I am considering buying an AP1 S2000 that just had an engine swap done from the 2.0 to the 2.2. The car revs up to 7k fine but there is no vtec engagement (acts like it is at a rev limiter). I kinda want the car but would like a battle plan for sorting out what is wrong.

The list of things I have seen so far are:

Car not warmed up. (I didn't check to see what bar it was at.)
Gas is regular not premium. (I don't know what gas it had in it) (?)
Solenoid screen plugged.
Solenoid not working.
Something (wires) unplugged.
A bad coil pack.(?)

It is supposed to have the correct ecu and I saw that there is no check engine light.

 

if you just started it up for a test drive and the car was not at operating temp it will do what you just stated. It hit a rev limiter much lower then redline to protect the engine until it fully warms up. You should probably start with that first. The gas not being premium will not cause the problem you described nor will having a bad coil pack. The bad coil pack would cause a rough idle and missing, this in turn will trigger a CEL. The gas not being premium could cause detonation (pinging) but not always, still it would not cause the engine to stop reving at 7k.

You should test drive it again and make sure it is warmed up, if that is the case I am pretty surprised that the owner didn't know to tell you to take it easy until the car was warmed up.

 

Thanks for the reply. The owner was actually the one that told me this so it is a known problem after the swap. He had vtec before the swap, put the motor in and now has none.

 

Low oil level/pressure will also cause VTEC not to engage.

 

something's probably not hooked up, or not hooked up right.

so since its the 2.2, what set of sensors were used, what year is the motor (06+ is different from 04-05), try the other ECU then if this ECU isn't working. Are all the grounds connected, etc.?

 

Thanks for the help. I took a gamble and just bought it. I am out of town now but when I get back in about a week I will see what I can do to get it working.

Edit: I just found an s2ki thread that mentions some not so good things (and pointed out by dagle)http://www.s2ki.com/s2000/topic/5258...late-question/

Basically saying that some stuff needed to be swapped off the old motor. Is this only if you want to use the ap1 ecu or what? I'm unsure.

Edit2: Called the PO and just found out that the engine is from an 05, so maybe nothing needed to be swapped.

 

Well, I just drove it for the first time. Interesting stuff is going on with the car. There is some sort of rubbing/possibly grinding type noise in what is presumably the tranny or something to do with the driveshaft. I'll jack it up today and spin some stuff to see where it might be coming from. I'll try to figure this vtec business out too, turns out it actually cuts fuel at 6500. If I can work out these two things I'll be pretty happy. Thanks for the help so far.

 

Ask the PO another couple of questions:

When the 05' was swapped in, was it a complete swap that was 100% drop-in or was the engine opened before?

And actually I was going to ask if it was indeed 7000RPM haha.. 6500 sounds more normal. Go through the regular VTEC troubleshooting procedure (that you mentioned above). Check oil, take the VTEC solenoid off and clean the screen off or get a new VTEC solenoid completely. If the motor's been opened before, the likely cause will probably be within the motor. Since these rockers are roller rockers, some times the dowel pin within the rocker arms fall out during reinstallation. If that's the case, the motor will run, but when VTEC is engaged it's not engaging VTEC because the dowel pin isn't locking the rocker arms together to engage VTEC. However, I'm not sure if that would result in the issue you're describing.

For the grinding noise, videotape it if you can. If not, describe it the best you can. The S2000's drivetrain makes a lot of distinct noises that will make it fairly simple to hear for someone who has heard many of them before.

 

Thanks dagle, I went out and got a video. There is a mix of driving normally, clutch let out, also coasting with clutch let in, and some engine braking as well. All at slow speeds, but the sound is there at higher speeds too (just gets faster and faster).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9tbDnQfv2U

The sound is being produced while rolling whether the clutch is in or out. Also, it isn't matched to engine rpm. So, it sounds like it must be in part of the tranny that is always matched to the driveshaft, rather than the engine/clutch side (if it is in the tranny). Also, when engine braking there is an added constant higher pitch noise that can be heard in a few spots in the video.

This is the first s2k I've been in so I don't know this, but does the center console normally get warm when driving? It is happening in this one. Not searing hot, but clearly warm to the touch.

 

The shifter getting warm is normal for the 00-01.

and the noise is CLEARLY your axle's inner CV joint cup haha so at least thats 1 thing out of the way. You can probably get away with using an axle spacer, or swap out the axles completely. At 0:29 that bangbangbangbangbang noise says its the CV inner joint/cup.

At 0:20 what I hear to be a whirring if that's from your car, is not a good sign either but I couldn't hear it the rest of the video. Change the differential fluid when you have time and check for shavings.

 

Alright, it sounds like there are some varying options then. A quick check shows that the dealer charges like 400+ a piece for each axle new. But Autozone has duralast remanufactured axles at 80 a piece. Or I could try to score some low mile used ones. And for the axle spacer, I'm not really sure what it would be; something that would push the axles in farther so that the roller/pawl things ride on a new surface within the joint? Where does it go and where do you get one?

I don't plan on modding the car for more power so maybe the cheap remans could work out...I've used them on my extremely low power civic (stock 91 dx) for years with success, but this is different of course.

Thanks for the help!


Edit: about the whirring, hmm, I can't hear anything that stands out at 0:20, maybe it is the speakers in this computer. I'll try to check again on another. There is a crazy low volume whirring however a few seconds after startup (0:07), sounds like a tiny turbo. I have no idea what that is, but it comes on when the car isn't even moving. It isn't there when the car first starts, then it just comes on, weird.

Edit2: Just looked around some more for the axle spacers and found threads about swapping cv buckets as well. But the real treat is that I forgot about the vibration under acceleration the car has that starts at around 40-50mph and sort of dwindles as you gain speed but is always there when going faster. That is now gone. Great stuff, two birds with one stone.

 

I haven't watched the video yet, but if it's just the inner CV joint cup, can't he just swap those out (left to right, right to left), dagle? Maybe he can buy just the cup instead of a whole axle. Dunno if they'll sell just the cup, but might be worth checking. Not sure if I'd trust a remanned axle because a lot of times they'll re-use those inner CV joint cups. Even reputable aftermarket companies like DSS do that ****.

 

I've done the cup swap before on a Prelude, and honestly if I had to choose between slipping on an axle spacer or swapping the cups, I would do the axle spacer lol.. But yes, swapping cups is an option too.

actually re-listening to the video it sounds normal. I guess I was just delusional last night haha

 

I would just buy some used axles off s2ki or something with low miles. It is a very easy to replace the axles IMO. To swap the cups you have to pull the axles out anyways or unbolt the diff so you can get enough wiggle room to swap the cups which is a huge pita.

 

So, I have some good and bad news. The good news is that I swapped the cv cups and the vibration under acceleration has gone away.

The bad is that the zhiuzhiuzhiuzhiuzhiu... sound is still there, still just as loud. I am pretty sure it is coming from the tranny (I think this just from trying to triangulate the sound while riding in it.)

 

I am betting it is the tailshaft bearing. I bought a new tranny though so I bet I will put that in soon. The only problem with the new tranny is that I can't change it into reverse by hand, it won't let me push it down then shift to reverse. But all other 6 gears work fine. Is there something weird with these trannies that doesn't let them shift into reverse off the car (sensor or something)? [I know I have to press down... but it won't move down]

 

Still having vtech issues? I had the same issue that you are having. I changed the solenoid and the solenoid filter. Made sure that the oil level was high enough. I also put several tanks of premium fuel. My check engine light never turned on also. Car was always run at operating temperature. I have a friend who works at honda and he said it might be the ECU so I have ordered it should be in tuesday. If you think that it is the solenoid let me know I have an extra that I can sell you.

 

Yep, I'm still having vtec issues but I haven't been working on that at all. I will get the tranny in, then try to figure out the vtec. I think first on the list for vtec is: check to make sure the engine is adequately grounded, check to make sure all wires are plugged in. Then I may put the old ecu in (2001) because the guy said THAT one does throw codes. Maybe it will clue in what is wrong.

Tranny goes in this weekend.

 

So, it has been a few months but only a little has changed. I swapped out the tranny with another AP1 tranny from a crashed car with 50k miles. The sound is gone, I am convinced it was the tailshaft bearing but haven't taken the old one apart to look yet. The only funny noise in the tranny now is the generic early s2000 clutch noise in deceleration at low-mid speed, so that is good.

The vtec issue hasn't been solved yet but I have a new solenoid (with pressure switch) on order. Hopefully that fixes it up. That should be done by next weekend.

 

Nice ride bump