waynerp

Wife wants 2002 S2000, and I am trying to learn all I can about them. Search is not working, so I'll ask:
- Am I correct in assuming the S2000 has a timing chain rather than a belt (per the cutaway drawing on this site's homepage)?

- I read somewhere about valve adjustments - Is this a regular maintenance item, and how often?

- What other maintenance issues should I be aware of? Anything unusual?

Thanks for your help!

marcucci

- Yes.

- Yes. 30k miles. A good idea, but you can squeak by w/o them until 60k. It's more for peak performance and maximum lifespan, I've seen Hondas do well w/o them for 130k miles or more.

Beware regular brake fluid fushes every 60k miles (and clutch) unless you want to buy new master/slave/wheel cylinders. Coolant flushes and t-stat changes every 60k miles are a good idea as well. Watch for oil consumption (esp. during break-in). Tranny and diff oil should be changed every 60k miles or so.

Other than that... it should be a pretty trouble-free car. It's a good idea to check the valve adjustment and alignment, even when new, as these can sometimes be wrong from the factory.

Gernby

You should read about the differential and transmission oils too. The "regular" maintenance interval is probably not often enough, especially the first time. Most people who change their diff. fluid at 15K+ miles find that it is really nasty. I think the book says to change it at 30K miles. Most also agree that changing the tranny fluid gives a noticeable improvement in shifting, even with low mileage. You should also follow the discussion about GM Synchromesh Transmission Fluid. It looks like it COULD turn out to be the miracle juice for our tranny problems.

Regarding the valve adjustment, I checked mine at about 6000 miles, and EVERY one of them were significantly out of spec (.005 in. / .006 ex. intead of the spec .008 in. / .010 ex.). I haven't checked them again, so I have no idea how long they can go between adjustments.