suzuka san

i have a 2003 with 87,000 miles on it. i am the second owner of the car, had it since about 40k miles. bought from a dealer, used. i do not push the car much, vtec a couple of times a month. i drive the car 2-3 days a week around town and once a month about 400 miles round trip on the highway. mobile 1 synthetic, oil changes at 3500 on the dot. yesterday, i was about a few weeks away from my next oil change, hadn't checked the oil level for about a month...

while driving on the freeway, notice some light smoke coming out of the engine bay. pulled over, checked the oil and it was extremely low. had to put almost two quarts in! my s doesnt (or didnt) tend to burn a lot of oil, i usually have to put 3/4 or quarts in per 4000 miles to keep it on point.

hoping it was just a slow leak somewhere, i got back on the road. it seemed fine for a minute, got pretty bad about 30 mins later. checked the oil again, the aprox two quarts i had put in was more or less gone. the back of my car was covered with a film of oily material, which i assume is the product of burnt oil coming out of my exhaust.

when i got off the freeway, as i drove on the street i noticed a a rattling/hissing sound in first gear for the first few seconds of acceleration.

took it to my normal spot this morning, they said i need to rebuild or replace the engine...they reached this conclusion without really doing anything except listening to what happened and looking at the car...but i have a sad suspicion they are right.

has anyone had a similar experience/ideas about what the hell happened? i am shocked to have to rebuild this quick as i am used to getting 200k miles on my honda engines (granted, this is my first ap1...)

what should i expect to pay, and any suggestions?

im in LA CA...GO LAKERS!

ahrmike

so you dont regularly check your oil? Im assuming your block ran almost dry, something heated up, wore out, and is burning through oil. Are you sure its not a leaky filter though? check your oil filter for tight-ness + no leaks around it.

istdercollen

^ if he has oil coming out of the tailpipe then it's not a loose oil filter.. Something let go in your engine for sure.. if you didn't check the oil for a month then you had it coming eventually. a local Honda tech recounted the story about when S2000s were new and owners would drive them 7,500 miles before an oil change without ever checking the oil level. Since the engine consumes oil, they were seeing a 50% failure rate on S2000s sold from their dealership as they would generally not make it that far before reaching a critical level. I guess they started emphasizing checking the oil regularly to new customers and the failure rate dropped dramatically.

jeggy

do a compression check. oil probably getting past the piston rings. replacing the rings is essentially an overhual.

SpitfireS

Did you get a CEL?
Did you see lots (and LOTS!) of smoke coming out of the exhaust?

Did you check the PCV valve?

You have a MY03 so IIRC its still the plastic 90

negcamber

I'd definitely get a second opinion. Post up in your local s2ki forum for a shop recommendation in your area.

Look at the PCV as Spitty recommends.

Also, it's possible your VTEC solenoid is simply blowing oil. This is not uncommon. And it will make a mess when it does.

And the compression test or a leak down can pin point if the rings are bad. Since you have an MY03, I'll be a little surprised if your #4 cyl rings have blown.

suzuka san

thanks guys.

i dont trust the engine having driven it in such an oil starved condition, and since i plan on keeping the car forever, a rebuild has always been in the plans anyhow.

i have decided on a rebuild. anyone have an idea of what i should be looking to pay assuming all i need are some new rings and some machining? also, is it worth it to do some polishing an balancing since im tearing the engine apart anyways?

Moddiction

Why not actually find out if you need an engine rebuild?? What were the compression results? Could just be valve seals or something not such a big deal.

negcamber

You shouldn't need any machining so long as the cyl walls are not scored...just new rings, bearings, etc.

Our cylinders are fiber reinforced...you should do everything you can not to machine or you will need to get sleeves, new pistons, etc...which is a major rebuild. If you have to go that route you are looking a some major $$. It would be more cost effective to buy a lower mileage motor in good condition than it would be to do that kind of major build.

You definitely want a shop who knows what they hell they are doing and not one that is going to guess that your motor needs a rebuild without even doing a compression check or any other significant diagnosis.

I'd really recommend you post up in the socal forum for a shop recommendation so that you get the rebuild you need.

crazydude

Are there any online sites devoted to selling rebuilt motors in a crate? When I owned a 300zx TT, this was always the best route, you knew the guy that rebuilt it knew the motor inside and out...and used better then oem parts.

Is spoon the only company for the s2000 that makes rebuilt crate motors?