Im experianced with the honda world. But i have never messed with a k engine other then routine maint on friends cars.

I came across a 02 type s. 198k miles, low compression on cyln 2. 65psi all others were around 200. I know some of the earlier year RSX, had issues. Whats the major thing to look out for. A head gasket is an easy fix, is anything else prone with these motors? stuck valves?? broken springs? etc etc. I wasnt able todo a leak down, due to being in his drive way. I also wasnt able to add any oil to see if that would bump the compression up.


He is only asking 2 for the car and its bone stock other wise.

Thanks for your input in advanced, hopefully we will have a build thread soon.

 

any one?

 

There aren't really any common issues. Could be anything. A leakdown test would narrow it down.

I guess maybe an over-rev would be a "common" scenario. Probably not a skipped t-chain because all the other cylinders are fine.

A longblock is like $1500ish. So worst case scenario, you spend $3500-4k total, including the car.

Also...you can buy a perfectly good 02 RSX-S with 198k miles for $3500-4000.

Tell him $1500 if its not rusted. Hope to fix it cheap.

 

Yeah, I was thinking an over rev also. Just have to check it out. The dude wont let me do a leak down test. So that kind of raises a red flag. We shall see.

 

years ago my internally stock k20 ate a spark plug cruising down the freeway on cyl #2 obviously it didnt do good to the piston and cyl head once it was in there, you could still thread a spark plug back in after it happened but i have no idea if that was an issue with any others or just my bad luck.

 

I know that some of the K20A2's (earlier production runs) have different valve springs than the later ones. At least, I'm pretty sure...someone can correct me or flame me or find a link if they want. IDC hahah.

With a blown head gasket you'll just look for what you'd normally look for. Head gaskets don't just blow because they blow...you need to check for why oil and coolant are mixing.

Did a cylinder liner crack? Did the block or head warp? Those are just some things to keep in mind.

 

Yeah. I need to close this thread. The dude was a total *****. And you could tell the car had been beat on. Had a breach between cyl 1 and 2. And 3 and 4 were low. Oh well. My hunt continues.

 

Swap it for less mile engine, or more expensive route rebuild.