dcg03

Help!

My car today started making a strange noise. It sounded like a baseball card in bicycle spokes. It got louder and faster as I pushed on the gas more. When I was coasting it wouldn't make the noise at all. It went on for about 5 minutes and then the car finally died. Could not start it at all. It was towed and is now out the Honda dealer.

Anybody have any ideas what's going on?

Thanks for your help.

Barry in Wyoming

When is the last time you checked the oil?
How many miles on the car? What model year? If MY2002, what month of manufacture?
Have you done many zero to sixty runs?
Have you missed a downshift?

It sounds like bent valves or cylinder scoring. For information on bent valves (usually from a missed downshift), so a search on "bent valves" or "over-rev." For information about cylinder scoring and other bottom end catastrophies, click on the link in my sig.

Keep us posted.

dcg03

Oil was changed just last month at Honda.
11,200 miles on the car.
Year 2000, bought it Feb of 2000
No, zero to sixty runs really
and, not that I no of.

I drive fast, but I'm not that aggressive with the car. Have not done any racing with the car at all. As you can tell by the miles I don't drive it very much either.

Barry in Wyoming

Start here and then branch out to the over-rev and missed shift threads.

If you haven't missed a shift, I'm betting on oil starvation leading to cylinder scoring and a catastrophic block failure. Be thankful that it happened before your warranty expired. It should be covered, unless you were two quarts or more low on oil. The manual says you should check the oil at every gasoline fill-up.

Like I said, there's way too much information on this board about serious engine failures.

dcg03

Update:

First got the tap, tap, tap noise. About 15 minutes after the tap, tap, tap noise started it seized up on me.
Miles 11,200

#4 cylinder failure
Bearing froze
Short block repacement
Oil was clean and fine

Tempe Honda has been great. They had ordered the new engine before they even told me what the problem was.

Sumtoc2

WOW!

This #4 cylinder thing is really getting bad... Less than 12K miles, oil is OK and BAM! Seized engine. I have read all the "Euro" oil bolt posts and while there has been speculation that this will fix this #4 cylinder problem, can anyone confirm without a doubt that this is a fix?

Barry in Wyoming

No.
Time will tell. So far, I haven't tracked a single #4 cylinder failure in a late model '02 or any '03 S2000. But the sample is small.

Woodwork, in another thread, an engineer with AHM who is involved in the S2000, has denied that the European recall has anything to do with this problem. He stated that it is to help with an other unspecified problem.

dcg03, you are coming out ahead. You'll get the latest version of the F20C including the revised oil jet bolts. Thank goodness you failed within your warranty period. I wonder what would have happened if you had the failure 37 months into your ownership, instead of 35 months. I'd like to think your DSM would have authorized a warranty repair, but I don't know this for sure.

I've added your information to the short block replacement thread.