I could use some advice from all yee wise ones. I purchased a 99 base lude about a month ago, and have driven it almost every day since. It is high mileage, 145k, but runs smooth and goes like hell when I put my foot in it. The only obvious problem is the click clacking of the valves in the head, but it doesn't really bother me.
Anyway, I had a compression test done at a dealership, numbers are low across the board, between 160-170, but I don't believe they did the test at WOT. Also I was told a few days ago by a friend that was following me that there is a plume of white smoke when I romp on it from a stop. I have put about 1000 miles on it and its already gone through a quart of oil.
Any ideas of how bad of shape the engine might be in? How much life does it have left without a rebuild? I use the car as a daily driver and really don't want any ugly surprises. Any suggestions on how to cut down on the smoking would be greatly appreciated.
plugs, coils, distributor and cap, timing belt, crank sensor, and oil all changed at dealer about 1200 miles ago. No CEL, car runs an idles like a champ. Its running rich but that is an issue for another day. The car is stock except for I/H/E mod, adjustable coilovers and 18" wheels.
It sounds to me like you have tired engine. Your rings are wearing out....and they will need to be replaced soon. As for how much life is left who can really say but be ready to do a swap or have the engine taken apart and rebuilt. The good note is this, once you replce or rebuild the engine then you will know just what kind of condition it is in. Redo your compression test and double check to make sure the low numbers they had given you are the actual compression readings; if its your dd then dont rag on it and baby it, keep it low rpm and you will be fine until the engine has had enough.
Do you think there is any way the compression numbers could be correct and the car would still idle? It idles smooth at about 500-600 rpm. Down from 220 all the way to 160 seems like it would be a stretch for the car to move at all doesn't it?
I can't redo the test myself as I don't have the tools for it, but all it could really give me is more bad news anyway.
Can anybody estimate the cost of a rebuild? I know it is different by region....but ballpark would be helpful. Would a swap be cheaper than a rebuild if I could come up with an engine and a shop to put it in?
I have a similar prob and feel your pain man. I have 165k and car runs,idles, and accelerates well like it has healthy power. But i have been noticing that my oil is disappearing and Im not leaking it for sure. My friend followed me and said no cloud of smoke comes out when i shift thru the gears. So im worried as well and still think it is burning but just not in a big cloud.
Replacing the rings would possibly run from 1000-1500 depending on your location. If any more work is needed to ensure the engines longevity possibly $2k. Also you'd have a warranty on it (im assuming) from the shop who does the work. The best thing you can do now is get a valve adjustment, make sure there arent any serious oil leaks, and put a can of engine restore in with your oil change.
And about that craiglist find, hmmm I dunno. I'd rather rebuild your engine since it is in good cond. like you described except for the rings obviously. You dont know whats wrong with the engine being swapped in.
EDIT: MAKE SURE the shop who does the work, if you get it rebuilt, knows how to hone FRM sleeves. It is very important that they know the stone needed and proper honing process. If not kiss your rebuild bye bye.
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98Type SH Stock-Nordic Mist
WTB: Tanabe SMH Catback
honestly though, not all engines come in ****ty condition, first of all you get what you pay for, you want a good jdm engine then expect to pay for one. A good engine importer will go to japan and have the engines compression tested and have a leak down test done, also the engine will come with a sheet of paper saying what the serial number of the engine is and the mileage on it and the car it had come from and the results of the two tests; if you are buying an engine that does not come with this information you are stupid. Next up, what is the point of having you engine pulled apart just to have new rings put in? all the labour costs the same so why not put new internals in while you have the motor dissasembled? Do a swap to get your dd going then rebuild your other one then you have two good engines. I dunno it makes sense to me.
BB6eLUDEr, I would agree that a rebuild would be better than a swap, but only if done by a good honda performance shop that knows what they are doing. The problem is there is no such thing in or near Indianapolis, or if there is I can't find it. Any decent shop should be able to do an engine swap without irreversibly screwing that up though....if I can find a good direct replacement engine, and that is a big if.
Any suggestions on how to tell if a shop knows how to properly hone the sleeves BEFORE they do it? It would be easy to tell afterwards when the engine blows but that wouldn't be too useful.
Either way, I'm probably just going to keep driving it as it is until it gets noticeably worse, and the lude will be making its first visit to a local mechanic I trust soon.
It makes me hesitant to sell my old car the lude was going to replace, and having 2 cars sitting in the driveway is tying up my finances to do anything major to fix it.....kind of a endless problem loop...sell one to fix the other, then I don't have one because the other is in the shop....keep it then I don't have the cash to fix the other.....giving myself a headache already
Not looking to go jdm or upgrade performance, as it is a daily driver and I need it to be reliable and get reasonable fuel economy...it can put whatever ricer piece of crap that revs on it to shame as it is, and that's good enough for me. Two engine thing wouldn't work either, no space to have another engine lying around and wouldn't have the cash for both anyway.
indylude, call benson machingin in california to send your block to them. I know a few people in canada who sent thier stuff to them and they had like a 45 day turnaround and the sleeves were installed by the best in the business. and that is all the way in canada so it will be far less time for you. Just remember you get what you pay for, how much do you love your honda?
Wow, that's funny, this is exactly the same description of my car, except that my car has 192K on it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BB6eLUDEr
I have a similar prob and feel your pain man. I have 165k and car runs,idles, and accelerates well like it has healthy power. But i have been noticing that my oil is disappearing and Im not leaking it for sure. My friend followed me and said no cloud of smoke comes out when i shift thru the gears. So im worried as well and still think it is burning but just not in a big cloud.
Oh, and to the OP your lucky, with all the problems your car has, you car burns less than my car, mine burns a quart every ~600 miles. I think a compression test is in need.
Yeah it could be coolant, but with how the car is going through oil, I doubt it. As far as the color and the amount of smoke, I don't really know. I can't see it, my friends idea of "alot of smoke" may be different than mine and it my really be blueish.....I can't see it while driving, it isn't THAT bad.....yet.....
As far as shipping the engine to California, that really wouldn't be an option. I don't have an engine hoist, so I can't pull it to ship. Also that would be a waste of about $500 shipping my block all the way across the country and add at least a week to the turnaround time if not more, and that's a problem.
Anybody know of another reputable shop that is somewhere near Indiana? Ohio is not that far of a drive either, and there seem to be many more ludes over there.
I understand why you would not want to send your engine away but if you are having trouble finding a reputable shop or cant find one then it is more than likely your best option, at least that way you know the machine work is done right and you wont have to worry about it. Yes it is very expensive but what are the fiscal risks of haveing a poor job done on your engine? The machining for one of my engines costed around 3500 canadien and i supplied all the parts, rods pistons, rings, head studs and tranny bolts, valvetrain components, sleeves and what not, the total cost was around 9000 can. the swapp engine that i had purchased to keep my dd on the road was a jdm h22a out of a 96 sir w/lsd, it cost about 3000 can and another 800 to install, but i also replaced the water pump and oil pump, all the seals everywhere, the auto tensioner, all the ignition components,thermostat, fuel filter, oil filter, clutch and ect...in total the swap had costed me about around 5000 can. if you have the time for your car to be "down" and have access to a good machine shop then the cost of a rebuild could be around the same as a swap depending on what parts you want to replace. Either way it is an expensive venture but both avenues are worth the money.
9000 Canadian translates to about 7,600 US (according to google anyway), and for that price I could easily just find a much lower mileage prelude, I'm sure there are several listed on craigslist right now. I would hope it doesn't come to that, but I would go that route before spending that kind of money repairing my current engine.
Doesn't look too good for the 'lude.......but I don't have much choice right now but to drive it until the engine finally lets go or sell it and find another one. Poor lude......
".......but I don't have much choice right now but to drive it until the engine finally lets go or sell it and find another one."
Personally, in your position, I'd probably jsut do what you said, drive it until it dies, and (not to sound hopeless, but.....)hopefully by the time it dies, you'll ahve saved up enough cash to just buy another lude.
Good luck.
How much are blocks? Is that everything he'd need to tkae to that machine shop here in CA? Where in CA is that machine shop? Benson machining huh?
It would be worth more if I sold it while it was still running though, but I doubt I could find another one with a body in as good a shape as the one I have now. Zero rust anywhere, even the exhaust pipes under the car are spotless. Entire car is immaculate with the exception of small rock chips on the hood.
Unfortunately unlike CA, the import scene here in Indiana is almost non-existent, the majority here are more into domestics (wayyyy too many mustangs and camaros on the roads), but nothing I can do about that.
If you just look around on the forum you can find a couple of blocks for sale, with or without the head, and that could give you an idea on the price.
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