General Tech Help - HELP - 87 Civic smokes after valve Job

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Robsonline

04-08-2004, 04:01 PM

<DIV>Hi All, I really need some help on this. This is a long story, but I will try to make it short. The timing belt broke on my 87 Civic Wagon. I had it towed to my local mechanic. He replaced the belt, but it bent the exhaust valve on the number 1 cylinder.I drove it around for two weeks trying to decide if I was going to fix the bent valve. It ran fine exceptit would hesitate atlow RPMs,andit did not smoke. He quoted me $500-$600 to do a valve job. The car is in great shape except for the bent valve, so I said go ahead and repair it. This is were the nightmare really starts. It takes the mechanic two weeks to repair, andthen he said the cost was $968. When asked why it was so much more then what he quoted, hesaid that while he had it torn down, he decided to replace the PC Valve and do a tune up.I reluctantly paid him and got in my car and left. I started to notice that the valves are still making a lot of noise. I took it back to work and called him, and he said bring it back in a week and he would adjust them. I left work to go home, andwhen I startedmy civic, itblew a cloud of blue black smoke that completely enveloped my car. When the smoke cleared and it had been running for a few minutes, the smoke went away and did not smoke while driving. I drove it home, but if I tried to get over 55 MPH, the car would sputter and almost die. I took it back the next day, and the mechanic kept it for almost two months. He had one excuse after another, and Ipressured him to redo the valve job. He finally relented, and took it back apart. He said he found the problem. He said the valve guides were bad. When I asked why that had not been replaced, again he had no good answer. He got my civic back together, but now it smokes all the time. Compression tests are good on all the cylinders, but the number 1 cylinder keeps fouling out. When you pull the plug, it is coated in oil. Now my mechanic is telling me that my cylinder rings are bad on number 1 cylinder, and that it will be another $1500 to rebuild it. He said that he knows that he did the valve job right this time, and refuses to fix the problem. He told me to come get my car or authorize him to repair it. I know that it did not smoke before the valve job, and he has no answer as to why it is smoking now except that he wants more money. Can anyone tell me something that I might be able to do to fix this. Thank you in advance.</DIV>
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<DIV>-Rob</DIV>

blackpearl169

04-20-2004, 11:55 PM

Honestly, it's probably going to be cheaper to swap in a new engine. It sounds like a lot of money for a '87. Is is a 1.5 with a carb? I'd bet to guess this mechanic is going to keep d*cking you around. A sure sign is when he did an unauthorized tune up and expected you to pay for it. I know you probably just wanted to get the car and forget about the whole situation, but legally you didn't have to pay him for the tune up and PC Valve. I would call as many garages as posible and get someone who knows what they're doing to give you advice on what your best optioin is. It sounds like the valve guides to me, same thing happened on my 1998 CRX Si when I had it a couple years ago, blowing out black smoke sparatically and dying at high rpm's. I wish I had some technical info to give you, but it seems you might just need some moral support and a lucky break. Good luck!

Robsonline

04-21-2004, 11:41 AM

Thanks for the reply Blackpearl169, I have been going around and around with the Mechanic, and he said he is no longer doing any more work on it unless I pay him for it. He said that it is the rings on the number 1 cylinder, and he wont touch the head again. I have argued with him, but he will not budge. I have just decided to donate the car, and take my business else were. I don't know how I can make him fix it, so I am just going to give in. I have thought about filing a complaint with the BBB, but my past experience with them has not been good. They don't really help anyone, I just think they are in it for the money now. It has been over 3 months since I dropped my car off to be repaired, and now he said come get it or he will claim it as an abandoned vehicle. Anyway, guess this is just one of those stories were the consumer loses. 

Thanks again for the response.

blackpearl169

04-28-2004, 12:08 AM

You're welcome. I'm sorry you've been screwed like that. I've had good luck with threatening reporting someone to the BBB, but I've never dealt with them directly. I guess the only other thing you can do is take him to small claims court. It's only like $10 to file for a case, and if he did all that you said he did, then you have a pretty good chance to recover at least some money or free labor, but in this case, he's refusing to work on it anymore, so maybe just some $$$. It's a shame it's so hard to find someone to trust in the mechanic field. I've had my share of being over charged. I had a run in with Mieneke<IMG src=smileys/smiley7.gif border="0">. When I had my 1995 240sx, they replaced my entire back brake system for $800, only to have to replace it not even a year later for $600. Nothing I could do either, they're individually owned, so my only option is small claims court...but I've kind of given up, too. I suggest making the huge sacrifice and buy a brand new spank'n car, that's what I did! Good luck dude...<IMG src=smileys/smiley22.gif border="0">