"Official" S2000 repair/rebuild thread

[WAFlowers]

Jeff, I'd say that the only thing I could complain about is that the engine is now so smooth and quiet that when it is warm and idling I'm not sure if the engine is running! :shock: And acceleration below VTEC is so smooth and effortless that it feels like something is missing.

So now I have to save up to buy some aggressive exhaust system just so I know that everything is working as it should!

I really never knew that this was how the S2000 should have been all along; stealthy! I bought it with 55K on the odometer already and I figured the engine noise was part of it being a sports car.

[Mars or Germ]

personally im a fan of breaking motors in on with diesel motor oil or Valvoline VR1, due to the extra zinc content they have over most other oils.

If you are ever looking to upgrade the rear end I can get you in contact with an old customer at my old shop. He builds s2k rear ends and does the gear changes. A couple of them went over seas and a few have them have ended up in 500 hp cars so I guess hes been doing a good job of it.

[WAFlowers]

I'll keep that in mind, thanks. I know changing the gearing to 4.44 is quite popular.

[Jack]

i agree on the diesel oil, its much better on break in.
it coats the bearings with a zinc compond. most run for first 1000-1500 miles it leaves traces where it needs to be
reg oil does not have this, diesels dont have cats its ok for short term use.

bill i tracked my car sat in gainsville, car ran great
i was running with the fastest cars.
now its not so happy ,running a little rough. i am taking it to my buddys shop tomorrow to look things over better. i am hoping for the best. it was running good on the way home, and yes it was full of oil

its good to see your up and running again!

[treekiller]

personally im a fan of breaking motors in on with diesel motor oil or Valvoline VR1, due to the extra zinc content they have over most other oils.

Great advice, however the use of Bi-Metal or tri-metal bearings is a thing of the past. since the softer lead and copper that was historically used is more prone to embedding foreign material. so having a coating of Zinc, may not always deliver a desired outcome. this depends on the material used by them OEM for the bearing material. being this is an S2000 discussion I guess I should reverse engineer bills failed bearings. to see what they were, I assumed aluminum, however the way the one oozed around the connecting rod makes me feel it might be an exotic material. if the bearing is aluminum, and which as we know has a rockwell hardness of E then zinc has a hardness of G or two steps down.. so what your attempting to create is a semi Bi-metal bearing. with a coating more likely to trap any foreign particles.

I have to do more research on particular bearing materials. while the presence of zinc in oil is a good thing, for it to make a marketable difference to the bearing surface the particles would never make it through a 20 micron filter, and then would not embed themselves in a harder material. however it does add lubricity. but the concept of a zinc particle bonding to a aluminum bearing is one of false pretenses.

[treekiller]

Jeff, I'd say that the only thing I could complain about is that the engine is now so smooth and quiet that when it is warm and idling I'm not sure if the engine is running! :shock: And acceleration below VTEC is so smooth and effortless that it feels like something is missing.

So now I have to save up to buy some aggressive exhaust system just so I know that everything is working as it should!

I really never knew that this was how the S2000 should have been all along; stealthy! I bought it with 55K on the odometer already and I figured the engine noise was part of it being a sports car.

well I'm glad this is your biggest complaint. I did not look at the motor before dissemblance, but I can tell you that it took 3 separate valve adjustments to get them to where I felt it was 100% while Honda offers a range of specification, I only settle for minimum. so it took getting the motor hot, then letting it cool, and then adjusting... rinse and repeat.

Plus it had other problems, or it wouldn't have burned so much oil so fast, to cause your problem in the first place. and the amount of carbon in the combustion chambers, exhaust ports, and EGR system, lead me to a history of oil consumption. this was the whole reason I re-worked the head before reassembly. I know it was "off the clock time" but the final result is worth it!

while the header is nice there are other parts of the factory exhaust system that can use some improvement.

[Alizarin]

Kenny is the only one I know of that had a bearing failure without an obvious cause. and I'm sure being the enginerd type he uses high quality oil religiously, so poor oil quality was not his issue.

I suspect my failure was caused by hot oil and a detonation event. The oil temps were up around 235-240 by that point of the run (Royal Purple 5W30), and I think there was a detonation event that just blew the oil out of the bearing on that cylinder that finally killed it. I'd been telling people for a little while I thought she was on her way out, anyways.

My oil was slightly low, but it was within spec on the dip stick. Keep in mind #3 is the most common cylinder for spun rod bearings on the EJ20T engines. #4 is common for broken ring lands, which can cause oil consumption.

[WAFlowers]

while the header is nice there are other parts of the factory exhaust system that can use some improvement.

Actually I'm not at all unhappy with the stealth nature of the car. It is just startling that a car will "squirt" through traffic like that without giving any audible indication of the power it is exhibiting.

[Solar]

Bill, glad to hear you got her back on the road better than ever. Knowing Hondas, you'll probably need a valve adjustment or two before you hit 10k miles. The shifting cams for the VTEC seem to like to play with the adjustment.

[WAFlowers]

At the rate I put on miles that will be a couple of years of driving! Not a problem.

[Jack]

bill i figured out what was up with my car.
it needed 2 new motor mounts.
the mounts failed,
humm i wounder why?
i was running like a scalded dog at the track for about 60 laps.
then comming home it started to vibrate at idle bad.
now she is purring like a kitten,
i also played with the alignment more ,
now its, well , will see in january.

oh and i changed my oil and filter!

merry xmas to all!

[WAFlowers]

Jack, I'm glad to hear that you found and fixed the problem. Sorry that it happened though.

Yeah, I wonder why the mounts failed. That doesn't sound right!

[snookwheel]

Yeah, I wonder why the mounts failed. That doesn't sound right!

2,752 crowd pleasing, engine revving, rubber burning, gravel throwing, Mac Daddy launches possibly? But don't change the style Jack!! It is your signature and fun to watch!

[Jack]

that many?
hay thats my style,
if soft launching my car was faster i would be doing it!
i only advise that to my fellow s2000 nuts. other cars have much diffrent power band.
it reminds me of my old rz 350 when it hit 6000rpm the front wheel was straight in the air very simmiler speed to acelleration as the s2000,
but i dont rember the bike doing 155mph it was like 120mph
they really did feel about the same. a 350 two stroke vs a 2000 cc ,3000 lb car.
power to weight always wins!
right scott and howard!
thats why u guys fly!