Replace or rebuild? - Honda Prelude Forum

DirtyDawg · 01-06-2002, 02:21 PM

Hey. This is my first time posting here,(the first time visiting this board, actually). I've got a bit of a delima. A while back, i bought an 89 2.0 SI 4WS and after driving it for about 2-3 weeks, one of the cams broke (right inside the cam gear). A few people I've talked to said that the valves probably hit the pistons, bent, warped the head, etc., etc. Others have said that it shouldn't be more than replacing the cam. What do you all think? I've already gotten another car, so I'm in no rush to fix a daily driver, but I can't just let it sit around. If I do need to do extensive engine work, would it be worth it, or should I replace the engine with a newer setup? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Lee

polarwhitesi · 01-06-2002, 05:11 PM

if ya got the money, pull the engine and put a vtec head on that bad boy! it might take a while, but the power gains are supposed to be unbelievable. good luck!

to figger out why ur cam broke u would need to tell us more info. did u hear the engine clicking or banging before the cam went? anything unusual happen before it broke?

DirtyDawg · 01-06-2002, 06:03 PM

It broke a few months ago, so I can't remember all of the particulars. I do remember that it was stalling all day, and I had to keep revving it to keep it running. i think it started making like a rattling sound right before it went. No big sounds when it went, just shut off and wouldn't start. I looked at the surface of the gear (when I started to loosen the gear the bolt and 3-4 pieces of cam fell out) and it looks like the gear had been loose because of the wear marks. Like I said, I hadn't had the car but a few weeks when it happened, and my wife drove it more than I did. If there isn't any damage to the valvetrain (other than the cam, of course

), Then I'd like to just replace the cam. There was no banging when it went, so I'd like to believe the valves aren't bent. I'm just wondering if it would be worth taking on this car as a project. I don't have a huge budget to work with, and to be quite honest, I feel a little more at home elbows deep in a small block chevy, but I can't help it. I loved driving this car, even if it was only for a few weeks.

salesman

3genlude · 01-06-2002, 09:02 PM

How many miles you do you have? Also, when you pulled the cam gear off, what kind of shape was the timing belt in? When was the belt changed? Even if you did bend a valve it should still be pretty easy to fix if your pretty good with engines. Pull the head, check the valves, replace the cam and valves(if needed), get a new head gasket and timing, belt, and put that bad boy back together. If your too lazy, sell me the 4WS!!!!

Eric

DirtyDawg · 01-07-2002, 06:07 AM

169253 miles. The timing belt didn't show any unusual wear, but I don't know when it was changed last. Al that I did when I got the car is change the plugs, wires, cap and rotor. Oh- when I went to change the rotor, the hold down screw broke off so I had to put in a new (rebuilt from CarQuest) distibutor.

If I can justify the costs of repair to my wife, I may be able to start working on this as a project car. I even suggested that I'd trick out her Malibu as well. I think she liked the idea

Daily Interlude · 01-07-2002, 08:00 AM

Tricking out 3rd gens is a fun time because you have to be creative! Check out www.hondaprelude.com for some awesome setups to give you ideas.

I'd say to rebuild the head while you have it apart. If you find the pistons messed up then you might want to just swap in a JDM B20A engine unless you plan on turboing it (www.ludespeed.com). If you plan on going that route, take that motor and rebuild it from top to bottom.

Of course, all this requires money!

That seems to be the only part I'm missing!

DirtyDawg · 01-07-2002, 07:57 PM

I thought a little about going the turbo route, or even the VTEC head swap. For now, I'm just going to take it easy and work on it a little at a time. The nice thing about this is, all of the other projects I've worked on were daily drivers first, hobby second. I think I'll take the head off tomorrow and check it out.

polarwhitesi · 01-07-2002, 08:16 PM

u could look at the cam breaking as a sign! if your a bastered you could scam carquest into paying for everything.

SignfcntOthr · 01-07-2002, 09:42 PM

If you gonna swap engines, look into an h22! Check out hp.com's setup of the week (preluderacer808). No clue on price, but I bet it ain't cheap. Anyone have an estimate on how much more it would be swap an H22 rather than a JDM B20A?

Daily Interlude · 01-09-2002, 03:38 PM

All prices seem to levitate to around 6K! You can find a better deal if you shop around though. Make sure to shop around to find a shop that can do the job. This isn't your ordinary swap and will probably be the shop's first.

DirtyDawg · 01-09-2002, 04:23 PM

Is there an easy way to check for bent valves without taking off the head? It'll be a while before I can get down and dirty as my boss was in a wreck and I'll be working 13 hours a day 6 days a week. Apparently a couple of guys were trying to race and blew through a red light. T-Boned him on the driver side @ >55mph. Kinda sux cause he was also the best man at my wedding. So, to get back on subject, if anyone knows a quick and easy way to determine if the valves are bent without pulling the head, let me know. Otherwise, I won't be able to do squat with my Lude.

dumbasses

3genlude · 01-09-2002, 10:00 PM

Ok, you don't have to pull the head to check if the valves are bent, but you do have to take the valve cover off and start taking stuff apart. Take off the cams blah blah blah.... and get down to the valve springs. Get a valve spring compressor and compress the springs and take them off(retainers, keepers, etc). REMEMBER to use air(an adapter? with an air compressor_ to hold the valves up, because they WILL fall through, and then you do have to pull the head. When you get everything apart, spin the valves. If they spin pretty easy, they aren't bent. If they don't spin, they are bent. If you hear air coming up through the valve guide, you either have a bent valve(at the very end) or a burnt valve. Either way you have to pull the head and replace them.

orgasm_donor · 01-09-2002, 11:09 PM

Ok...if you wanna do a pretty quick fix for cheap, then do what I did. Pick up a used JDM motor from an import engine specialist . I got the 160 hp motor with 55,000 miles on it (with papers) and it cost me only $475.00 US, My buddy installed it for $300.00 US and did my clutch at the same time. I do notice a sizeable difference and I didn't have to fork out a few grand or mess around with engine mounts and ECUs. Don't get me wrong, I would love to do a head swap or an H22A but I did the more realistic thing for my budget at the time.

By the way, my old engine 'bit it' when one of my bearings slipped and shattered my #3 piston. It sucked but now I get to enjoy my new 'heart'.

Good luck brother !