I am going to sit on my decision for a week and see what the best solution is. In the mean time, I will be attempting to find good prices on a used block. I believe that Honda sells the block for around 2,500$ online. Perhaps I can purchase the new block and send out the head to get it rebuilt. I am confident that the dealership performed the correct diagnostic. Without taking off the head, I will have no way of determining the condition of the cylinder walls. Can the engine be on-car when I remove the head and pistons? I do not have the tools or complete experience to take the engine out. There is a DIY here on s2ki, but the OP did not update the post. Furthermore, why use an ap2 block and not an ap1 block? The ap2 has a 2.2 displacement, instead of the Ap1's 2.0. That would lower the original redline.

 

AP1 blocks are discontinued from Honda. So even though you "see them" for 2500, they aren't really there which is why I suggested a new AP2 short block. They are still available. Yes, you would lower the redline (not really if you use the AP1 ecu), it just wouldn't be smart to go to 9K all day every day. But this way you know the block, crank, bearings are all pristine and to OEM spec. Just a thought.

But to answer your question, yes, you can remove the head and pistons with the engine in the car. The oil pan will have to come off too then though to be able to unbolt the connecting rods. You wouldn't have to remove the pistons though to be able to inspect the cylinder walls for scoring. Also, if you can get your hands on a borescope, you won't even need to pull the head to be able to inspect the cylinder walls for scoring. It'd save you a whole lot of headache.

 

That's a good suggestion, what will allow me to safely redline at 9000 rpms? Will a set of aftermarket cams do the trick? Ap2 block with Ap1 Heads, Ap2 retainers, and aftermarket cams on a stock tune? Because the car is an ap1, its almost a requirement to keep it's original characteristics. That means the 9000 redline has to be safely achieved.

 

No, the reason for the lower redline is due to the increased piston velocity. Changing the cams won't do anything to help you out. You can safely redline to 9K every now and then, just don't make a habit of it. Just use a mental redline of 8300. You could run an aftermarket EMS and just set redline to 8300 if you wanted. If it were me, I'd just run it and just not run it all the way to 9. Pretty simple task.

 

Man having low miles as you do and a misfire seems fishy. If your sure than so be it but I am not sold yet you know history of car I dont. Your compression numbers are ok and a leakdown test could be screwed up by a kid straight out of school. Just saying wouldnt hurt to have a second opinion.

Sounds like you have time to figure all this out. You have not inspected the cylinder walls yet you may not need a new block.

Hope it all works out and you find some good news!

So I know it is better to have engine out of car to remove pistons and to do a rebuild. So your saying there is no way to get the pistons out from bottom? I was unclear no physical way or not perfered? This mechanic says he has done it on other cars. By the time everything is out of the way the engine could be removed. Just curious.

Sorry and thanks.

 

It is physically impossible. At the very bottom of the cylinder there is a "shelf" on each side of the con-rod which absolutely prevents any possible removal of the pistons. This "shelf" is where the crank and main bearings sit. Even if you were to remove the girdle (lower block) it would still be physically impossible to remove the pistons from the bottom.

 

Borrowed a pic from elsewhere on S2KI to show you what I was referring to.

 

just to throw some fuel on the fire, but…my random misfire went away in my 2000 SiR civic with a valve adjustment. there are several other things i would want to check before throwing in the towel. Pay a reliable s2000 mechanic to work on your car and confirm or deny the dealerships diagnosis. Find the west coast Billman250 and have him/her check things out for you.

This site is, by far, more educated on s2000's than virtually all honda dealerships.

darcy

 

I second darcy. I had misfire situation. Tried everything and a simple valve adjustment that took 45 min fixed it all.

 

I am a very die-hard Ap1 s2000 fan, so I would like to build an engine that is capable of handing the 9k redline frequently. So if I were to get an ap2 block, I'm now thinking about what modifications I can run to have the car safely redline at 9000. Perhaps the n/a forum has some ideas, ill do a search. If not, what modifications do you all recommend for this build? Again, I want to safely redline at 9000 all day. I want a very reliable N/A build. If more power will be obtained this way, than that is a big plus. But I'm not looking at the possible but expensive 300hp N/A engine.

Another alternative that I found is picking up a used ap1 block from eBay, I saw one going for 1000.00$. The engine block was just an empty shell, there were no internals. If I go that route, I might be able to salvage some of my used parts and install it on the new block, with high hopes that the crank is still usable. At 850$, a crank is nothing to joke with.
I actually don't have a lot of time to fix the car, about 6 months tops. I don't have money coming out of my pockets either, but over the years I learned that there is nothing I can do. The car is broken, no point getting upset. It is just a sad sight seeing the car sit in the garage when it used to be my daily driver. However, you are right. I do believe the dealership correctly performed the right diagnostic (how can someone mess up a leakdown test, they work at the dealership?), but I do not believe that the car needs a new block. I do not have the entire history on the car, I bought it two thousand miles ago from a man who was disabled. From my observations the car has been sitting for over 8 months under his ownership.

Forgive me if I do not have the correct terminology, I am still trying to learn and read about the process to rebuild an engine. I do not understand why the dealership is quoting me for a new block. If the cylinder walls are lightly scored or lightly damaged, why can't the block be sent out to a machine shop to get re-sleeved, bored and honed? Furthermore, if the cylinder walls are not highly damaged, than is it possible to just hone the cylinders to give the piston a chance to correctly break-in and mate with the block? This will save me on labor, especially if I can buy a helms manual and remove the head myself to send it to a machine shop.

It pretty exciting to fix a motor actually, seems like an awesome achievement to be able to say first hand that you created a running and beautifully built engine. Guess there always is a bright side to a catastrophic disaster.

Thank you for all replies, the valves were already adjusted. After the valve adjustment the car started puffing at the exhaust on every stroke, compared to before the valve adjustment the car only puffed at random. Which was interesting.