Blown engine

[iwannagofast]

Ok guys..i'm new to this forum. I just bought an s2000, 2003 with only 12000 miles. Did a carfax report, car checked out great. It was an older couple that owned the car, they are definitely legit. I've been driving the car for almost 2 weeks. I decided to take it for a real drive today after work on some great twisties. I admit i was hard on the car, but i know how to drive and i am into a lot of different kind of racing. Car is completely stock and it's a honda, so it should hold up just fine right? Well today i just blew the engine. I dunno exactly whats wrong yet, but oils everywhere and i had to get towed home. At the very least a blown head gasket. I have blown one engine before on an IS300, but that was due to the super charger and bad tuning...thats another story tho. I can understand if the engine blew because i was trying to fix the car up, but it was totally stock. My question is..what do i do? I'm pretty sure all warranties are gone on the car. Is there any kind of lemon law? I registered it under a carfax buy back guarantee. But i dunno what that covers under the lemon law. Do i just find out whats wrong with it and rebuild myself? Or do i try and get it fixed under warranty some how? And i am 99.9% sure that the older couple that i bought it from didn't do this to me on purpose. I think that since they didn't drive it that much, it softened the engine up some how and it wasn't ready for a hard driver. please lemme know what u think is the best thing to do.

[J'sS2K]

Sorry to hear that. Maybe the old couple mis-shifted, or maybe you did. Most of the time, if not too serious, the affects of a mis-shift don't show up for months later. I've seen people with blown engines try to fix them under warranty and they all got rejected by the dealers.

Did you check the oil or coolant before this happen? Let us know what you find out. I wish you the best of luck in getting it fixed.

[iwannagofast]

yea the first thing i did was an oil change and checked all fluids. It sucks, but it is what it is. I love the car, just a little dissapointed with honda thats all. I am gonna fix it myself if i have to, just wonder if it's worth it to pursue the carfax buy back guarantee?

[iwannagofast]

Thats kinda weak if a mis shift would cause this.

[Boost Convert]

Originally Posted by iwannagofast

...2003 with only 12000 miles....it was totally stock....

More details please...considering the F20C's reliability and built-to-be-driven-hard history there must be more info given here to determine why...

[iwannagofast]

i wish i could give u more....i was driving it like it should have been driven. It started smoking full throttle probably at about 120 or so. It busted in the apex. I was lucky i wasn't sent spinning cause of all the oil. Really i was not abusing it, just driving it hard. i would really think that it could take a lot more than i could dish out. I bought the car thinking i could leave it stock, so i wouldn't have any problems. My last car was an 06 sti and i beat the shit outta that car with no problems at all.

[iwannagofast]

aww J'sS2K i used to live in awatukee. i used to post at nasioc.com

[iwannagofast]

woops i ment Boost Convert

[desmo4]

With only 12000 miles the warranty might still have some teeth. I would call Honda in Torrence CA if you get rejected by a dealer. If your going to fix it yourself www.hondaautomotiveparts.com is a good place to check parts. Find out what's wrong with it and go from there. Check on some of the forums, some folks have engines for sale, I saw one S2kCA a couple weeks ago.

Jonathan

[jagg]

If you had bought the car new from honda, you might have a slim chance for some warranty assistance, with it's current milage......

at least 2 years out of warranty, on a car you purchased second hand....you're done. Honda didn't make any money off your purchase.

Carfax's guarantee isn't a mechanical warranty.
This puppy is all yours.
Lemon Laws don't apply in this case. (I've never seen a lemon that drove normal for five years)

Question.....
Where are you apexin' corners at a buck twenty?
(on public roads....?)

You've gotta know that if you're gonna beat it, it will break.....
No offense, but this sounds more like a defective driver than a defective engine. What gear were you in when It blew?

jagg

[desmo4]

I stand corrected on the warranty. But considering how expensive parts are, perhaps a good used one might be the ticket. Especially if what happened to Coop also happened to you. He could see daylight through the crankcase and cyl 1&2 conrods were no longer connected to the crank. He was running a super charger.

Jonathan

[s2000isu]

This seems like a very silly thread to me. First of all "two thumbs down to honda" um ok well this obviously isnt a common problem in our cars that most people buy them to beat them. Second dont try to diagnose and bash a car if you arent mechanically inclined. You think the hg blew and gushed oil all over the place? First of all no............. second pop the hood and look for oil all over the place where the head meets the block. Here is my diagnosis with the little bit of info I was given. You either left the drain plug, oil filter, or oil cap loose. I will take one more guess. After it started pouring oil and smoke you shut the engine off it didnt shut itself off correct?

[s2kx2]

No its not. If you missed a shift and caused a mechanical over rev that is not a problem with the car but, due to driver error. You did not mention if you missed a shift but ... if you intended to go from 5th to 6th and hit 4th or 2nd instead the rev limiter is useless, hence mechanical over rev due to driver error. Did that happen at any time you were driving while pushing the car to 120?

Originally Posted by iwannagofast

Thats kinda weak if a mis shift would cause this.

[iwannagofast]

No, i did not mis shift....This thread is silly so we can all stop posting on it. JAGG answered my question..thx. I am gonna find out whats wrong with it fix or upgrade from there...no big deal. Thanks for all your opinions.

[philiam]

Keep us posted on what you find. Maybe we can get some better ideas. It's a bummer when your car breaks. If you can show that a Honda part was defective, you might have a chance.

Good luck,
Phil

[RuffRyder]

i dont know about this story, i have a 2000 with 93,000 miles and i beat the living PISS out of it. im not talking about driving hard, i drive hard in my sleep, i mean beat the living piss out of it... and guess what?

WIDE OPEN THROTTLE ALL DAY LONG.... yeah that explains my 12mpg in the street!

[jagg]

Hope it works out for you wannagofast.....

jagg

[TheSoundMan21]

man id be cryin if I was you.

[J'sS2K]

Originally Posted by TheSoundMan21

man id be cryin if I was you.

LOL, you girly!











Just kidding!

[TheSoundMan21]

Originally Posted by J'sS2K

LOL, you girly!













Just kidding!

like you would be any different lol

[s2000isu]

It is silly but we dont need to stop posting on here. You never told me if my guess about you shutting the car off was correct was it?

[s2katin]

This story seems very very strange to me also. A car with only 12,000 miles on it blows when you dont mis-shift nor "beat on it" and a car that is built to be driven hard. You must have done something wrong for this to happen considering the mileage on the car I cannot just see this engine "blowing up" for no apparent reason?

[peekzsz]

well i blew a s2000 engine just from pulling a REGULAR shift from third to second. intending to go in to 4th. thats all it took for mine. that engine is a quality engine that should have been able to hold up to the pressure. but thats what we told honda. and they comped the new engine. cause even the computer showed that i wasnt trying to race the thing. scariest moment of my life

[R32_S15_S2000]

Was at 555 views, now at 556. lol

[TheCarGuy2021]

Originally Posted by iwannagofast

Thats kinda weak if a mis shift would cause this.

Mis shifting and mechanically over revving the engine can trash nearly any engine on the market. The F20C/F22C don't usually show immediate consequences for minor to moderate over revs though. Usually the exhaust retainers will crack, but still have structural integrity, and as the miles keep adding up (could be tens, could be thousands), the broken retainers would allow the valves to descend and eventually drop them into the cylinder. Let's find the culprit before blaming Honda.

[Scooter]

I agree, it sounds more like an anomoly to me. I, uh, have downshifted accidently more than once... Has anyone here NOT?

[philiam]

I know as soon as I start to let the clutch out. Never over revved it.