In the last installment of this series, (PT 2), we got the old blown engine pulled from the S2000. Now, in (PT 3), we are getting all the accessories bolted to the K24, marrying the engine and trans, and getting it all dropped back into the car.
But first, I know it has been a few months since we last talked about the K24 S2000 project, so let me share with you the links to (PT 1) and (PT 2) so you can refamiliarize yourself with what is going on.
OK, now you should be all caught up with the build and what stage we are currently at. In (PT 3), we are going to be tackling.
- The engine accessories
- Mating the trans to the engine via the adapter plate.
- Mounting the engine to the sub frame with the mount kit.
- Getting it all back into the car.
Jumping right in, first thing we had to do was swap out the JDM water pump housing for the USDM housing. Without this the intake manifold will not fit, so in this case it is mandatory. Immediately, we ran into issues by snapping off one of the bolts… And we thought this was going to be the easy part.
We began the long arduous road to stud extraction Ville… We drilled with special bits.
We gazed with wonder how we were ever going to get it out.
We touched, just to make sure it was really in there.
We drilled again.
And again, until…
We were victorious! thanks to a torch and stud removal bit tool.
Now, the brand new USDM water pump housing can be installed. Fun fact, on both JDM and USDM water pump housing the PCV port is also integrated. Also, you CANNOT use the same bolts/studs from the JDM housing to the USDM housing because they are different sizes. You will need to get bolts from a 2004 Accord four-cylinder. See diagram below.
Below you can see the numbers I have highlighted for what you need. you’ll need, one #20, one #21, two #23, and two #27.
Below you can see how we have only used some temporary bolts for mockup while we wait for the parts delivery from Hondapartsnow.com
Now, you can remove the actual water pump from the JDM housing and use it on the USDM housing. You can reuse the 10mm bolts that secure the water pump to the housing.
Next, you are going to need an alternator for a 2004 accord four-cylinder. Despite how much we preach the use of OEM parts, Ever chose to skip spending 350 dollars on the OEM alternator. Instead, he just picked one up from CARQUEST for 150. In all fairness this car will only see track use and hardly any street use (other than driving to the track) so it’s not like he needs it to last 100k miles like an OEM would. Plus, CARQUEST has a warranty and its super easy to swap out if anything were to go bad.
With the intake manifold on you can really see how tight the clearance is with the water pump housing. It is also worth mentioning that you will need to get the three OEM bolts that secure the alternator to the water pump housing. As you can see above, we are using two temporary bolts to hold it in place until again, the order from Hondapartsnow.com comes with the proper bolts.
Below is a diagram of the bolts and the part numbers of what you’ll need to order for the alternator.
The engine is starting to look a lot more complete.
For the next piece of the pulley system, you will need an auto tensioner, with hardware, from a 2004 Accord four-cylinder. see part number below in picture.
You will also need the two bolts highlighted below to secure the auto tensioner. You will need two #15 and one #17
Again, you can see how snug the fit is between the manifold and the auto tensioner. Side note, the manifold still easily comes off even with all accessories bolted to the engine.
Clearance is tight!
Last piece to the pulley puzzle is the EP3 idler pulley.
Below is the list of part numbers you’ll need for the EP3 idler conversion.
Now all the accessories are in place. Remember from PT 1, Ever purchased a K20 crank pulley that’s why his looks a little smaller than the average K24 crank pulley. You can choose to use either one, K20 or K24, just keep that in mind when you are choosing the serpentine belt so that you get the correct length one. Either way though, they are both seven rib belts.
Honestly, I would just recommend getting the OEM K24 pulley, you don’t need to be a baller like Ever and get a harmonic Fluidampr one. At least not until you are revving past 8k and or making a “Boosted Boiz” amount of power.
Now it’s time to prep the trans and get everything sorted/replaced/upgraded so we can mate the engine and trans.
Any time you have the trans off, I would suggest replacing the rear main seal. This is an inexpensive part and will save you hours of headache down the road. Remember what I always say… An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.
Below, Ever is pictured using the old seal to tap in the new seal. Be careful here because you can tear or damage the new seal upon installation. do not force anything.
Continuing with the current theme here, you are going to be using a rear main seal for a 2004 accord four-cylinder, part number is below.
Make sure the seal is installed evenly all around the crankshaft.
With the rear main seal replaced, we can now move on to installing the flywheel. The flywheel and clutch combo were sourced from ASM motorsports, they are the one stop shop for all things K swap S2000.
Make sure to thoroughly clean all the oil off the flywheel that is there to prevent rust during storage and shipping. If you don’t do this, the clutch will not work properly, and you’ll most likely ruin it by getting hot spots and prematurely wearing it out.
DO NOT USE the S2000 flywheel bolts! The OEM S2000 bolts are slightly too long and can cause disaster down the road. ASM sells the OEM Flywheel bolts that work correctly. Don’t forget to use thread locker on each one when you install them.
just to look at that 18×9.5 +22 with a 265/35 tire… The fitment on the civic ain’t that bad either ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Honda = Happiness.
Once the flywheel is torqued to spec you can now install the clutch and pressure plate.
Torque specs below. There are a few different opinions about what you should torque them too. Honda recommends two different specs; one is for a five speed, and one is for a six speed. We felt it was better to torque them to the six speed specs of 90 lb./ft. just because that’s what we felt was safer. You can make your own decision though.
Next, the clutch bolts will get torqued to 19 lb./ft. if you are using OEM bolts. We are using ARP ones and they will come with their own specific instructions of what to torque them too. Make sure you tighten them in a three-step procedure.
- Snug them down in a star pattern.
- Torque them to 10 ft./lbs. in a star pattern.
- Then final torque spec again in a star pattern.
This will ensure everything is seated evenly.
DOG NOSE!
Next, it’s time to install the adapter plate so we can use the S2000 trans with the K24. This too was purchased from ASM. As first timers, we did struggle a little with getting this properly installed due to slightly vague instructions. However, now that we have done it once, it would be easy to do it again.
Sometimes we only spend a few minutes a day in the garage just doing small things… When it’s days like this, we don’t even move the cars out of the garage.
While we had the engine outside of the car, we decided to install the engine mount brackets. This way, we would be able to ensure we were using the correct bolts for each bracket; we wouldn’t want to accidentally poke a hole in the block because we used the wrong length bolt. Especially, since there are some spacers and different size bolts needed when bolting on the brackets. Plus, they are specific to one side or the other. Doing all this while the engine was out of the car allowed us to lazily sit and figure out the correct orientation of each bolt and spacer. The full motor mount kit is a Hasport one and was also purchased from ASM.
As you can see below, we used Loctite on all the motor mount bracket bolts. With the added NVH of the stiffer motor mounts and trans mount, there is definitely going to be some vibrations that could totally cause those bolts to loosen up.
With the engine all prepped and ready to go, it was time to get the trans ready.
A common problem with all S2000’s is the bearing release guide, on either high mileage cars or when not properly installed/lubricated can wear and cause clutch issues. It’s my recommendation that you also change this out every time you have the trans off. Ever also purchased a brand-new dust boot too.
He also purchased some detent springs from Hybrid Racing. These are some what a novelty mod… They don’t necessarily help, but they don’t hurt either. Yes, they make the trans feel much notchy(er) and give you better feedback when shifting gears, but some people also don’t like the amount of force needed to get the car into gear when installed. These are an extremely popular “mod” because they are cheap and have a very noticeable impact. Ever got them, because why not.
Below you can also see his trans mount.
Hybrid has detailed instructions on their site. (Make sure you know your right from left lol)
Below is the dirty bellhousing from a 300k mile S2000 trans that has also been sitting in my backyard for a few months (so there is some dog hair).
The bearing release guide is easily removed by unbolting the X3 10mm bolts.
Remove the clutch fork and then slide the old guide off.
The new one slides on and just bolt it back on with the same X3 10mm bolts.
Use Honda hi temp Urea grease to lube up the release bearing guide. The throw out bearing (or release bearing) will slide on the guide and improper lubrication can lead to premature wear and ultimately damaging the function of the clutch.
I also use it where the clutch slave ball sits in the clutch fork, this will ensure smooth and quite operation.
All greased and ready to go. Make sure to not apply too much grease, because excess may come off and get on the clutch causing it to prematurely fail. A thin film will do if you’re using the good urea stuff.
It’s now time to marry the Engine and Trans.
The look on Ever’s face says it all. There weren’t super clear instructions for which bolts went where on the adapter plate and trans. After a few attempts though, we finally figured it out. Keep in mind, we are first timers when it comes to this type of swap, so we are learning as we go. Just take your time when you get to this stage of the process, go slow, think clearly, and it will all work out. along with the bolts that come with the adapter kit, you will also use some of the OEM trans bolts as well, and… There will also be a few bolt provisions that aren’t used, so don’t be scared. As long as you use all bolts listed in the instructions, you’ll be fine.
We also forgot to put the clutch fork on… DOH! Back off with the trans and do it all over again.
Fork is now installed and so is the new dust boot.
Now that the engine is all ready to go back in, it’s time to get the car jacked up super high and drop the subframe back out (just like we did when we removed the engine in PT 2)
Front wheels off, unbolt brake calipers and hang off to the side so you don’t need to disconnect the brake lines. Front upper control arms unbolted from the chassis, upper shock mounts unbolted, and lastly disconnect the endlinks from the sway bar and remove the swaybar from the chassis leaving the endlinks on the lower control arms. Now the subframe is ready to be removed.
Subframe can now be removed, and the Engine/Trans can now be mated to the subframe and reinstalled in the car.
Also notice that we installed the Hasport mounts to the subframe. They are only loosely installed (Bolts threaded all the way in by hand, use no tools to tighten completely) to allow for movement to ease the installation of the motor. Once we have the subframe completely bolted back in we will install the transmission mount and then fully tighten the motor mounts to the subframe. This way we can ensure there is no binding and that the engine and trans are all perfectly lined up.
Subframe sits on the furniture dolly and the swap hangs on the cherry picker.
Keep in mind that the OEM subframe brace will not work now because the K24 oil pan hits. You can either cut it and make your own custom one or, do like Ever, and just get the Spoon X brace.
While the subframe was out, we felt it was a good idea to also do the Spoon rigid collars.
This is a complete front and rear kit. So, you can bet your sweet ass we are doing them on the rear too, along with many, many other spoon goodies. (you’ll soon see in a couple upcoming posts)
Here is what they look like and how they go on the subframe.
Everything is all ready to be reinstalled into the car.
Carefully slide the whole thing under the car and center it as best as you can.
Once centered we used the cherry picker to lower the car closer to the engine. Then used jacks to hold up the car and the cherry picker to raise the engine. The Spoon rigid collars make it a little more challenging because there is no amount of wiggle room, all six bolts of the subframe must line up perfectly. This can be a little tedious, but again, just take it slow and you’ll be fine.
How many jacks can you count?
DO NOT tighten the subframe bolts all the way until you have all six of them fully started. Once they have all been started you can begin to tighten them to spec. The pro tip here is just make sure you have the subframe perfectly parallel with the plane of the car this will make sure lining up the holes much easier.
Torque specs below. Honda does call for replacing the subframe bolts, but we chose not to.
Wouldn’t it be nice to be a dog?
Manually get all those subframe bolts threaded in before you begin hitting em with the ugga dugga machine.
It’s officially in! I gotta be honest… It was pretty challenging with those Spoon rigid collars. With persistence you shall overcome
One thing that we didn’t consider was… The oil pan sits too low for the Spoon X brace too. We are still going to use the X brace, but we will need some one-half-inch spacers and one-half inch longer bolts. Below you can see how it is mocked up with just some stacked washers. But it fits!
The K24, especially with that intake manifold… Just looks so sick in there.
The crankshaft pulley does sit much closer to the power steering rack and the valve cover is a little bit closer to the firewall compared to the F20C. It’s also worth noting that the “Engine stop” that bolts to the front of the subframe can no longer be used. The engine sits too far forward.
All the suspension is all bolted back on, the steering column is reattached, and now it’s just buttoning up a few things and the car will be ready to rock. Well… Maybe not. We actually have a lot bigger things we are doing to the car, which is all completely overkill, but as always, it’s just classic Ever style.
During the past year Ever decided to sell his house here in Las Vegas (which is why we are always working on his cars at my house now) cash in and move to the absolute middle of nowhere in northeastern Arizona. He decided to give up a regular life and now lives on sixty acres in a tiny house, completely “off the grid”. We are talking full on solar, a well, and miles away from any town.
This had made things a little slower when it comes to finishing his S2000 and is also why the updates on this project have been far and few. We are currently trying to collect the last few items that we need to get this thing up and running, but unfortunately, when it does get up and running it will only end up in his parent’s garage rotting away next to his NSX, while he lives off the grid five hundred miles away in another state.
It’s sad, but at the same time the car isn’t going anywhere, and he does plan to take it to track events with us every now and then. Who knows what the future holds for him and his cars, but for now we are just enjoying the journey. There is a lot of really cool things we will be doing to this car over the next few weeks so stay tuned to see what other “over the top” modifications he’s got planned.
As always, thanks for finding interest in my post and our trivial projects we work on. I hope you enjoyed the read and hopefully learned a thing or two, even if you not planning on doing a K24 swap in your S2000 at least you’ll know what it takes to do one. If you have any questions, comments, concerns, criticism, or just want to say hi… Please feel free to reach out to me via email Billy@Functiontheory.com, on Instagram @Functiontheory, or simply comment below and I will get back to you.