Honda: 90 Civic valve issue...

In article <com>, meld_b <com> wrote:
 

One problem with engines that have over 100,000 miles is that the rings
wear out. If that happens, the only solution is to take the engine apart
and replace the rings. In some cases, the damaged rings may do some minor
damage to the cylinder walls. This means those walls have to be worked on.
A mechanic may charge you over $1000.00 to do this sort of work since it
takes lots of time. I advise you to trade it in on another car unless you
really love the car. Of course, I could be wrong so you might want a
mechanic to take a look at it in case it's a more minor problem.

meld_b wrote: 

Often times, simply replacing a head gasket or doing other head work on these
motors without doing any work on the rings will lead to high oil consumption.
It is best to rering the engine in order to ensure that this problem does not
occur.
 

It sounds like this mechanic may be trying to cover up something. It there's a
cylinder low on compression, then you need to find out why. For example, is the
compression loss occurring past the rings or via the valves? If it's past the
valves and this mechanic did the valve work, then he could be held responsible.
Note that you may want to take it to another mechanic for diagnosis in order to
obtain (hopefully) an unbiased and honest assessment of the situation.
 

If the engine light has come on, then it might have set some codes in the ECU.
The codes are accessed by pulling up the front of carpet on the passenger side
floor, turning the key to the on position, and then counting the number and
sequence of the LED flashes.

Eric

Thanks guys - There are two mechanics involved... The one that did the
valve work and eventually admitted that he didn't work on rings - Which
I've now learned he should have. (Hindsight is 20/20)

The second mechanic is much more trusted and I believe him when he says
the compression is low in one cyl. I just put some Marvel's Mystery
Oil in for the fun of it, and it is significantly less wobbly! It's
still there when going just at the wrong RPM. I have started looking for
another vehicle. It's neat how it is STILL moving me around!

Did Honda change any designs so that later years would be less likely to
have this sort of thing happen? Is the Accord different than the Civic?

-Dan

Eric wrote: 
Chop...still burns oil? 

On Tue, 09 Sep 2003 03:23:29 GMT, meld_b <com> wrote:

|Thanks guys - There are two mechanics involved... The one that did the
|valve work and eventually admitted that he didn't work on rings - Which
|I've now learned he should have. (Hindsight is 20/20)
|
|The second mechanic is much more trusted and I believe him when he says
| the compression is low in one cyl. I just put some Marvel's Mystery
|Oil in for the fun of it, and it is significantly less wobbly! It's
|still there when going just at the wrong RPM. I have started looking for
|another vehicle. It's neat how it is STILL moving me around!
|
|Did Honda change any designs so that later years would be less likely to
|have this sort of thing happen? Is the Accord different than the Civic?

If the car is otherwise sound and everything works, why don't you just have the
motor changed? You should be able to get that done with a low-mileage engine
for about $1000, maybe less. Then you'd have a car that would serve you well
for years.
Rex in Fort Worth

In article <txol.net>, com wrote:
 
have the 

That's great advice and I should have mentioned it in my post. Thanks for
your excellent post.

Yes, it still gets you -- and me -- "around" even with one cylinder
with low compression...in my case it's #2 cylinder which has 27 pounds
and it's been that way for about 4 years now!

Why don't I get it fixed? For one thing, try to find another 1973
Datsun 1200 engine in an auto salvage yard or even a remanufactured
engine somewhere...the A12 engine isn't evenlisted on such an old car
like this one, or, try to find parts for rebuilding an A12. Probably
REALLY expensive even if I DID find an engine. Besides, it runs pretty
well considering, but yes, I DO plan to get it rebuilt somehow and
restore the car at some point if possible.

My point is, these Japanese cars -- even "wounded" -- can be pretty
reliable and definitely "get you around" despite their ills! Can't
complain here!!

John D.



meld_b <com> wrote in message news:<com>... 

Wow - 4 years! I find it a little scary with all the SUV's around
pulling out into traffic, with a engine that isn't really all there.

My wife is opposed to putting an engine in this car... I only paid about
$2500. Engine availability is not really the problem. I was thinking of
checking the milage one last time and putting it in the paper. See what
I could get.... I see all these "engine needs work" at the same year for
$800, Edmunds says more like $500 for "Average" or "Rough"

-D

I did see that there are lots of engines around

John D. wrote: 

Yeah...but you couldn't tell anything was wrong listening to it
idling.

As for SUVs, I'm in no hurry like most everyone else is, but I stay in
the right "slow" lane regardless...they can pass me all they want.
Let's see if ANY of them are still on the road in 30 years...probably
not...I pass a lot of them broken down on the shoulder or "camping
out" on the freeway medians during holidays. ;-)

John D.



meld_b <com> wrote in message news:<com>...