If the retainer is not flush, it does not mean its broken. If you can see any of the inner surface where the keeper sits, its broken.

A slightly broken retainer can last 30k miles, depending on driving habits.

 

You should just come over

I pull the cover, and make the call. If I say they are broken, and I pull it apart and they are NOT broken, I put it back together and the entire job is free No mechanic or technician should be paid to make guesses on your money. Sad to say its how most shops thrive.

 

Correct me if I am wrong, but from what I have seen the keepers don't really sit completely flush with the very top of the retainer. As the inside portion of the retainer is tapered, there is a slight amount of the taper that is exposed at the very top and the keepers drop slightly below the upper edge. When looking at them you have to check to see if the keepers are sunken and the retainers cracked, just having them slightly below the top surface isn't indicative of them being cracked.

If you are anywhere within a day's drive of Billman250 I would defintitely say go up and visit him. It would be the best time you could spend on this.

 

It's also good in case you have any other little problems or questions. You'll be surprised with how much you can learn in such a short time period.

 

Correct

 

I've got to get the rest of the car back together first and was wanting to hold off. We are doing them this weekend though. It's not about the cost it's about having the time to do it. With school 12hrs, work 40, studying 10-15hr, and trying to spend time with the GF I don't have much time to mess with things.

Billman your to far away. I'll let you know if and how cracked they are by monday.

 

This is a fairly simple procedure, it just takes time. Take your time and do it right and thorough, and you won't have to dish out $500 in labor. I have done a few sets on different cars, and I don't see $500 worth of work. Also, I just did my last set about a month ago, I go to school in an accelerated program but still full time, work 8-5, study for IT certs, and have a wife and child. If its something that if it's not done it will cause catastrophic damage, you will make time.

 

would is be easier to put rope in the cylinder while the piston is down, then turn crank to push pinton up onto rope so then u can take the retainer off and valve cant go down due to rope? Thats what i usually do when im looking to "lock up" a motor. I would think its ok as long as you use the right type of rope so it doesnt leave pieces in there and make sure you dont put the end of the rope in lol. I want to just replace all of my retsiners, and possibly just put stronger valve springs on while im there.. when you change springs and retainers.. Do you re use the little lockers that keep the retainer on or so you replasce those also? Im a good mechanic, but havent worked on these s2000 much, and i bought one and would like to simply do this just to make sure i dont ever have a problem!

 

I tried the rope method first, but the rope kept tangling inside the combustion chamber and made it difficult to get back out. I ended up just putting the cylinder at TDC and let the valve rest on the piston. If its at TDC it won't move much, and it will still be high enough to compress the spring and get it back together.

When you do this process, you replace both the retainers and the keepers with ap2. If you decide to use ap1 retainers you use ap1 keepers. Basically, the keepers and retainers need to match to ensure they are the same angle.

Finally, look at the euro export tool, this makes compressing the valve springs 100 times easier.