sounds like you were driving with (a) broken retainer(s). driving with a broken retainer can be deceiving, your engine seems to be normal, then all of a sudden it runs like chet, eventually dropping a valve. mine was mm away from disaster.

Post some pics, sounds interesting.

 

Broken retainer doesn't make sense to me, since I had the thing for almost 3 years. And I did not baby it by any means. I've had experience with Hondas before, so when Honda said "9000 rpm", I took that to mean 9000 rpm. So I imagine if it was a cracked retainer, it would have let go much earlier than that.

This is also why I NEED to find a proper explanation for this failure, because if I am to accept "dropped a valve", and just walk away, then I will never again by ANY car whose engine can't be replaced for less than a $100.

That is why I will take this thing apart, and I will document it, and I will post the results here as I go along. For myself, and for everybody else.

 

 

Wow! Your camera resolution is nice.

 

No dealer is going to cover the damages. Thats ridiculous.

 

one question, did you ever misshift?

 

Great photos, sorry to hear that. Subscribed to see the rest of them.

 

Really? I think any new $100 camera can do that. I actually reduced the hell out of those pictures to make it reasonable for the web.

Anyway, I have "misshifted" a few times, but the only time it was the wrong way was in an Acura GSR I used to have. After that, I learned the proper way to shift.

As a result, the few times I have "misshifted" since were all in the "up" direction, which, while embarassing, is not disastrous.

Anyway, it will take some time for more photos. I live in an apartment block, so I still have to figure out where to take this thing apart.

 

The problem with cracked retainers is there is no "preset" time limit on when they will fail. They will let go when they get around to it.

Until you take the head off get more details of the damage, Dropped valve is probably going to be the standard answer.

 

Hey, on the plus side, at least the piston didn't come through the top of the block.