I do intend to keep the car if the cost is not too high, otherwise i will consider reselling it.What could have happened to the engine in 22000 that could mess it up that bad(based on the original owners description of his flawless engine)?.
I am hopeful for this car though because it is a Honda, hopefully i dont have tranny issues on top of engine problems. But there is only one way to find out, throw a bunch of $$ to it and see if it sticks .
I will keep you posted on the results. Planning on taking it to my buddy's garage tomorrow for the diff oil and see if he has a compression tester.
Also, forgot to state that the second gear grind occurs under really hard acceleration from first to second at 8-9k rpm, and not always. Although i do hear it clunk when the car is cold (very low rpm shifting), it is quite resistant getting into second gear (just takes force, no grind)

 

Have a great day

 

You had a Honda Dealer service check out the car & ALL those issues passed inspection? Did they even drive the car?

Anyhow, good luck! I've found fixing the S2000 to be pretty straight forward. Only a few specific peccadilloes to be careful about.

I'd change ALL fluids, if possible. Then, you'll always know how many miles there is on each fluid, lube, oil. Spark plugs and air/oil filter change. Like doing a major maintenance and starting off from scratch.

 

Just to update you guys, I went to honda again and started yelling at them for the really bad job they have done inspecting the car. They apologized and told me i'm going to need a new diff for the grinding noise. I am going to the best s2k mechanic in my country to have my diff rebuilt/fixed. Can i somehow make it more durable than the stock diff? Running 18'' Rims and it is stresfull on the stock diff. I'm also going to check for compression at him and let him drive it a bit so he can tell me what exactly is wrong with the car. Going to do a transmission oil change too just to be safe.

 

If you are going to keep engine stock, may be best to just fix the OEM one, back to proper working order. Use good diff fluid and change it at Honda prescribed intervals.

Do you plan to track or race the car?

 

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I do plan to take it to the track just to get the feel of the car and if i like it i might track it more often

 

Then, you may want to consider Mobil 1 75W-140 (or similar synthetic LS lube) for the differential. I've been running 75W-90, for years. No problems. But then again, I don't track the car.

 

Stop going to the dealer!!!

In addition to the non-job they did inspecting it, now they say an intermittent grind in only one gear is the diff? Really? How can that be? The diff is doing the same thing for every gear. Something that happens with only one gear is intuitively something that is only involved in that one gear.

What diagnostics did they perform to conclude its the diff. None. They just want you to throw money at it, and theor competency is clearly as questionable as their motives.

Do the easy cheap stuff first. Adjust clutch rod, change fluid. I am betting this improves your shifts by 99%...

 

yes, a loose spark plug could certainly mess things up like that and is a very common way these engines get destroyed.

 

I'd replace the diff oil and try that before replacing the diff all together. Where are you located anyways?