the changes. There might be a few times that I don't. Is it critical even in a few cases in your opinion?
What he means is that the 6 times he's seen it is due to abuse.
Everyone is saying the same thing. This isn't known to "just happen".
Meaning nothing special is needed for it NOT to happen. Something special is needed for it TO happen.
If you're not driving abusively, it should never happen.
Perhaps the previous owner was shifting too forcefully.
Banging gears is shifting too fast/too hard, and then re-engaging power as fast and violently as possible to keep momentum up. Like one would do if drag racing.
Assuming your clutch is stock and factory fitted (that mileage tells me it should be) then we can rule out improper clutch installation that could strain the gear set so like Billman said, abuse caused it. Too many people don't know how to shift a manual car properly and then the next person who buys the pre-owned car bears the brunt of their user error. Sorry man
Thank you all for your replies
At least for me it is clear that after the repair I will be extra careful to avoid any misuse of the gearbox because what could be an abused 2nd gear, could very well be a 1st or 3rd, etc.
Hopefully I will not get surprised by something new in the future.
That usually happens when someone repeatedly shifts hard into second gear, what we used to call back in the day 'catching second' , not something the S is designed for i.m.o.
04-26-2022, 09:25 AM
Blew 2nd gear in stock S2000
