I'm a die hard S2000 fan so when Bumblestook used to be a dedicated autocross competition vehicle I had to get another just so I could drive it around. I sadly sold it 5 years ago to buy my Cayman but I kept one part from it, its original AP2 transmission. I didn't realize it when I bought it but the car had 2nd gear popup and it turns out the VIN was in the range of it as a known issue. At the time, S2000 parts were pretty cheap so I just bought another AP2 transmission and swapped it in and kept the original as a spare until a few months ago when I decided I wanted to put an AP2 transmission back into Bumblestook for the shorter gearing and carbon synchros. The problem was when would I do it if I wanted to minimize downtime.
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| Transmission Rebuild |
With a garage renovation project underway, I found my perfect timing. I needed to store my car anyway so I dropped it off with Christian (@christian_s2k) along with my spare transmission and I had him take it apart to see what was needed. I knew we had to change the second gearset (1st and 2nd gear) to fix the popup but while he was in there I had him inspect the other gears. Third gear was showing signs of wear as well so I said replace gears 1 through 4 so I'm starting with a known good state along with the bearings and seals.
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| Magnetic pickup not looking great |
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| AP1 vs AP2 transmission Same same but different |
I also took this opportunity to change out my clutch line to a Science of Speed stainless line. Obviously had to go with some fresh Amsoil MTF too.
Swap was smooth of course. This car definitely doesn't suffer from stuck bolts from the constant changes. We're heading out to Palmer Motorsports Park next month with S2K Takeover so I can't wait to test this all out.
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| Ready to roll out |
Some more random pictures from the transmission rebuild
