I read an article a while back in sport compact car magazine about project s2000. They specified
that though the s2000 is the king of heads it has very weak retainers.

I figured once I find an ap1 with a healthy motor that I would upgrade the springs and retainers as an insurance policy on my engine to assure that it stays healthy frk
then on through higher mileage and hard driving.

I was told that to do so you don't even need to take head off to get to what you need to do. How much labor goes into upgrading valve springs and retainers? Does it need a tune afterwords as well?

 

You don't need to take the head off, but you will need a compressor to pressurize the combustion chamber and keep the valves from dropping.

 

Just throwing it out there... could you rotate the engine so the pistons were at TDC on the chamber you're working on to stop the valves from dropping ALL the way??

Or does that just not work?

 

Ideally the valves need to be sat flush against the valve seat when installing the springs/retainers.

Without air pressure holding the valve up against the seat the valve would be sat down a tiny amount resting on the piston crown, possibly if you could compress the valve spring enough you could catch the valve stem and put the collets in?

Not worth the hassle imo but it could work

 

Sooo besides the minor hijack let's get bak on topic on the idea of upgrading sprigs and retainers and the labor that goes into it regarding hours, money and what it will do for your engine once you find one that's already healthy and if you plan to drive hard

 

I don't buy the argument that the stock retainers are weak, we've seen them crack where people abused the engine primarily on over-revs. My personal opinion is that an S2000 that has not been abused or mis-shifted can run indefinitely on stock retainers. It's always a good idea to inspect them for cracks and sunken valves, if there aren't any visible signs then save the money. Some people who have gone and replaced the stock retainers with Ti replacements have ended up with a weaker retainer.

 

Why's that? I would think upgrading springs and retainers would fix the weak link by having stronger retainers in place not weaker.

Also what should it cost to do springs and retainers? How much in parts and labor?

 

I upgraded to AP2 retainers when I had my head off during my turbo build.

Ap1 retainers are notorious for cracking, and aren't as beefy as the second generation. I wouldn't replace anything that isn't broken if your at stock power levels, but there's no harm in pulling the valvecover to inspect the current condition of your retainers. Many have pulled their valve cover only to find cracked ap1 retainers, and were able to replace them before it was too late.

 

Yep. I only replaced mine because I inspected the intake side before Nationals and found 2 that were obviously sunken. I wouldn't do anything to a working head unless I found evidence of a failing retainer. Even then, I wouldn't change out the valve springs. The stock springs are perfectly fine.

 

well there is nothing wrong with stock valvesprings, there's no benefit to replacing them on a stock setup. There have been plenty of cases of aftermarket retainer failures on Hondas as people think they're getting stronger products when that is not always the case. I like the idea of AP2 retainers if they are stronger. But the approach should be inspect and replace if necessary, if they are found to be in good condition what's the point of replacement. I can't comment on the cost involved as we live in different regions. Stock Honda retainers are not faulty like people seem to suggest, but they can deteriorate if subjected to conditions that they weren't intended to experience. Under normal use you shouldn't see a failure.