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New from Jamestown NC

Joined
26 June 2021
Messages
3
Hello,
Im new to the forum. I just purchased my 91 nsx on 7-1-21 its berlin blk with 126k on the clock, 5spd
I purchased it down in Florida when I went to look at the car it was it very good condition with the typical minor stuff that needed fixing.
Leaking vtec solenoids,
climate control recirc button not working but very good ac.
Test driving it. Was great smooth ride very impressed.
After a 27hr round trip home I unloaded yesterday and discovered the back taillight seals are leaking. We drove through 7 storm cells and it left a puddle in the trunk.
Later that afternoon I drove it to the honda shop to get a price on the vtec solenoids to fix the small drips it left on the ground. As I was pulling in the shifting become hard.
It was grinding as if I was shifting with no clutch.

I got it quoted for the vtec solenoids and as we tried to back out of the parking spot the trans wasnt having it. I had to turn the car off to put in reverse.
The ride home was worrisome was shifting right grinding gears and operation become hard I ran 7 stop lights and 2 stop signs to get it home in the garage. I was suprised as the test drive was flawless in Florida.the only thing I noticed it the clutch let out on the top of the pedal instead of the bottom.
Idk if the throw out bearing went out or what I check the reservoir and it was full. I put the car in neutral and depress the clutch. It makes a bunch of racket.
Any insight would be great because its killing my new car experience lol.
Also if anyone knows of a nsx certified technician within the North Carolina area that would be great.
Thanks
Clayton..
 
Clayton, welcome and congratulations on your purchase. Now, let's see if we can get you squared away. I had a clutch fail "out of the blue" and it became really notchy and undriveable. Did you notice a sudden change in the engagement point of the clutch? In my case, the clutch has worn enough that a damper spring caught on the mid-plate and then there was a sudden release...and in the process, 1/2 the fiction pads on one side of of one of the friction plates made a bid for freedom...

I don't know of an NSX certified technician in NC, but I know there are several NC owners. Hopefully, one of them will chime in. I would recommend calling Ben at Daisy Automotive up in the Baltimore, MD area. he is one of the NSX gurus and Daisy is a well known, respected shop in the NSX community. Other shops include Source 1 out in Cincinnati area...either way, it will likely be a trailer/ship the car to the shop and have it done. Clutches/transmissions are not for the "faint of heart" on an NSX. Not any more complicated than any other manual transmission, but the area is tight and there are some tricks to getting the transmission out/in the car.

Also, did you see any movement of the shift lever - especially in 1st and 2nd? I ask because you have a 91...is your transmission in snap ring range? Look at TSB 93-010? (https://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Troubleshooting/transmission.htm)

We'll get you through this....

Here is my background and some of my thoughts if you haven't seen/read this...

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...to-new-NSX-Owners-(and-maybe-some-not-so-new)
 
Welcome to the ownership club. 30 year old cars with 126,000 miles on the odometer do come with unexpected surprises; but, the NSX probably fares better than most cars and probably all exotics. A clutch failure at 126,000 miles should not be unexpected, particularly if the car saw a lot of stop and go driving.

As to your clutch, a broken damper spring will certainly cause a release and no-shift problem and that type of failure goes from "works just fine' to "doesn't work at all" in the blink of an eye. As I recall it is usually accompanied by noise when you try to release the clutch which seems to line up with your experience. There is an inspection cover for the clutch and with the car on a hoist you may be able to examine stuff with a borescope / video inspection camera. Here is [MENTION=5129]NSX2398[/MENTION] 's experience with the broken damper spring on a 1991 dual plate clutch

Need advice on clutch failure please (nsxprime.com)

As per Ian's experience, you might want to go for the SOS replacement clutch rather than the uber expensive OEM dual plate clutch.
 
Old Guy said:
As per Ian's experience, you might want to go for the SOS replacement clutch rather than the uber expensive OEM dual plate clutch.
Tks Old Guy for referencing that old thread .. although there's likely no good 'quick/cheap' news in it for the OP. Although some of the other posts reported similar failures, to my knowledge it was never mentioned in any NSX buying guide that I had ever read so unfortunately tough luck for OP. The first one on mine was done at about 80k miles and second one at about 190k miles but most of those miles were highway so may not be representative of the norm. I can report that 6 yrs on, the SOS clutch is performing well although I'm retired now and haven't added a ton of miles since replacement.
...Ian
 
Daisy Thumbs Up

Clayton, welcome and congratulations on your purchase. Now, let's see if we can get you squared away. I had a clutch fail "out of the blue" and it became really notchy and undriveable. Did you notice a sudden change in the engagement point of the clutch? In my case, the clutch has worn enough that a damper spring caught on the mid-plate and then there was a sudden release...and in the process, 1/2 the fiction pads on one side of of one of the friction plates made a bid for freedom...

I don't know of an NSX certified technician in NC, but I know there are several NC owners. Hopefully, one of them will chime in. I would recommend calling Ben at Daisy Automotive up in the Baltimore, MD area. he is one of the NSX gurus and Daisy is a well known, respected shop in the NSX community. Other shops include Source 1 out in Cincinnati area...either way, it will likely be a trailer/ship the car to the shop and have it done. Clutches/transmissions are not for the "faint of heart" on an NSX. Not any more complicated than any other manual transmission, but the area is tight and there are some tricks to getting the transmission out/in the car.

Also, did you see any movement of the shift lever - especially in 1st and 2nd? I ask because you have a 91...is your transmission in snap ring range? Look at TSB 93-010? (https://www.nsxprime.com/FAQ/Troubleshooting/transmission.htm)

We'll get you through this....

Here is my background and some of my thoughts if you haven't seen/read this...

http://www.nsxprime.com/forum/showt...to-new-NSX-Owners-(and-maybe-some-not-so-new)
I second the recommendation for Ben at Daisy. I had my 97 highly modified NSX trailered from Charlotte to his shop for an extensive mechanical refresh including a new clutch, turbo, ECU re-tune, etc etc. Ben exceeded my expectations. Ben is pretty busy so you will want to understand how long the car will be in his shop. It will be worth the wait.
 
Crown Acura has a good NSX mechanic.

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