Vindowviper

I have searched and searched over and over... and can't seem to find people with the same issue.

2000 - AP1 MOSTLY stock (owner states he put an ACT HDSS clutch plate on due to the last one failing some 3-4 years ago?)
100,500 miles on it.

It all started during Autocross, when I was shifting from redline in 1st gear into 2nd, and it would not enter the gear. It wouldn't just grind, but not actually pull all the way down until the RPM's dropped...

Now this issue is occurring on ALL gears during up-shifting.. if I am over 5k it will not allow me to shift from 2->3, 3->4, 4->5, or 5->6. I have to allow the engine RPM's to drop back down to 4k (give or take) before it allows it to shift into that gear.

Downshifting I have no issues, can Rev Match the dis-engage from 5th to 4th and it pops in nicely.

Also I have recently been noticing a squeal from the engagement to 1st gear from stops. At a dead stop, I have clutch pedal down, in first gear, and you hear a tiny bit of squeal, then as you release the clutch and up the RPM's and it slips and engages, it gives a significant squeal.... once its in all is well. 1st goes just fine all the way up to 8900 RPM's, but then of course I can't get it into 2nd without letting it drop significantly.

All gears work and shift just fine at cruising RPM's (3-5k) and the vehicles engages and no sounds exist during this time (except for me needing to replace my Timing Chain Tensioner... but thats a different story).

So far I have bled the old clutch fluid with new stuff (was pretty dirty in the CMC's reservoir, but all clean now).

I don't see any leaks or issues from my Master cylinder from the inside, and I was getting a squeak on clutch engagement, but I put some WD-40 on the spring that returns the clutch pedal, and it seems that was the source of the noise.

Any other recommendations?

So far with my very little knowledge of the vehicle, and what I can google-fu from S2KI and other sites, is possible clutch plate wearing out? Possible bad CMC, though I don't see a leak. I am contemplating trying the slave cylinder ball smoothing technique I have read about, but I don't know if that is whats causing this issue.

It could be the Synchro's but my understanding is that not ALL of those go out at once, its ussually one or two, but this seems that ALL gears don't want to upshift until the RPM's are right...

and the last is Throw out Bearing not working?


As I said, I am a complete idiot on this stuff, so my guesses are probably no-where in the ballpark, hence why I ask you experts here for some enlightenment!

Billman250

Have seen this before, sounds like a frozen pilot bearing.

Vindowviper

What kinda labor and cost would see replacing that? Is it mostly just a labor thing of opening up, and replacing the bearing directly? or would it be something along the lines of a new flywheel + Bearing?

Slowcrash_101

If it's just the pilot bearing, it's like $25 for the bearing, the rest of the money comes from taking down the transmission. All-data quotes 6 hours to R + R the transmission which comes out to about $450 of labor at $75/hr. You said the clutch was recently replaced, so if that's the case it's likely most of the components are fine, but you won't really know for sure until you take everything down.

Also take a look at the rear main seal, if it's the original one, it can't hurt to change it(mine had cracking on it at 120,000 miles but wasn't leaking, I replaced it anyway when I did my clutch as well as the two others I've done), but make sure you use an OEM one. The OEM ones have a metal ring on the side that faces the engine, whereas the non oem ones don't. I'm guessing the reason for that ring is so the seal doesn't distort at high rpm.

Vindowviper

rear main seal being the gasket from engine to bell-housing of the tranny right? (I am limited on my mechanical knowledge)

So pretty much I should find a deal on the rear main seal, and a Pilot Bearing, then find a local mechanic to take it off, down, apart, do the arduous task of pulling a frozen pilot bearing, then replacing the seal upon mating it all back to the engine?

Is this something I could do myself (Knowing that I have VERY limited knowledge as you can tell my from questions?) or am I best left with having someone work on it?

Also, if all this is being taken apart, and I currently have clutch-buzz that exists due to AP1 infamy.... could that be fixed during this process? or would I need to purchase even more parts to get rid of the buzz?

Slowcrash_101

The easiest way to get rid of the buzz is a new OEM clutch disk. They're all the same part 00-09 so go with the newest one. The seal is like $20 so you're looking at like $45 in parts, maybe another $35-50 to resurface the flywheel. So $500-550 for the job at a minimum. You could do it yourself, but I tell you it's not easy for a first timer, took me like 10 hours to do it the first time. I took a lot of breaks and cursed a lot, doing it on your back is a pain in the ass, especially for removing the transmission, and it's bolts. Particularly the driveshaft bolts which are easy to strip since they're held on with Loctite and happen to be made of Swiss cheese. That and taking off the top starter bolt are the hardest parts of the job, everything else is relatively straightforward. The bolts are easily accessible, and there's plenty of DIY's around that tell you all the steps, and all the tools you need.

If you do plan to tackle it yourself, read, read, read, read, then read some more. Take it one step at a time, whenever you disconnect something that spins, like the steering coupler, or driveshaft, that you mark it with whiteout so you can align it easily during reassembly. Take pictures, and use different highlighters so you can easily reconnect any electrical connections, such as 02 sensors or the reverse switch. Also turn the steering wheel with the key off so it locks and you don't lose your spot or damage the air bag clock spring. You need to do this in order to safely drop the front subframe around 3" so that you can use a long extension to remove the two upper transmission bolts.

If you have a strategy in your head and a lot of time you could do it no problem. It sucks when you have to hurry because it's easy to make a mistake. Otherwise just leave it to a pro.

Vindowviper

Gonna have a shop do it then, don't have the experience enough, and this is my daily driver.

How much extra labor is it if I purchase the newer friction disk to install, if they are already going in and replacing the the bearing and seal? would it probably be say an hour or so?

It also appears I can get said friction disk for around $110-120 online... does this sound right? (Part # : 22200-PCX-055)

Slowcrash_101

Once you have the transmission off, everything else is a piece of cake, so there shouldn't be any more extra labor tacked on. You can never go wrong with OEM for this car and yes that's the part. There's 6 bolts for the flywheel, and I think 5 bolts for the pressure plate, the disk gets sandwiched in between and an alignment tool gets shoved in there to help get the transmission input shaft to slide in. Again most of the labor is involved in removing and replacing the transmission, for some it can be tricky to tighten the flywheel bolts if you don't have any way to lock the ring gear, but any decent shop has a way to lock the crankshaft.