Hey everyone,
Just getting some input, figured this would be a somewhat common question though I was surprised not to find much about it in my threads search.I have a Honda Civic 97 LX, today while on the highway it sputtered to a stop. This was not before it made some serious clanking noises. There was an oil leak (it happened fast apparently), and one quick observation from the towing guy said a valve was bent (pretty much all the oil was gone), and that the engine was done and needed to be replaced. Of course I started doing research about it when I got home, some people talking about it on line say it isn't over for the engine (but serious work needs to be done, parts replacement inside it), others say it is toast. Anyway, any thoughts or input are greatly appreciated. For a used engine it looks like about 600-700.00 at the lowest, another 1000.00 or so for labor. Would rather the current engine be fixed at a lower cost than getting a new one...
Alex

 

doesnt sound good , if the timing belt broke & bent the valves , to do that job alone will cost close to $1000(after replacing all or most of the valves, new belt ect.), then you may still have an oil issue , so dropping in a used motor will be the fastest way to get it back on the road, years ago when i first got my 97 lx, i picked up a motor from a junkyard for $500 with 39k on & put it in myself


if you do get a junkyard motor , put a new timing belt on it , so you dont go thru this agian

 

Yeah buy a complete used engine with a guarantee. You'll almost certainly be money ahead in the long run.

Where did the oil leak out? If it's from the plug or the filter you may have some recourse with whoever changed the oil last.

 

dito if ya just had the oil changed and it ends up missing the drain plug or filter not on tight...

so depends if ya did it yourself or paid to have it done at a shop... if ya paid it to be done at a shop go demand that they pay for the replacement!!!!!!!

but if you did it yourself or had a friend do it then your prety much screwed
or if the plug and filter is on tight and it was just your timing belt snaped or oil pump locked up theres nothing you can do....



it sounds to me like youve got bad oil starvation which probably threw a rod thru the block...
definatly not worth repairing if even posible.... if its starved from oil for even a few seconds and ran dry will trash every bearing in the motor and gald all the piston walls... puting strain on all the internal parts of the motor!

but 1K bucks labor seems high to me.....if ya got most common tools, a hoist and time.... you can do the swap yourself. just buy the same motor stamped on the front and if ya buy a complete motor with the wireharness than its simply plug and play.... not really hard but will take some time with your first motor pull...

easier to pull motor and tranny at the same time IMO.