Okay, so it all started in December when I started hearing a nasty grinding sound when my '92 VX (D15Z1) was idling. It went away when I pushed the clutch in. And came back when I let off the pedal again. The sound slowly got less noticeable over the next few months, and I knew I needed to fix something (I was assuming it was the clutch). There was no slipping and all my fluid levels were fine, although my tranny did make some not-so-normal sounds at high rpms. Withing the last two weeks or so I started seeing drips coming from the flywheel dust cover, and just recently, entire puddles!! So this previous Thursday the weather was nice, I had the money and the day off from work, I pulled the tranny to replace the clutch. (By the way: Many, many, MANY kudos to westcoaststyle for the superb step-by-step guide!!). The clutch did look pretty bad... and unfortunately, so does the tranny. The input shaft wobbles around and there is in-and-out movement as well (you can't completely pull it out, but it moves maybe an inch or so--this is also apparently where the fluid leak was coming from). And the worse news: local auto shops want over $1,100 for a remanufactured one! Even used ones from junkyards are $600-800+, and that's an expensive gamble.

So I guess I have a multi-part question: A) Where can I get a reliable replacement for a relatively affordable price? (Maybe around $300?) B) What is the possibility and cost of rebuilding the one I have? (By myself, that is. There are places near me that can do it, but it could cost up to $1500, depending on the severity of damage done.) C) Do I have any other options? I'm ready and willing to spend up to around $400 or even $500 to get this thing back on the road again.

I understand that this would be a good time to just put a whole new engine in, but I don't have that kind of money available and, to be honest, the engine is just fine. So please don't suggest to do a whole engine/tranny swap.