Honda S2000 oil starvation/ main engine bearing problem

Hi folks,
I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models, but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could cause problems with the main bearing of the engine... which could get very expensive. I am interested in hearing accounts or stories from people who have had this problem with an S-2000. Did it occur rarely? Moderately often? How expensive were the repairs? How good was Honda about the problem? I was told by the mechanic that there's no way to diagnose this problem in a car that has it. Would you recommend (or advise against) a 2000 or 2001 S-2000? What model year was it when Honda had this problem fixed for good? Did the problem occur in the 2002 model also? Thanx for any info.

G. Peiffer
Alameda, CA

Gary Peiffer wrote:
> Hi folks,
> I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a
> mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier
> models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models,
> but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could
> cause problems with the main bearing of the engine... which could get
> very expensive. I am interested in hearing accounts or stories from
> people who have had this problem with an S-2000. Did it occur
> rarely? Moderately often? How expensive were the repairs? How good was
> Honda about the problem? I was told by the mechanic that there's no way
> to diagnose this problem in a car that has it. Would you recommend (or
> advise against) a 2000 or 2001 S-2000? What model year was it when
> Honda had this problem fixed for good? Did the problem occur in
> the 2002 model also? Thanx for any info.

no ones posted here about it that i can recall. your best bet would be
s2000 forums, and/or google.

Gary Peiffer wrote:
> Hi folks,
> I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a
> mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier
> models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models,
> but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could
> cause problems with the main bearing of the engine... which could get
> very expensive. I am interested in hearing accounts or stories from
> people who have had this problem with an S-2000. Did it occur
> rarely? Moderately often? How expensive were the repairs? How good was
> Honda about the problem? I was told by the mechanic that there's no way
> to diagnose this problem in a car that has it. Would you recommend (or
> advise against) a 2000 or 2001 S-2000? What model year was it when
> Honda had this problem fixed for good? Did the problem occur in
> the 2002 model also? Thanx for any info.
>
> G. Peiffer
> Alameda, CA
>

never heard of it. doubt it very much. and there's five main bearings,
not just one.

jim beam > wrote in
:

> Gary Peiffer wrote:
>> Hi folks,
>> I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a
>> mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier
>> models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models,
>> but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could
>> cause problems with the main bearing of the engine

<snip>

>
> never heard of it. doubt it very much. and there's five main
> bearings, not just one.
>
>



It seems different oil jet bolts were installed as of May '02 to address
potential oil starvation issues under very heavy loads. There's a TSB on
this. Hardly a "dirty little secret".

A bit of Googling turned up this, with much stellar info:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=138344

And from The Temple of VTEC:
http://tinyurl.com/7mwrm

Photo sequence of the repair:
http://www.pbase.com/rsrock/oil_jet_bolt_replacement

Another discussion thread:
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php...f=123&t=162487




--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

Excellent answer. Thanks for all the information.

"TeGGeR®" > wrote in message
...
> jim beam > wrote in
> :
>
>> Gary Peiffer wrote:
>>> Hi folks,
>>> I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a
>>> mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier
>>> models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models,
>>> but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could
>>> cause problems with the main bearing of the engine
>
> <snip>
>
>>
>> never heard of it. doubt it very much. and there's five main
>> bearings, not just one.
>>
>>
>
>
>
> It seems different oil jet bolts were installed as of May '02 to address
> potential oil starvation issues under very heavy loads. There's a TSB on
> this. Hardly a "dirty little secret".
>
> A bit of Googling turned up this, with much stellar info:
> http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=138344
>
> And from The Temple of VTEC:
> http://tinyurl.com/7mwrm
>
> Photo sequence of the repair:
> http://www.pbase.com/rsrock/oil_jet_bolt_replacement
>
> Another discussion thread:
> http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php...f=123&t=162487
>
>
>
>
> --
> TeGGeR®
>
> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

On Thu, 29 Sep 2005 20:32:07 -0700, SoCalMike
> wrote:

>Gary Peiffer wrote:
>> Hi folks,
>> I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a
>> mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier
>> models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models,
>> but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could
>> cause problems with the main bearing of the engine... which could get
>> very expensive. I am interested in hearing accounts or stories from
>> people who have had this problem with an S-2000. Did it occur
>> rarely? Moderately often? How expensive were the repairs? How good was
>> Honda about the problem? I was told by the mechanic that there's no way
>> to diagnose this problem in a car that has it. Would you recommend (or
>> advise against) a 2000 or 2001 S-2000? What model year was it when
>> Honda had this problem fixed for good? Did the problem occur in
>> the 2002 model also? Thanx for any info.

Have you tried here?
http://www.s2ki.com/forums/

TeGGeR® wrote:
> jim beam > wrote in
> :
>
>
>>Gary Peiffer wrote:
>>
>>>Hi folks,
>>>I was considering buying a 2000 or 2001 Honda S-2000, but then a
>>>mechanic told me about the 'dirty little secret' some of the earlier
>>>models of the S-2000 had. Honda eventually fixed it in later models,
>>>but it was an "oil starvation" problem in earlier models and it could
>>>cause problems with the main bearing of the engine
>
>
> <snip>
>
>>never heard of it. doubt it very much. and there's five main
>>bearings, not just one.
>>
>>
>
>
>
>
> It seems different oil jet bolts were installed as of May '02 to address
> potential oil starvation issues under very heavy loads. There's a TSB on
> this. Hardly a "dirty little secret".
>
> A bit of Googling turned up this, with much stellar info:
> http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=138344
>
> And from The Temple of VTEC:
> http://tinyurl.com/7mwrm
>
> Photo sequence of the repair:
> http://www.pbase.com/rsrock/oil_jet_bolt_replacement
>
> Another discussion thread:
> http://www.s2ki.com/forums/index.php...f=123&t=162487
>
>
>
>
i don't see a problem - i just see bleating about what /could/ happen.
i'm with honda on this one - you're never going to be able to run the
vehicle hard enough long enough for this to be an issue. especially not
if you use a decent oil.

jim beam > wrote in
:


> i don't see a problem - i just see bleating about what /could/ happen.
> i'm with honda on this one - you're never going to be able to run the
> vehicle hard enough long enough for this to be an issue. especially
> not if you use a decent oil.
>
>


It says in the one thread that the oil starvation issues are happening to
cars subject to very unusual loads, such as being driven for 120mph for a
half-hour. And even then it's not *all* cars driven that way that
experience the problem, but only a few. There are almost no reports of such
failures in North America.

It's a pretty minor issue overall. That still does not stop some from
declaring darkly that Honda has a "dirty little secret". What a joke. I
guess the conspiracy theorists have to have *something* to believe in,
don't they?

--
TeGGeR®

The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
www.tegger.com/hondafaq/

TeGGeR® wrote:
> jim beam > wrote in
> :
>
>
>
>>i don't see a problem - i just see bleating about what /could/ happen.
>>i'm with honda on this one - you're never going to be able to run the
>>vehicle hard enough long enough for this to be an issue. especially
>>not if you use a decent oil.
>>
>>
>
>
>
> It says in the one thread that the oil starvation issues are happening to
> cars subject to very unusual loads, such as being driven for 120mph for a
> half-hour. And even then it's not *all* cars driven that way that
> experience the problem, but only a few. There are almost no reports of such
> failures in North America.
>
> It's a pretty minor issue overall. That still does not stop some from
> declaring darkly that Honda has a "dirty little secret". What a joke. I
> guess the conspiracy theorists have to have *something* to believe in,
> don't they?

so true.

TeGGeR® wrote:
> jim beam > wrote in
> :
>
>
>> i don't see a problem - i just see bleating about what /could/
>> happen. i'm with honda on this one - you're never going to be able
>> to run the vehicle hard enough long enough for this to be an issue.
>> especially not if you use a decent oil.
>>
>>
>
>
> It says in the one thread that the oil starvation issues are
> happening to cars subject to very unusual loads, such as being driven
> for 120mph for a half-hour. And even then it's not *all* cars driven
> that way that experience the problem, but only a few. There are
> almost no reports of such failures in North America.

Oil starvation is much more likely related to engine speed and lateral
loads, not road speed.

> It's a pretty minor issue overall. That still does not stop some from
> declaring darkly that Honda has a "dirty little secret". What a joke.
> I guess the conspiracy theorists have to have *something* to believe
> in, don't they?

I think it's reasonable to expect no oil starvation issues with a US$ 30K+ 4
cylinder engine equipped car that's advertised as designed to be driven very
hard.