Go check this NOW...! NO JOKE!
09-25-2001, 04:16 PM
#1
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Go check this NOW...! NO JOKE!
Before what happened to me happens to you, go out before you drive your S2000 again and make SURE your spark plugs are all TIGHT...! If you have a torque wrench, they should be tight to 13 foot pounds. If you don't have a torque wrench, make sure they are tight and take it somewhere that has a tq wrench.
I guess I should relate my experience of the last couple of days, it may save an S2000. Here goes.
On the way back from the DB Run on Sunday, WestSideBilly and I were cruising back to Chi-town. About 100 miles outside of Chicago, we stopped and got gas. IMMEDIATELY after we got back on the interstate, my car starts sputtering, pinging, etc...it was an amazing onset of what I had assumed was contaminated gas. Well, we pull off, check the oil, listen to it make all its odd noises and we both figured it was the gas we had gotten only 4 minutes before. We get back on the road and about 1 mile down, my car died. We pulled off...tried to start it a few times...nada. We both assumed that the gas was just not going to let us proceed. I called Honda Care to come get her...here's a sad, but badass pic!
I spoke with the dealer the car was brought to early Monday and told them what I expected the problem to be - the gas. Fast forward to Monday about 1:00 pm. I get a call from the dealer that really took me by surprise. I jokingly said, so, let's get on with the good news and let me come pick up my car tonight. Well, that wasn't going to happen. He said that the number #1 spark plug had worked its way out of the cylinder head - completely. And that #2 was on its way out.
This had caused a tremendous amount of misfiring, detonation, scoring and burning in the cylinder head and the walls of #1 cylinder.
To make a short story even shorter, my car is getting a brand new short block and cylinder head put in later this week.
I want to thank Bob Rohrman Honda in Lafayette Indiana for being absolutely professional about the whole thing and Honda as well, for being so quick to respond to this whole ordeal. Big kudos to both of them...thank you!!
A little more detail about the failure. Well, the Service Manager said he had NEVER seen anything like this. And even in the end, he wasn't sure what or how it happened. But I have never taken out the stock plugs, nor had I any reason to tighten, loosen or otherwise make changes to them. They did a compression test on #1 and found ZERO compression.
The SM was more or less at a loss about how this could have happened. The part that sucks is that motor ran so damn good...it was definitely one of the stonger F20C's out there. I only hope that the new one performs the same.
I'm sure you have questions, so I'll stop rambling. Suffice it to say, I had thought about being quiet about this and not broadcasting it to the world...but it would have come out somehow, someday. And if it saves just one other engine from this most bizarre kind of failure, then it's worth it.
It's such a simple thing to have the plugs tightened down...so the morale of the story is to CHECK YOUR PLUGS!! DO IT NOW!
I did a little research here and found a handful of threads that had this as a problem of loose plugs. It would appear that some are not torqued to spec from the factory. As I said, I have never even thought about taking the plugs out. BTW, my car has 35,000 miles.
Well, that's my story...glad it had such a swift and happy ending. Again, big thanks to Honda and Rohrman Honda. You make me very proud...!
I guess I should relate my experience of the last couple of days, it may save an S2000. Here goes.
On the way back from the DB Run on Sunday, WestSideBilly and I were cruising back to Chi-town. About 100 miles outside of Chicago, we stopped and got gas. IMMEDIATELY after we got back on the interstate, my car starts sputtering, pinging, etc...it was an amazing onset of what I had assumed was contaminated gas. Well, we pull off, check the oil, listen to it make all its odd noises and we both figured it was the gas we had gotten only 4 minutes before. We get back on the road and about 1 mile down, my car died. We pulled off...tried to start it a few times...nada. We both assumed that the gas was just not going to let us proceed. I called Honda Care to come get her...here's a sad, but badass pic!
I spoke with the dealer the car was brought to early Monday and told them what I expected the problem to be - the gas. Fast forward to Monday about 1:00 pm. I get a call from the dealer that really took me by surprise. I jokingly said, so, let's get on with the good news and let me come pick up my car tonight. Well, that wasn't going to happen. He said that the number #1 spark plug had worked its way out of the cylinder head - completely. And that #2 was on its way out.
This had caused a tremendous amount of misfiring, detonation, scoring and burning in the cylinder head and the walls of #1 cylinder.
To make a short story even shorter, my car is getting a brand new short block and cylinder head put in later this week.
I want to thank Bob Rohrman Honda in Lafayette Indiana for being absolutely professional about the whole thing and Honda as well, for being so quick to respond to this whole ordeal. Big kudos to both of them...thank you!!
A little more detail about the failure. Well, the Service Manager said he had NEVER seen anything like this. And even in the end, he wasn't sure what or how it happened. But I have never taken out the stock plugs, nor had I any reason to tighten, loosen or otherwise make changes to them. They did a compression test on #1 and found ZERO compression.
The SM was more or less at a loss about how this could have happened. The part that sucks is that motor ran so damn good...it was definitely one of the stonger F20C's out there. I only hope that the new one performs the same.
I'm sure you have questions, so I'll stop rambling. Suffice it to say, I had thought about being quiet about this and not broadcasting it to the world...but it would have come out somehow, someday. And if it saves just one other engine from this most bizarre kind of failure, then it's worth it.
It's such a simple thing to have the plugs tightened down...so the morale of the story is to CHECK YOUR PLUGS!! DO IT NOW!
I did a little research here and found a handful of threads that had this as a problem of loose plugs. It would appear that some are not torqued to spec from the factory. As I said, I have never even thought about taking the plugs out. BTW, my car has 35,000 miles.
Well, that's my story...glad it had such a swift and happy ending. Again, big thanks to Honda and Rohrman Honda. You make me very proud...!
09-25-2001, 04:36 PM
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Originally posted by gregstevens
To make a short story even shorter, my car is getting a brand new short block and cylinder head put in later this week.
To make a short story even shorter, my car is getting a brand new short block and cylinder head put in later this week.
Sorry to hear about your bad luck tho!
09-25-2001, 05:06 PM
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Greg!
Thanks Buddy! You just saved me quite alot of misfortune. Number 2 and 4 were loose. I really appreciate the heads up!
JRM
FOR ALL THE REST! CHECK IT NOW! NOT TOMORROW NOW!!
Thanks Buddy! You just saved me quite alot of misfortune. Number 2 and 4 were loose. I really appreciate the heads up!
JRM
FOR ALL THE REST! CHECK IT NOW! NOT TOMORROW NOW!!
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09-25-2001, 06:03 PM
#8
Greg - i think the reason your car runs faster than some others is that your weight (NOTHING).
Kind of sucks!!! we had a plug pop out of an older car, but all that had to be done was put it back in... i stopped running the car as soon as i heard it, so maybe that saved it.?
glad the warranty took care of it........ Nick..did you uninstall the mods..ahahahhahaha.... just ****ing with ya.
Scot
it was definitely one of the stonger F20C's out there
glad the warranty took care of it........ Nick..did you uninstall the mods..ahahahhahaha.... just ****ing with ya.
Scot
09-25-2001, 06:16 PM
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Greg,
Sorry to hear about your car. I think that Honda should make it a standard practice to torque the plugs at one of the service intervals. I'm glad that they are taking care of you properly. Thank you for also sharing this information. I do think this will undoubtedly save S2000's woes.
I plan to check the torque on my plugs asap but I have a few questions to anyone that can answer.
What is better the click style torque wrench or the needle type?
Is the Sears Craftsman a decent wrench?
What size socket for the plugs?
Thanks,
John
Sorry to hear about your car. I think that Honda should make it a standard practice to torque the plugs at one of the service intervals. I'm glad that they are taking care of you properly. Thank you for also sharing this information. I do think this will undoubtedly save S2000's woes.
I plan to check the torque on my plugs asap but I have a few questions to anyone that can answer.
What is better the click style torque wrench or the needle type?
Is the Sears Craftsman a decent wrench?
What size socket for the plugs?
Thanks,
John
