They pulled it in the day I put down my deposit- pure coincidence. They notified me about it the next day before it was even safety inspected and detailed.

Went and looked at it, studied it, test drove it, studied some more, thought about it, got second and third opinions, got the car fax, looked at it on the rack, studied all the underbody stuff, thought about it some more . . . you get the idea.

The car was sitting out on the front drive with the MSRP sticker for only two days: Sat and Sun. Went and negotiated on Monday, bought on tuesday and drove it home.

Well, after driving it two days, I noticed some stuff. First was that the fuel filler pipe has the same exact problem that my old car did. Don't know if it will be as bad, but it's there. The cap becomes difficult to screw in all the way. A new one will last about two-three months before it wont go in anymore. It is a really weird problem. Replacing the fill tube fixed the problem. This was the cause of an irritating CE light on day two of ownership. I'm gonna give them a hard time before going easy about it.

The differential seems to be making some noise that I never noticed before in the old car. It's a very subtle wine that I can only hear under a neutral throttle with the top up and only going around 40 mph. Cant hear it any other way. I know it's the diff because it's not there under throttle or off throttle, and it doesn't change tone with RPM, just speed.

2nd gear kinda makes an audiable "knuk" sound when downshifting into the gear. Never upshifting, just downshifting. My old, old '00 S2k did that after I had the trany rebuilt, but the wrecked car never made that noise.

If you can tell, I pick stuff apart to the extreme degree. Any insite on any of the three minor issues, especially #2 and #3, would be appreciated.

 

Congrats! Welcome back.

 

I'd ask them to change the fluids. I was amazed how much smother shifting is now that I changed fluids. With that low of miles it probably has never been changed, or even looked at by the dealer.

It's an easy place to start at least. I did mine in the driveway in about 3 hours.

 

I'd recommend buying a used trans and keep it around just in case.

and to repeat paul's sentiments, change the juice in there.

 

1. Change the fluid with some new Honda diff fluid.
2. Are you sure it's the diff? The diff would make noise going thorugh a turn (diff is working when one wheel is going a different speed than the other).
3. If it's a whine on throttle, I'd think that the ring and pinion is moving on load. If that's the case, in my opinion that could be a diff carrier issue.

Not unheard of. I get this all the time in my '00 when my trans oil starts getting old (not that I think there's anything to do with the oil). There's a good read and description on what causes that 'klunk' in the Under the Hood section from a few years back.

I'll try to find the link to that thread in a few.

 

Change all fluids and check again.

 

Had the complete vehicle service history pulled up today. The rear tires were replaced (one due to a nail). The transmission fluid was indeed changed at the time of the safety inspection, however the differential fluid was not.
NOW, in my wrecked car, I had them put in some other stuff in the tranny (and some different stuff in the diff too? cant remember) that was recomended. I have no clue what it was, but I can ask. I suspect the individual who did the safety inspection put in the standard Honda spec fluid.
I'll talk to the guy I work with at the dealership and get his take on it (he's the ONLY guy I let touch my S2k over there.) Then I can get some other opinions. I may get the diff fluid changed anyway regardless, just for the peace of mind. It's due in 5k miles anyway. No biggie if it's done a tad early.

 

The honda transmission fluid is highly reccomended.

The Honda gear oil for the transmission is fine, but I do prefer Mobil 1 75w90. Some people really like the LE607 gear oil. It's harder to find, more expenisve, and MUCH thicker which I think is a problem when it's cold.

 

I have a feeling if you bought it from Darrow, they really didnt do a safety inspection on a car with 9000 miles

 

Great way to piss on the guy's purchase....introduce doubt and buyer's remorse.

Mountain-man, if you have any uncertainty on your car let us know. There are quite a few of us on the UMW board that can 'inspect' your S2K for you and offer an opinion. There are many of us that know close to every bolt on the car. Best of all, we'll do it for free (well maybe for a beer or two).

I'll be more than happy to look over the car and give you an honest opinion if you'd like. There's also Hondamanwill (he owes me a favor, and hopefully the favor is transferrable). There's Profpin (Pinyo). There's Pushin (Greg).

Let me know if this interests you.