Hoy

Dear All,

I bought a S2000 in Oct 2018 with 107,000 miles on it and put in additional 2000 miles since. I wasn't car savvy so I had paid a Honda dealer to do a pre-purchase inspection before I bought it from a private owner. I requested a scan on the car's computer, but the dealer said they would only scan if there was a check engine light. So I trusted them and the car passed their inspection with flying colors. A BIG MISTAKE!

I use a pay-per-mile auto insurance which requires me to plug a device to the OBD port. It found cylinders 1 and 3 misfiring, and I started to notice rough idling. I bought it to a mechanic who also found misfiring codes on his expensive scanner. He test drove my car but the car was strong, and since there wasn't any check engine light, he thought the misfiring was within tolerance. He cleared the codes and they never came back.

But rough idling continued. I've checked spark plugs and coil packs, and cleaned the throttle body, MAP sensor and IACV. I bought it to a second mechanic and he said my IACV was bad. So I changed it and the car still idled poorly. Finally, this second mechanic did a compression test and found that cylinders 1 and 3 had low compression. He suggested to rebuild the engine or put in a "new" used engine.

I am pissed becoz I've relied on paid professionals but I got burned still. Now I have to make a decision and here are my questions.

1) I've been watching videos on low compression and I think the problem is the piston rings/cylinders, not head gasket or valves. I removed the engine oil cap and there was a breeze (not joking) gushing out and a loud humming noise from it. I think it is a bad blow-by, right?

2) Do you think pouring in a bottle of engine restorer for low compression will help? I doubt it will but still, no harm to ask.

3) I paid $11,000 for the car. The entire rebuild will cost $6-8k which is almost the same price as an engine replacement. But should I ask for a leak-down test to confirm the actual problem(s) and rebuild that part(s) only? Say piston rings/cylinders. Will it save me money? Or once the engine is removed form the car, it is better to redo the whole engine for good?

4) I am in Los Angeles and my mechanic would use either Alameda Motor or Jasper for the rebuild. But I saw unflattering reviews on them. Any suggestions on engine rebuilders in LA? Does Ballade Sports rebuild engines or they also outsource it?

5) Besides the engine, another problem I have is there is oil dripping from wheel nuts and center caps on all four wheels, and also the brake caliper looks wet in the attached video. However, both the first and second mechanics couldn't find leakage from the brakes. And I don't experience any brake fading. What could it be?

Thanks.

Hoy

Hoy

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=GcF1to...ature=youtu.be

windhund116

Looks like possible brake fluid leakage The brake fluid level okay, in the reservoir? Prolly best to remove the wheels and inspect.

I'd get a leak-down test and go from there. Post your compression test numbers.

Good luck with the fixes.

dagle

removing the oil cap doesn't indicate piston rings or combustion chamber failure, i forgot to put the oil cap back on before and watched it splash oil on a healthy motor.

you can either do a leakdown test or you can do a wet compression test: remove the spark plug, compression test the weak cylinder, put in a teaspoon of oil and retest. Piston rings on AP1s in particular do wear out but they normally don't cause low compression to the point that it misfires, usually they just burn oil. The fact that you have two weak cylinders that share up/down strokes is also kind of weird indicating something else might be going on. If the motor has been over-rev'd before, it would make sense that two cylinders that were in the up stroke could stretch enough to bend some valves. If that were the case and the engine was lucky enough to continue running, it could present itself with the symptoms you're describing.

Car Analogy

If you pay $6k on a rebuilt motor, you might as well set a bonfire and pour the $6k there. These motors can only be rebuilt by those with very specialized equipment, knowledge, and experience with these types of motors. A decent used motor is what you want. This is the least hassle, best outcome solution for your situation. That is, if you actually need a rebuild.

You need to get a leakdown test. By now hopefully you've learned not to ever take this car to a dealership. They don't understand this car. Post in the local Southern Cal forum to ask for a good shop for the leakdown test.

Low compression might be caused by something as simple as a bad valve adjustment, or something else with the cylinder head that is less invasive to fix than an engine rebuild/replacement. The only way to know is a leakdown test, followed by potentially a boroscope of the cylinder walls if compression loss is deemed to be from rings.

This engine has FRM coated cylinder walls that can't be treated the same way as other engine rebuilds. It also has different piston sizes, piston ring sizes, connecting rod bearings and crank bearing sizes, that are custom matched to each position in that particular motor. This is how this engine can survive revving to 9k rpm. Its how they achieve the tight tolerances required without the hyper expensive custom machining of each individual component, like you might see with an exotic supercar.

These are just some of the challenges that make rebuilding this motor so challenging. Virtually every single attempt to rebuild these motors by anyone that isn't an S2000 specialist or that hasn't invested many times more time researching how to rebuild this motor than the actual work to perform the rebuilding tasks, has resulted in complete failure.

It is virtually impossible that a place that doesn't have a successful track record of rebuilding these specific motors will be able to rebuild yours successfully.

rpg51

There is zero chance I will ever attempt to rebuild my motor. Like Car Analogy said - you might as well take $6000.00 and through it in a bonfire.
Also, never make decisions about repairs without a proper diagnosis. Throwing parts at a car based on guess work is almost always going to increase the total cost of repair in the end. Figure out what is wrong and fix that, and only that.

engifineer

I will also re-iterate that virtually no one will be able to do a proper rebuild of this engine if any machining is required on the cylinders. Some (And ones that really know these engines) can do a "refresh" and change bearings, clean it up, etc. but not a full rebuild.

Get the proper tests run, and not by anyone that has touched it so far. I cant see how that mechanic thought those misfires were "in spec" lol. There is no misfire setting a code that is "in spec". Should not be getting a misfire code at all and I would not let that guy touch any of my cars again. Now, if he said he cleared the code and cannot reproduce the issue, then I can see that and you would need to drive and let it occur again, but that does not sound like the case here.

Find someone that actually knows what they are doing to perform a compression and leakdown test and go from there. Very likely you do not need a motor here and something else is going on that can be fixed without a motor replacement.

EffWun

That is true, there is evidence throughout the two decades this car has been out no successful rebuild has been logged...

noodels

Trade it in at that Honda dealer

Hoy

The brake fluid level is fine. Maybe becoz I don’t drive much.

The mechanic did the compression test when the engine was cold. Cylinder 1 is 90psi, 2 is 140psi, 3 is 90psi, 4 is 120psi.