I purchased a 2000 Prelude two days ago. The guy who sold it said he had just installed a new timing belt. I believe that he did, I think he just did a poor job. Long story short belt broke, valves bent, engine disaster. My mechanic says he can install a used engine, but it will cost more money than I can afford to pay right now. He offered the option of "rebuilding the top-end" only but there are some risks that the car will burn oil like crazy, and possibly other problems down the line. I need some advice. Is the risk too great to rebuild the top-end, is that even a good option, or should I wait until I can afford the new engine?
Even a bad job won't snap a timing belt. In your case it sounds like the tensioner failed or the guy simply didn't put in a new belt. Get your hands on the old one and inspect it. A new belt will LOOK new and feel new. Bend it and you should see tiny little cracks if it's old.
In your case you can actually take the seller to court for selling you a lemon or under fraud. You will atleast get your money back for the care. Assuming the belt was never replaced.
lemon only applies to new cars most of the time, and its a dealer/seller warranty issue, not a maintenance problem. fraud will be hard to prove unless he has the receipts saying a new belt wasn't put on and he has a written statement from the seller saying it was.
maybe looking into buying a used top end?
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I purchased a 2000 Prelude two days ago. The guy who sold it said he had just installed a new timing belt. I believe that he did, I think he just did a poor job. Long story short belt broke, valves bent, engine disaster. My mechanic says he can install a used engine, but it will cost more money than I can afford to pay right now. He offered the option of "rebuilding the top-end" only but there are some risks that the car will burn oil like crazy, and possibly other problems down the line. I need some advice. Is the risk too great to rebuild the top-end, is that even a good option, or should I wait until I can afford the new engine?
This is another example of a situation where you should not purchase a car that appears to have had any major maintenance work or has been modded by someone other then a Honda tech who specializes in your type of vehicle. It looks like your car may have been used by a certified Honda tech wannabee as his personal training tool.If the car was sold AS-IS and with nothing in writing about how it was maintained then the guy just basically pawned off his problem car on to you and theirs not much you can do about it.These days, with all the people around tinkering with their modern complex automobiles and then removing the mods before re-sale so the informed buyer won't freak, their are probably a lot of unhappy and shocked possibly 1st time Honda owners which is such a unwarranted blow to Honda's good name.People who buy air planes know that the techs that work on the plane they plan to buy is certified legit. With the complexity and cost of modern cars going up , maybe sometime in the future some type of mandatory certification may be needed for people who work on cars.
Depending on the state he purchased the car. If the owner claimed it had new timing belt and good maintenance and no problems etc; then the car died of said problem, he could have a small claims case.
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'99 Honda Prelude - Auto > 5spd *Completed*
XTD 9LB Flywheel
Exedy Clutch & Pressure Plate
Synchrotech Carbon Synchros
AEM CAI
TSUDO Cat Back Exhaust
its not enough that you put just 1 new belt
to do it right you have to get new
timing belt
balance belt
water pump
2 tensioners (+ I bought also new auto tensioner and crankshaft seal)
^More than just that, all 5 seals behind the timing belt should be replaced, a tensioner is ONLY needed IF it is leaking, otherwise you're wasting money.
You should just pull the head and send it to a machine shop to have new valves and valve stem seals installed. You can save loads of money doing the work yourself.
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New Formula Red 93 BB2: JDM OBD1 H22a/T2W4 Accord Euro R transmission
One time i had a cam snap off at the lobe after the dizzy and the head was trashed, I then took the head off cleaned upt he block, and hten reinstalled a working good head and the engine lasted two more seasons before it was replaced. Just cuz there was psitont o vlave contact doesnt mean teh whoel engien is toast, usually just the head needs re working.
The first thing you do after a belt failure is a leakdown test. Especially since $ are a consideration and it's very unlikely that you need to replace all the valves. A leakdown will tell you which ones are bad. Replace the bad ones, get new seals and a valve job and your top end should be good to go. A leak down will also tell you if you have a piston problem in which case you probably would want to go the used engine route.
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