Billman250

As far as the clutch, give it time. Use the car some more, then decide with certainty what you don't like about it, if anything. Slipping can only be determined out on the road, wide open in vtec.

Let me be specific about what falls apart, the TO bearing. Typically in 20k miles. The shield of the bearing pops out prematurely, letting the grease escape.

You paid the money already for the clutch, get your time and money's worth from it (unless you can identify a specific problem of course)

To say a leakdown test checks whether the block or head is at fault is a vague and broad statement.

Anyone who knows engines will be able to follow the audio signal of the leak, and tell you with pinpoint accuracy:

-Leaking intake valves
-leaking exhaust valves
-leaking head gasket
-leaking cylinder rings

They will also be able to pinpoint the underlying cause, put the bad part in your hands, and show you it's fault.

The only money you should be spending right now is for your own compression tester. Take this entire matter into your own hands, and start from scratch. We will help you identify which oem part is at fault, if any.

All S2000s in existence are well capable of being in perfect health, with 100% oem parts. This goes for the engine, clutch, trans, everything.

With that being said, it is a mechanical certainty that if there is a problem, it can be fixed with an oem part.

Jah2000

Yes..he suggested it might be a tapped valve from a mis-shift or over-rev.

Jah2000

Thanks for all the links bud. So I guess the Exedy really is in fact low-quality. But, hopefully it'll last around 18-20k miles or at least 1-2 years. I'll def plan on getting it replaced with all Honda parts within the next 20k miles or 1.5 years.

Billman250

There is no single job in existence that has more of an effect on the S2000 engine than a proper valve adjustment. It is the FIRST thing to address, period.

It affects all aspects of the engine, the way it runs and idles, its compression, it's power balance, it's HP output, it's health, it's noise level, and it's longevity.

You don't pull the head until you have diagnosed beyond doubt what you are going to replace.

You definitely don't need new valves at this point, because a proper diagnosis was not followed to determine their condition.

Jah2000

Decided to just do the valve adjustment myself (as per Billman's encouragement and recommendation to me) and save $240. I will do this once I receive my new torque wrench (getting a CDI wrench) and update my post with its' current valve-lash spec (per 16 valves) to see how off it really is from spec, as well get new compression check readings. Big advantage of DiY is I get to see with my own 2 eyes how off the valve-lash really is.

I've done many valve adjustments during the '90s, maybe a hundred times or so, on my own cars as well as many of my family's and friends' various Honda cars. But, I haven't done it in over 15 years; so, obviously, my mechanic's confidence is a little low and my "finger-feel" might not be as good as before. But, the sooner I start wrenching again, the better, in regards to re-gaining mechanic's confidence again. I look forward to doing this soon, once I receive my new wrench.

I needed to get a new torque wrench asap anyways ..so I can finally work on the rest of my car too (oil, fluids, brakes, wheels, future mods, etc.). Might as well get a new torque wrench today/asap, and then do the valve-adjustment myself once I receive it (and save $240 to boot).

Thanks a bunch for all your insight Billman. You've been a big help.



Btw…anyone have recommendations for an inexpensive, but decent/good quality, compression checker?

Car Analogy

Rent Compression tester from Autozone. When you gonna use it again? Some tools not worth owning (can't believe I really said that, sacrilege).

Do not buy the Harbor Freight one. Some stuff from HF is fine. This is not one of them.

When you do the valve adjust, make sure cam lobe of any valve you are about to adjust is pointing away from valve, pointing up. This sanity checks you are following the timing marks properly.

In fact, you can totally disregard all the timing marks, and just turn crank till lobe points up, adjust those valves, repeat. I find this way faster, and less error prone.

Sent from my SM-G920P using IB AutoGroup

Jah2000

Ya..I was thinkin of just renting the comp-checker from Autozone (for free).

Are HF jack-stands any good though? I currently only have 2 (bought them back in the day from Costco). I need 2 more to level the car so I can do the MTF and brake-fluid flush.





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jkelley

I haven't had any issues with my harbor freight compression tester. The calibration is off, sure. But I know what it is off by since I verified with a calibrated gauge. And since 99% of the time you're only looking at the differences between the cylinders, is that really a problem?

Billman250

Whether you buy a Snap-On comp tester or a cheap one, the difference in numbers will be the same (don't concentrate on actual numbers, but look for consistency)


One gauge may say 240-240-230-200. one may say 210-210-200-170. The numbers are different gauge to gauge, but the differences between each other is constant.

Compression prep:

-Engine full operating temp, run test right after engine shut down
-all spark plugs out
-throttle wide open
-injectors unplugged
-crank each cylinder the same amount (5-7 needle pulses on the gauge)
-do cylinders 1,2,3,4,1 (doing number one again and getting same result will negate any progressive test losses due to anything, cranking speed, etc, mentioned above by LeonV)

freq

and inspection for cracked retainers, right?