Jfrahm

Hi all,
I recently bought a used S2 engine to keep as a spare. Supposedly it came from a crash damaged 1991 S2 with 90K miles. I was just doing a compression check on it (came out 178 180 188 175) and noticed a washer epoxied to the head near the right rear corner. The washer had "Guarantee Void if Removed" stamped or engraved into it. Near the washer/tag the letters S A D were stamped into the head, probably with handheld stamps. I popped off the cam cover and everything looked great, the cam chain tensioner showing almost no wear.

I took some pictures but my camera cable is at work.

Does anyone recognize these marks? I assume it's a rebuilder's tag?

Thanks,
-Joel.

Jfrahm

Here is a pic of the tag in question:

Mark Parker

Looks like an overheat indicator. They're used by rebuilders to protect themselves from warranty claims on abused components. The idea is that the center portion will pop out and disappear if the component reaches a temperature in excess of normal operation,(I've never been told what this temperature is) and void the warranty. From your picture, I can't really tell whether it's been popped or not. IIRC it should be even across its surface, but with a visible perforation between the outer ring and inner plug.

Jfrahm

Could be. It has no center now, and may have some epoxy slopping out of the center hole though. I'll take a closer look. Thanks!

-Joel.

Jfrahm

You are probably right. Whatever stuff was in the center of the disc fell out when I picked at it, and it does seem to be attached to the wall of a water passage. I don't know if the metal is supposed to change color or if there is a missing center though.

-Joel.