solardodgesrt4

Well it sounds kind of like he is just quoting you for the work he has done so far to your car. But I hope that I'm wrong. If your number three cylinder has no compression then I don't see what a machine shop is going to do about that.

ChefJ

If it has no compression that means its blowing by the intake valves exhaust valves or both and can be blowing out a few other spots aswell. It really doesn't have anything to do with the block per se.

ChefJ

He also said that they hadn't seen any signs of damage to the piston which is a very good thing to hear.

Dave-ROR

A chipped valve will give you 0 compression, of course, it could also cause a lot of damage to the bottom end. I'm betting they they are guessing it's a bent valve that's not sealing or a chipped valve, which could lead to a lot more damage.

RED MX5

... unless the retainers are cracked and spit out their keepers. Dropping a valve is not good.

Dave-ROR

Well yeah of course, but that wasn't the question asked. Cracked/broken retainers are bad no matter if you adjust the valves or not.

I'm hoping that the dealership would know to look or that and it would (in most all cases) be obvious to the tech that the retainer is cracked..

RED MX5

Most of the Honda S2000 "specialists" I've met don't have a clue how to check for cracked retainers. As you probably know, you can't actually see the cracks, and if the machine shop doesn't catch it there is some risk that the engine will be put back together with the cracked retainers still in place. It's easy to overlook if you don't know what to look for.

What really has me wondering here is why the valves would have too little clearance after an over rev. To me that implies that the valve stems got longer (stretched), because stretched retainers don't change the clearance, and a bent valve that doesn't close all the way will increase the clearance. How could an over rev cause the valve clearance to decrease?
(Anybody???)

For the most part this sounds more like a bent valve than anything else. If that's the case the valves floated enough for one or more of the exhaust valves to contact the piston(s), so I'd also want the intake valve retainers checked before I put the car back on the road. The bad thing about cracked retainers is that there are no symptoms until the retainer spits out the keepers, and at that point it gets expensive. Bent valve is not really good either, because something had to hit it to bend it. I'd be looking for nicks in the piston crowns and signs of scowering on the cylinder walls (because it is possible for some broken bits to get down into the rings and screw up the finish on the cylinder walls).

OP also needs to be sure that the mechanic knows how to check for cracked/stretched retainers and that he takes the time to give the retainers a close look before buttoning up the engine. This should be considered a must any time an F20C is over reved.

ChefJ

http://estore.honda.com/EPC/asp/rjane007.asp#

Can I find the retainers there? What is the usual cost for those parts?
I just want everything to be the same as before, or better.

jyeung528

just tell the dealer to replace all your retainers and keepers.

actually, tell the dealer to tell the HEAD shop.

nutar

WOW