This is going to be yet another costly visit to the ‘engine surgeon’. What initially seemed like a drive shaft agitation problem is turning out to be some bigger shit. A quick jack-up check confirms the worst of fears; it’s coming from the gearbox – bearing problems of some sort on the final drive gear or worse, damaged gearbox housing. Fuck the gearbox. I’ve had some pricey lesson on gearbox before; not due to gear mis-shifts at high rpm run causing the gearbox to go kaboom, but rather some screwed-up job during the initial engine transplant. Sourcing for a B-series manual transmission gearbox in immaculate condition can be nightmarishly difficult; being highly sought after & ricer boys keep busting them.

My ride, well she’s getting old; her maintenance costs can run me up the wall at times, but for most of the time she’s quite well behaved. Still handles sweet, roars like a lion & runs like a race horse when I ‘feel’ it. She’d be going under the knife soon; it's going to be nothing short of a gearbox overhaul ~ i’ll definitely be missing my daily dose of VTEC fix.