Replacing valve stem seals on S2000 on south coast.

[zz000mm]

Hi all,

I have an 2008 S2000 that has done about 205K miles.

It's starting to smoke, which I think is either valve stem seals or piston rings.

Advice on how to tell would be gratefully received.

Car has been well looked after and has been fully Honda dealer serviced all its life. I've owned it from 10K miles.

If it's piston rings, the simplest thing is a used engine swap.

I was hoping it just needs valve stem seals, so was going to give that a shot first.

Anyone have any recommendations for someone to replace the valve stem seals near Chichester in West Sussex?

Thanks

Brian
Chichester, West Sussex.

[paddy1970]

To help differentiate between valve stem seals and piston rings, here are a few indicators:

Valve Stem Seals: If the smoke is most noticeable on cold starts, or when you first accelerate after decelerating, this points to worn valve stem seals. The oil seeps into the combustion chamber overnight or during idle, causing smoke when the car is started or revved.

Piston Rings: If the smoke is constant, especially under acceleration or heavy load, it could be the piston rings allowing oil to burn during regular driving. Blue smoke under hard acceleration typically indicates worn rings.

Before making any decisions, it would be worth conducting a compression test or a leak-down test. These tests can help pinpoint the issue by checking for loss of compression (indicative of worn rings) or specific areas where the engine is losing pressure.

[Niglebick]

We have a high mileage s2000 (200,000+) just along the road, near Arundel.

Tom Gant ( TGM Racing) just outside Fleet is the man to go too. What he doesn’t know about s2000 isn’t worth knowing.
It’s a schlep, but well advised.