Phenompbg

I have a 2006 S2K with about 55 000 miles on it. Two weeks ago while driving on the highway I drove over a piece of metal that was lying in the road that ended up cutting the side-wall on my right-rear tyre.

Replaced it with the spare without thinking (I was mostly swearing at the time) and drove home at low speed (about 30 miles, doing no more than 40mph). Got home, and thought "oh shit", I forgot about the Torsen diff. The next day I bought two new rear tyres to make sure they are the same diameter, rear tyres had about 8000 miles on them at this point.

But now I am paranoid that I have hurt my differential, and I think I am hearing a whining noise that wasn't there before, starting this week. But I am not sure if I am just imagining it.

So, did I probably ruin the differential? The diff oil was changed less than three months ago.
Is there any preventative maintenance I can do at this point to prevent it getting worse, can I get the differential serviced?
Or do I have to prepare to pay for a new one?
IF I buy a new one what are my options there, stick to OEM? (expensive over here in South Africa where we pay about double the going rate in the US for parts from Honda).

Thanks a lot in advance

Here is a nice photo of my rear wheel strapped into the passenger seat:

Reckon

I would change the diff fluid and see if you mind any large metal pieces or more wear than usual. If you drove it at low speeds for a very short distance, you might be ok, but 30 miles is a long way. Start with the fluid change first and then you can go from there.

BLAQ&GREYs2k

Its still up in the air. Its always a no no to put a different diameter wheel/tire on one side of an LSD. I agree with the previous post, drain the fluid and hope for the best

iamxpl

note to self, if you ever get a flat in the rear replace with front tire and put spare in the front. if its blown get an oem unit. look for any part outs, and there is a very reputable vendor here, i believe he has some in stock. S2KIOEPARTS and contact puddydaddy on this site. good luck hope you get her back in good shape.

BLAQ&GREYs2k

Im staggered and on 18's. Whats a spare?

jsenclosure

this, it's in the owners manual.

also if you remove the tool kit a full size tire will fit in the trunk

xviper

This has very little do with whether or not a spare is needed or wanted, unless you have "run flats". And it still has little to do with the fact that you can't use the spare on the rear axle. You can, however, still use the spare on the front axle, regardless of what size rims/tires you have. You can have 16" rims, 17", 18" or 19", the overall tire diameter is still going to be around 25" on an S2000.

Phenompbg

Thanks for the advice.

I'll start with a fluid change and see what's what.

I am especially irritated with myself because I knew better...

doh. Luckily I had some plastic handy to protect the seat :S

jsenclosure

from the sounds of it your diff is fine, you'll know when it's bad, there will be no mistaking it

thomsbrain

I think you are probably totally fine, but you can change the fluid again as preventive maintenance.