New Owner - Snap Ring Photo

[IamNew]

I just took apart the tranny and inspected the snag ring. I read the FAQ about snap ring and i know i am suppose to check for the groves on the case. I looked at the photos but i just dont understand the difference between good and bad.

Can any NSX owner help me out? Attached is the snap ring photo off my car.

 

[IamNew]

2nd photo

 

[Dtrigg]

Is your car in snap ring range? Has it ever been changed?

 

[EdinKali]

Hard to tell just by looking at the grooves. Check the serial number to see if it is even in range. If your transmission has lots of miles on it and the snap ring is still is one piece and no visible cracks you are probably ok. That pic doesn't show the other side of the snap ring. Is it visible? If not, then it is already cracked. Take a pic of the hole from straight above.

 

[Dtrigg]

As I understand, you can't do a visual inspection of a good/bad snap ring. If you're in the range, replace it. Again, has it ever been replaced?

 

[Vytas]

Read the full story in my post in this thread. You'll then understand what to do.

 

[IamNew]

Tranny has about 100k miles on it and it IS in snap ring range:frown:. As far as i know, it never been rebuild as carfax shows nothing. I am the 5th owner and the guy i bought the car from didnt know anything.

When i took out the tranny, its obvious that its been opened and re-sealed (not sure for what purpose). Snap ring is still in one piece and good shap. car drives fine without any shifting problem so far. No metal chucks inside, just some metal poweders. But again, i am not sure what to look for. Thanks for the abvies and I will take a better pic tomorrow.

 

[Vytas]

Carfax will not show a transmission rebuild. If the transmission already has 100K on it with no issues, you're probably going to be fine. You must understand that not every transmission in the snap ring will fail as stated in Mark Basch's write up. If the ends of the snap ring move together as you move it within the inspection hole, it's still in one piece. The proper repair is a new upper transmission case and snap ring with a new transmission number that is not within the range. Since that's not the case, it's the original. You could replace the upper transmission case and snap ring now since since you have it apart and be done with it. If you decide not to, I believe you're fine and failure of the snap ring will be attributed to normal wear and tear (depending how hard the transmission was used) versus the varying gap in the snap ring groove in the transmission cases within the range.

 

[OLDMNSX]

What is the part number on the transmission?

If nothing else I would remove the rear housing and inspect the groove and snap ring then you will know for sure. If the cut in the housing doesn't look square and clean replace the case, if it does, put it back together with a new snap ring. Get a Honda or Acura mechanic to do it, it should take about 1 hour to do it all.
Peace of Mind.
Brad

 

[drew]

If you're in the range, replace it.

The snap ring issue a problem with the casing, not the snap ring. Repeat: replacing the snap ring does nothing useful.

It is nearly impossible to determine a good case from a bad one. My guess is that you would have to cut it apart to verify it, which is unhelpful.

The original casing has/had a paper label on it, you should be able to see the remains of the adhesive. The new casing has a ink stamped black number on it. I have pictures somewhere I was going to do a wiki, but I'm out of time now that I have little ones.

FWIW: My transmission snap ring went at 128,000 miles. I had to cut the case apart to get the broken snap ring out....spent half the day with chisel and an air saw. You're better off replacing the casing, when it goes: it gets really expensive as you have to replace ALL the bearings.


Drew

 

[OLDMNSX]

SO........what was the outcome?

 

[IamNew]

Just to be safe, i bought a new tranny case from Honda ( supposedly the last one in USA they said) along with snap ring and all the hardwares. The new tranny case does have a black stamped number.

After put it together, i still cant tell the difference between the new tranny case vs. the old one. They both have very small play on the snap ring vs. the grove. what should i do next?

 

[Doc308]

If you have a brand new case and snap ring and they look and fit exactly the same as the old ones, the old ones were likely OK.

 

[shawn110975]

how much was the new tranny case? 3K? let me know

 

[IamNew]

Bought it at dealership