I've got a '98 all stock Civic EX 1.6 with 247,000 on the clock. Leaking head gasket. Don't want to continue to drive it and risk ruining it. All maintainence done on a regular basis (timing belts etc etc) and I'm the original owner. Checked on a rebuilt motor thru White Brothers today. $2099.00 WITH the core original motor ($305)!! 3 year warranty. But at the end of the day, it's still a '98 Honda Civic with alot of miles on it. Could replace the motor and 2 days later it could be wrecked & totaled and all that $$$ would be wasted.

Options:

Pull the motor, rebuild it / repair the head gasket problem, and at the same time, have the tranny rebuilt while the motor's out?

repair the head gasket problem, have the head redone & reassemble, while possibly getting a used motor in the meantime to rebuild with no pressure / time constraints, to have waiting when the original needs to be replaced?

Or does anybody here know where a good rebuilt motor can be had for a reasonable amount of $$$.

I'm having to drive my '04 GM 3500 Dually with a 496 big block in it and needless to say, it's eating me up in gas. It's pretty much used as a trailer puller and was never intended to be a 'daily driver'!!

Thanks for any opinions!! Mark

 

First, do you need a rebuild? Sounds like the engine is healthy except for the HG? I mean, at 250k you might need one, but if its not burning oil and compression is fine, for a DD that you dont want to dump a lot of money into, I'd probably just get the new HG and have the head done and call it a day. If you start to blow out the bottom end, it's not going to happen overnight, so you could have time to save up.

 

No problems with the motor in regards to smoking or oil consumption. It's been a great little motor, but then again, it's always been well maintained. I'm just thinking that as soon as the head gasket issue is resolved, then the transmission will start acting up. Other than 2 flushes, nothing has ever been done to it & it's not gonna last forever.....yep, the joys of having a high mileage car!

 

So yea, I probably wouldn't go through the trouble of a rebuild. Two things I do when my hondas hit 100,000 miles is buy a spare coil/ignitor so I dont get stranded, and I start putting 100 bucks a month into a savings account so that there's money to fix stuff when it breaks without being too traumatic to the wallet. You still come out ahead vs buying a newer car considering the cost of insurance, depreciation, and loan interest.

PS, what kind of oil do you use?

 

It's a question of do you want to keep the car for a long time or a short time? So you have to think: Is the car going to last longer or shorter if I fully repair the engine. If the answer is shorter put the least amount of money in it. If you think the car can last a long time with a fully rebuilt engine then go for it. Of course, a new car will go a long time too with less headache and less worry.

 

Slap in a new gasket and see what you have. This can be done with the engine in the car. If you haven't driven overheated and it wasn't burning oil before, there should be considerable life left in your old engine.

 

That's a good suggestion on carrying a spare ignition coil. I had that happen to me back in 2002. Replaced it and have had no other problems. I've been using castrol 20w 50 oil for years. It has never burned a drop of oil, although the main seal is starting to leak oil; just something else that will have to be replaced at some point. But right now, that's the least of my worries!

 

That's exactly what I'm going to do. get a Fel Pro head gasket kit and go from there; I'm also going to replace the AC compressor and dryer. It's the original. It still works, but with 247,000+ on it, it's not gonna last and that will be the next thing to bite the dust. May as well while the top half of the motor's off......

 

I'm going to repair the head gasket problem and go from there. I'll find a used engine here locally and take the time and rebuild it. Then I'll just keep it as a spare until it's needed. If I never end up using it, I can always sell it. That way, when the original motor needs to be rebuilt, I'll already have one ready to go.

 

Heck, you could probably buy an entire 98 for as much as the engine separately....then you'll always have parts even if the first one gets wrecked.

Was that castrol 20w50 synthetic or non synthetic? Just curious since there's been some heated threads lately saying that synthetic is going to make the engine last longer.