Earlier this year I introduced my newest project, a 2001 Honda S2000 with over 300,000 miles on the odometer. My goal with the car? Make it a competent track machine. After fixing the brakes, I took the high-mileage Honda to its first event, where it exceeded my expectations. But soon after, the clutch master cylinder failed and nearly left me stranded. I finally got around to fixing it this weekend, and now the car drives better than ever.
How Hard Was the Fix?
I'm an impatient man. I didn’t want to order the new part online and wait to have it shipped to me, so I went to my local Autozone, which had a new generic-branded, non-OEM master cylinder in stock.
After bleeding the fluid, the clutch didn't initially feel as nice as it did before. There was a dead spot at the top of the pedal where there was no resistance at all, and it felt more like an on/off switch than ever. Turns out I just had to bleed it a lot more to get all the air out of the system. After three or four cycles of draining fluid out of the slave cylinder and topping off the master reservoir, the pedal felt good as new.
Now, the gearbox goes into all six gears, with no grinding or resistance. Nice!
Any More Good News?
Nothing else has broken! I put around 100 miles a week on this car, and it fires up every time without hesitation. Using it as a normal vehicle is painless. Even the air conditioning and cruise control work just fine. Sure, it’s a bit cramped inside, but that’s not too much of an issue for five-foot-nine me. As I’ve said before, the only things wrong with the interior are the seats, which are falling apart. Not too bad for a car with this many miles.
Also, VTEC still works, thankfully. Despite the solenoid being held down by only two of the three required bolts, the new gasket is still strong enough to create a sufficient seal. I don’t plan to leave it like this, obviously, but it’s good to know it’s holding up in the meantime. The third bolt, which I discovered last week had snapped into the block, will need to be removed before my luck runs out. Once I get some new hardware I’ll attempt to extract it.
So What’s Next?
I want to start taking this car to more events. Though I hope I’ll be able to source a set of real performance tires by then, I’d be perfectly happy wearing down the junk all-seasons on the car in the meantime.
The seats are another thing I have to address, although I think I can bear using them for a few track days while I continue my search for a replacement set. I’m still conflicted about whether to buy a good-quality used OEM pair or go for something racier. My wallet would prefer the former.
This S2K isn’t a rustbucket, but there are a few areas towards the rear of the car that are starting to show some bubbles. I’m conflicted about whether to take care of them now or wait until they get big enough to become a real problem. Either way I’ll have to outsource a fix; I can’t do bodywork, and it’s way down on the list of things I have time to learn.
Stay tuned.
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The Link LonkMay 20, 2021 at 01:33AM
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My 300,000-Mile Honda S2000 Is Drivable Once Again - RoadandTrack.com
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