s2001

hey guys what up, i am new to this post so i dont really know how things work but i have an urgent issue that i need help with.
I have a 2001 spa yellow S2000 that as of last saturday has a blown motor, it has a bent valve to be exact and a piece of metal fell into the main block, my problem is that my car has 17000 miles on it, not a single aftermarket part and honda refuses to honor their warranty and they are telling me it will cost me 11000 for a new motor, now i need to ask you guys what do you think i should do. Should i take them to court? should i not waste my time and just buy a brand new motor? Should i buy a spoon motor (cheaper) and much faster? and from where? who should do the install( i live in VA)? now i have already contacted honda of america who said they will get back to me in a couple of days but i dont think they will be giving me good news, 11000 is a lot of money especially considering i only have 17000 miles on the car and i am only 19 yrs old paying for the car myself and the insurance too. I would really appreciate if someone would get back to me ASAP, especially if someone has had an issue with a blown motor on an S2000 before, i am really desperate and thank you guys in advance for the help.

jzr

I've yet to see Honda replace a motor due to overrev on a missed shift, which I'm guessing was the cause of your engine failure. If the motor blew and it's not your fault, then you do have a case and should pursue it until they replace the motor for you.

Otherwise you might try to get it covered through the comprehensive part of your insurance. I've heard of this being done, though expect your premiums to rise.

Good luck dude!

-Jason

Schatten

my guess is a bent valve from a mis-shift, right?

problem with getting a dealer to fix that is.. sometimes they will do a one-time fix in good faith. but most dealerships will not. that sounds a bit expensive. perhaps if the valve was bent and then it wasn't driven at all - you'd just be rebuilding the head itself. but if I had that kind of problem... honestly I wouldn't know what to do. its not like I have 11 grand in my wallet in case somthing like this happens.

have you tried another dealership? most likely, your case is in the record book. if AHM doesn't get back to you on Monday, give them a ring back. they should hav your info on file - attached to your VIN.

s2001

no it wasnt a miss shift
i drive the car real hard everyday, up to 7 on average and up to 8900 quite often not racing or anything, just for fun....
i dont know if that makes a difference or not but i tought the car was meant to go that high on a normal basis...
anybody know wher i can find the cheapest spoon motors

John MI blk/blk '01

Bent valve is caused from a over rev. I hope it works out for you. If you need a engine replacement and Honda doesn't cover it, you may want to look for a wrecked S2000. Good luck.

John

Schatten

bent valves can only be caused by misshifts. I'm really not sure of any other way. I'm not sure you noticed the misshift. and honestly, I dont want to be hard on you at all - actually I would be in the same boat you would be if it happened to me. the reason why I dont think you noticed the misshift, is because the valve bent and cracked and is now floating on the piston itself (from your description). this would imply that you ran the car after it was bent up.

some say I drive my car hard everyday. I like to bounce the car off the rev limiter, but it doesn't mean that I can downshift from 3 to 2 by accident at 9K rpms and the rev limiter will catch it. it will only catch it if I'm bouncing off the top at 9000 rpms in 2nd or 3rd, not if I misshift.

I hope there are alternatives out there for you. I'd look into a wrecked S2000 and see if you can get a motor. or post something in the GB/for sale forum: "WTB: S2000 block & head". never know what kind of responses you can get there.

cmnsnse

With 17,000 miles it is most likely from an over rev, a deliberate mis-shift would result in most of the valves breaking, not just one or two. So maybe during some downshifting you went into a gear too soon and brought the motor just past 10,000 rpm and not noticed the sound? The symptoms would be immediate.

The other possibility but slim chance is if the timing chain/gears/sprockets slipped or shifted.
Or if there was some lack of lubricant to the chain it could stretch causing a shift in cam timing(very rare)
Usually chain stretch occurs after many thousand miles (1xx,xxx)

During the teardown you should have the cam timing checked carefully, inspect the markings on the chain to be sure it didn't slip/skip a tooth, or that there is not any play in the gears.

If Honda will not cover the costs - should be closer to 8,000 off the top of my head but you should hit up your insurance coverage - mechanical breakdown should be covered.

yeah, the block and head should come in at about $4,500.00 for the parts, labor depends. A lot of people do not know that the parts guys make commission, you CAN talk the price down!!!
Tell them you found it cheaper somewhere else, but would rather go local for convenience!! If they are smart they will bargain.

LewKeim

If you can wait and if you can find one - a used motor out of a wrecked S2000 is going fo 2 - 3 thousand.
I think I would turn the car into a project car and build up the used motor...Good Luck.

s2000coupe

!!!S2001!!!! go in the dealer that you got the car at and hand them the keys and tell them to fix it and if they refuse to do the work tell them to put it on paper why they will not do the work under warranty once they do that tell them your going to seek a attorney they will do one of two thing one they will just to the warranty work or look for a nother dealer you will find a dealer to do the work !!! ALSO KEEP IN MIND DONT I MEEN DONT TAKE NO FOR A ANSWER do what ever it takes to get the work done hope it works out and let me know how it goes thanks jason

CrazyRay S2K

my 2k1 had a blown motor...posted about it on s2ki...not only did they not fix it due to driver error, they printed out my post and used it as evidence why it was infact driver error