Crankshaft End-Float, Advice Please
 

I've got a 2009 registered S2000, looking at the VIN plate I think it is actually a MY08 car.

It has 19.5k miles on it and I've just measured the crankshaft end-float using a dial indicator, the service limit is 0.45mm and mine is at 0.52mm

Should I worry or not? Is this likely the beginning of a thrust washer problem?

Hello, I think you should have that looked at asap before it does develop into an engine write off! I measured mine when I fitted my 2007 engine into my 2009 car, and it was well within tolerance at just under 0.2mm. Even that movement sounded bad when moving the flywheel! But when I got the dti out on it I was reassured. That engine had covered 59k too. You are at a position now where you can drop the sump, cradle etc and have the thrust washer changed. It's best to do that now, otherwise your crank could walk too much it'll hit the block and be fooked! I'm not too sure how much play it needs to do the damage, but at least you have caught it early enough to prevent it. You know that it is already out of tolerance by quite a bit!

Hi,
Many thanks for the advice.
Just to check, can the thrust washer replacement be done with the engine in the car, or is it an engine-out job?

It may be possible. But the crank cradle is bolted to the bell housing on the gear box, so you may have to split the two first There is also a subframe bar that goes under the sump and may restrict removal.

I would read this link and removing vtec solenoid and check for debris seems first port of call.
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/s2000-un...1171212/page3/

You can drop the sump engine in , my car had it dropped 15 years ago for uprated oil jets.

surely you could measure crank trust at the crank pulley as this fitted directly on the crank ?

We have an engine in bits at the moment , the trust bearings at 90 k were well within service limits, we ordered new ones and to be honest they made little difference to the measured thrust.I can't remember if Toby said there were any size variations available from Honda , unlike the main bearing shells which there are loads of options with bore sizes stamped on the block and journal sizes on the crank , they vary from bearing to bearing. In fact we have one smaller size pair of main shells which we are going to try in the no5 rear housing as when measure this had the biggest bearing clearance of around .001"

Yes the OP said he's already measured the end float with a dti. It's tight to do it in situ but you can do it using one that measures sideways movement opposed to vertical. I measured mine when the engine was out, much easier!

Many thanks for your replies.

The end float was measured using a dial indicator on the crank pulley. The only variable might be the DTI stand I was using which wasn't optimal, but I'm pretty confident on my measurement of 0.52mm

So, next move? Honda UK have said take it to my local dealer for an assessment. (Anybody have any experience of Holden Honda in Norwich? Any good?) This would mean Honda "may" admit liability if the thrust washers are installed incorrectly.

Or, I can go straight to somewhere like TGM and pay myself (there is no guarantee anyway Honda will fix it under goodwill/warranty) and get it done ASAP.

For the moment I am not putting any more miles on the car until I know I'm not doing any damage.

I take it you know about the known problem with the f20c in this era where thrust washers were occasionally installed back to front?

Worth a read here about costs to replace thrust bearing ect & whom to contact in the event of an issue ect. <was £440 6 yrs ago>.
If your using Holden Norwich ask if any master Technicians are available as not a job for a apprentice :monkey:
https://www.s2ki.com/forums/uk-irela...owners-876045/