so i just finished changing my oil like i regularly do and i started it..no problems. was driving to work and the oil light came on so i made the quickest exit i could but it was to late...i got it into a parking lot and it stalled on me..i tried to start it again and it fired up but would only run at a higher rpm and would just stall out. so i got out and looked on the ground...nothing to be found, inside the engine bay, nothing. so my guess is something got sucked up into the oil pump and starved the top end. either ruining the valve guides and or some other top end stuff. what do you guys think of my situation, should i rip apart the top end. i can get a fully rebuilt d15 with a warrenty for under 1000. i paid 2 for the car and am wondering if its worth saving. i would swap a dohc in but they are pricey around here. any insite into how much damage i caused..?

 

Hmm well i can't say for sure, i've had lots and lots of accords and civics and in my experience with about 3 accords and 1 civic while i'm driving and my oil lights turns on has been with overheating and then the car would shut off or slow down because the car had no water and the engine was getting hot but i've never actually had a dead engine. I also had an eclipse that would leak oil and because i didn't know any better when the oil light turned on i assumed it was a low oil indicator and then i find it that it means i have no oil at all and i would keep running the car even with the oil light always on and i never a dead engine on that one either. I would say maybe you need to let it cool down overnight and see what happens in the morning. Are you sure your engine is totally dead. Maybe it could be something else like your distributor or starter. I know accord and civics well enough to know that they tend to have problems with their distributors and starters.


As to weither you should get another engine i would say if it is a dead engine think about how much you would get for the car with a dead engine. I would say $300 from a buyer at max $400. I would say if you paid $2000 for it you probably have something like a 93-95 you can save the $1000 for a rebuild engine bust out about $1500 plus whatever you get for selling the car your looking at about $2800 you can get yourself something like a 96-97 for $2800. Really it all depends on the condition of your car looks wise and other things like mods, mileage on the dash to take your other parts into consideration, i would say if you got a dead engine, sell it look at it as a trade in and buy yourself something newer if you can afford it. If you can't afford either try a rebuild engine or look for a $1000 transporation car. Plenty of old honda's for $1000 lying around you know.

 

swap in a b20 from passwordjdm.com

 

It does sound like a typical overheating scenario.

Did it still have oil in it, or did all your oil leak out?

The top end can do without oil for much longer than the main and rod bearings can. Either way, if they fail from lack of oil they will get really noisy.

 

sounds to me like the old oil filter ring stuck to the block and you didnt notice it....
ive done it twice on my civic! first time i made it almost to work about 8-10miles away untill the second rubber ring shifted and blew out all my oil leaving a wicked cloud of burning oil behind me down the interstate. and as soon as that oil light came on i killed the motor within a second!
from what ive heard hondas oil lights only come on with afew pounds of pressure which is nothing practically! if you kept driving with the oil light.... its toast!!!! replace the whole motor...

this was my parking spot after i removed the oil filter and extra seal and filled the oil back up.


the second time it happened the seal blew out within 50feet from driving it out of the shop and into my garage.

its definatly a HUGE PITA!!!! one little ruber seal stuck to the block can really kick your @ss.
ive definatly learned my lesson.... check the oil filter that you pull off for the old seal!!!!

my motor didnt make any odd noises, but then again i killed the motor really fast when that oil light came on!!!!
the whole underbody took a bath in the oil! dry dip stick...

 

no that didnt happen i pulled the head and pan and re did the main/rod bearings, and rings. new oil pump and sending unit and now its running great. only down side is when i got the crank machined they couldnt get one little nick on the main journal so i decided to just live with it..its not even noticeble. since i did all the work it only ended up costing a grand. but thats not bad. thanks for the input anyway.

edit-top end checked out alright