snap ring issue questions..

Z

zrs6v4

Registered Member
Joined
13 May 2007
Messages
49
Location
St. Louis, MO
I am curious about the snap ring issue. I found a 91' with 72k miles in good condition for $23,500 he has done the maintenance including a timing belt at 50k. he said he wasnt sure about the snap issue. I told him to give me a tranny number and I can find out if it is in the range.

-what is the worst that can happens if the car breaks due to the issue?
- what would it cost to fix it?
- any other questiosn I should ask him?
 
The worst that can happen is the transmission is completely destroyed and you'd have to replace the transmission with a 6 speed :wink: .

I believe the cost to replace the transmission housing is about $600. (maybe that $600 is just for the housing and not labor) Do a search and you'll probably find a more accurate estimate.

Get the transmission serial number and see if it's on this list. You'll also find all the information you need about "snap ring".

If the transmission does fall into the snap ring range, have the seller lower the price a couple of thousand dollars. Good luck.
 
Meh, my car is in the range. I have had nothing but pleasure from her for the past 2 years and she's just crossed 100K kms. I got her for a few grand lower because I made an issue of the snap ring but in reality I couldn't care less. I know if it happens I will see some downtime (prob will just wait until winter storage time to get the work done) and I come out with a new 6 spd tranny. Big whoop.
 
zrs6v4 said:
I am curious about the snap ring issue. I found a 91' with 72k miles in good condition for $23,500 he has done the maintenance including a timing belt at 50k. he said he wasnt sure about the snap issue. I told him to give me a tranny number and I can find out if it is in the range.
Click to expand...
You have to know the transmission number, rather than the VIN. However, if the car's VIN is less than about MT002400, it is almost certainly not in the snap ring range. Snap ring transmissions started showing up in VINs higher than that number.

zrs6v4 said:
-what is the worst that can happens if the car breaks due to the issue?
- what would it cost to fix it?
Click to expand...
If you familiarize yourself with the symptoms (by reading about them now), and if you park the car immediately if and when you notice them happening, then at that point you can get the upper tranny case and snap ring replaced for about $2000-3000 including parts and labor. Or, you can do that at any point, if you don't want to wait for the symptoms to show up.

The other thing you can do is to replace the case and snap ring if and when you need transmission/clutch service anyway, in which case you're not paying anything for the labor (you're already incurring it), and you just have to pay the roughly $800 for those parts.

The worst is if you keep driving on it after the symptoms show up, in which case you might have to replace the entire transmission (prices vary, depending on whether you buy one new or used, discounts, etc).
 
thanks a bunch for the help. so basically $600-800 for parts.
how much do decent 5-speed trannys go for?
how much are 6-speed trannys an what do you need to make the swap work?
I found the car in arizona. I will get it checked out for sure. its on autotrader. I also found another one for $25,800 same mileage and its way closer to me here in st. louis.

I want to spend this much-
120-150k miles $18-$20k
100-120k miles $21-23K
70-100k miles $23-25k

any color, must be a 5 speed, and pass a PPI
 
My tranny was not in snap ring range according to the serial number but still had the symptoms and failed. Replaced it with a 6 speed and now my 1st gear is user friendly :smile: . This can also be done when repairing the 5speed with a nice set of upgraded gears.
 
Buy the car and have the JDM gears installed. Even if its not in snap ring era get JDM gears ,You will love them.Two birds one stone.
 
But remember, not everyone is qualified to install gearsets, [certainly not the average acura mechanic]. Only trust a reputable shop thats performed this before. SOS sells rebuilt trannies with JDM installed.
 
Angelo08 said:
My tranny was not in snap ring range according to the serial number but still had the symptoms and failed. Replaced it with a 6 speed and now my 1st gear is user friendly :smile: . This can also be done when repairing the 5speed with a nice set of upgraded gears.
Click to expand...

Now, this is interesting. I haven't heard of someone actually experiencing a snap ring failure in a non-snap ring serial tranny. Sorry to hear that it happened to you, but good to hear that you upgraded to the six speed. :smile:
 
nsxtasy said:
I want to buy a new Ferrari for $50,000, too.
Click to expand...

please come on now, Im no idiot. my price ranges are very possible. I have found many cars in my price range. obviously it takes more time. but the more time it takes to find the one I want the more money Ill have saved. and you can get a 348 and a 355 in that range, but they are junk. I love them, and my dad has a 355, but hes had some issues.
 
Something else you might want to try, get the VIN and run it through the Acura dealer database. It will come back with all the work done on the car through Acura. I found mine failed during warranty on the first owner and was replaced by the dealer, and the second guy to own the car had no documentation on it It made the difference in buying the car. Good Luck.

ps If your buying an AZ car, Mark Basch would be the only person I would trust to do an inspection. Highly recommended.
 
Larry Bastanza said:
It's not the first one;).

LarryB
Click to expand...

If I remember, my trans wasnt in the range either. :wink: And upon inspection, the ring wasnt broken. It failed, a couple weeks later.:frown:
 
NSXF1 said:
Something else you might want to try, get the VIN and run it through the Acura dealer database. It will come back with all the work done on the car through Acura. I found mine failed during warranty on the first owner and was replaced by the dealer, and the second guy to own the car had no documentation on it It made the difference in buying the car. Good Luck.

ps If your buying an AZ car, Mark Basch would be the only person I would trust to do an inspection. Highly recommended.
Click to expand...

Acura does not nationally catalog all repairs. I supppose if it was "goodwilled" they might have a record, but might not. You would need to know the repairing dealer to verify. Reciept is best.

No question Mark would be your man:).


Regards,
LarryB
 
We only "catalog" and record, warranty work and goodwill work. The rest, i.e service/maintence is done, dealer by dealer....Not nationwide.
 
Well this bites. One more thing to worry about even if your out of SR range. Guess I'll start putting money up now.:rolleyes:
 
davidf said:
Well this bites. One more thing to worry about even if your out of SR range. Guess I'll start putting money up now.:rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Perfect time for short gears and 4.23:biggrin:
 
zrs6v4 said:
I want to spend this much-
120-150k miles $18-$20k
100-120k miles $21-23K
70-100k miles $23-25k

any color, must be a 5 speed, and pass a PPI
Click to expand...


What does "Pass a PPI" mean?...the car is not 2 car half's welded together to make one?

At your prices I can only imagine what you will find as most people think their car is worth more than it is. so in the low 20s I have only seen cars that would not "Pass" my PPI.

The snap ring issue is one that you should expect to deal with if you are looking at 1991-1992 cars ..the tranny case half will cost you 600-700$ and then labor to replace it...but at your price range I wouldn't expect sellers to give much off because of the possible trans issue.
 
nsxtasy said:
If you buy one in the snap ring range, yes. But remember, 80 percent of the '91 cars were not in the snap ring range.
Click to expand...


Ahh yes I guess I should have worded it differntly...I meant that you will have to find out if the car is in the range and then possibly negotiate because of it.
 
"I want to spend this much-
120-150k miles $18-$20k
100-120k miles $21-23K
70-100k miles $23-25k

any color, must be a 5 speed, and pass a PPI"

===========================================

I just hope what your "negotiating" isn't the crap in someone's garage, trash cans, lawn furniture etc. as your being chased out for your low ball offers! LOL LOL:biggrin:
 

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