Chain of problems... PLEASE HELP!
#1
04-03-2007, 11:57 PM
Chain of problems... PLEASE HELP!
HELP!!!
I have a 1991 Civic that's suddenly sprung a lot of expensive problems on me and it's getting to where I'm not sure what's really going on... would appreciate a second opinion from the experts in this forum on the next step I should take. I have to use this car on a 2-week trip out of town in 2 weeks, can't really afford any more repairs, and I am not sure the latest suggested fix is correct. Let em explain...
The car is a 1991 Civic DX hatchback with 130K miles. It's kind of a beater, got some dents, the A/C and seat belt doesn't work, and the brake light's been coming on most of the time since a brake job almost 2 years ago (no fluid leaks, sponginess, squeaking, shaking, etc. but it does seem outside temperature-sensitive so assumed it's just a bad sensor... I only tell you that in case it's a clue to the real issues below.) The car gets me to work and back and it's paid for. It's usually only driven around town, mostly just to work and back (about 35 miles a day.)
Like it or not I have to get a few more years out of it.
-----------
Problem 1 (3 weeks ago):
Temp gage went thru roof while driving home, slight whiffs of steam seen coming out from under hood. Got home, discovered a visible leak (the crack was near a metal tab on the very top of the radiator, which holds the air intake tube in place). When the car cooled down, I refilled radiator w/ distilled water. Steam stains were visible on the underside of the hood, not sure how long the leak had been going but that was the first time the temp climbed up. Had to wait for payday before anything could be done, but the next day on the way home from work, it died (very suddenly) as I turned a corner from a stop light. With patience, I was able to get it to start and run long enough to drive it to Mechanic #1 (near work.)
The mechanic ended up replacing the radiator and radiator hoses, and found that the distributor cap was badly cracked, so he replaced that and the rotor. The path of the steam leak from the radiator was somewhat in line with the distributor so I figured that it could have been suffering from steam/coolant infiltration as well, or maybe the steam caused the problem... who knows. He also said that the valve cover gasket was leaking and a couple of plugs were "swimming in oil" and the plugs and wires really needed to be replaced as well, but due to money constraints I could only get the radiator and distributor fixed then. The car then ran as before, thought all was OK for the moment, and planned on doing the plugs and gaskets a paycheck or two later.
-----------
Problem 2 (last Tuesday night):
Coming home from work, turned the wheel and the car just died. I was 30 feet from the parking spot at my apartment, fortunately (how often does THAT happen!?) Attempting to re-start it caused about 3 "normal" sounding revs followed by a bad sound somewhat like a sick St. Bernard belly-flopping into an empty pool. Didn't ever try to fire. We got a nylon strap from work on Wednesday and towed it to Mechanic #2, near my house.
On Thursday he looked at it... as I suspected, the timing belt had broken. He replaced the timing belt, water pump, and also went ahead and replaced the other belts for the cost of parts (since they had been removed anyway.) When I picked up the car that night (after business hours) now it ran but roughly, sounded like it was skipping every now and then, and the Check Engine Light was on (I don't think I've EVER seen it on before). Had to take the car, though I didn't wanna leave the mechanic's lot without them looking at the new issues, but I didn't have a loaner and being without it just wasn't an option.
-----------
Problem 3 (today/Tuesday):
Called the mechanic who changed the timing belt, and told him about the rough running and Check Engine light. He said to bring it by and he'd check on it, which they did. Said that he pulled the error codes and that the whole distributor was shot and needs to be replaced, to the tune of about $370 (including labor). He didn't charge me for this and said that if I could tolerate the car not accelerating quickly, it would at least be drivable for the near term. So I got the car back until I figure out what to do next. It still runs roughly, but at least it runs. They left the carpet pulled up, so serendipitously I discovered where the ECM was... and I had no idea that you didn't need an expensive device to read the computer. Anyway, it's blinking a code of 8 (which traces to the Top Dead Center/TDC sensor.)
-----------
My questions:
Does this really sound like a problem with the distributor, especially since the cap and rotor was replaced 3 weeks ago?
Could the timing belt have blown up the distributor when it broke?
Am I right to be su****ious that the timing belt may have been mistakenly installed without properly aligning everything, and that's the real source of the rough running, the CEL and the TDC alert? (If so, what's the fix... reinstalling it?)
Could it realistically be both of those things?
It's hard to believe the string of problems in one month, especially on top of the $500 ignition coil replacement for my wife's 2001 Civic just one week before my car first blew up. We can't afford any more repairs, but we REALLY can't afford a new car (my wife is screaming at me to ditch my "deathtrap" before we waste another dime on it). What would you all do?
Thank you for any advice!
Merlin
I have a 1991 Civic that's suddenly sprung a lot of expensive problems on me and it's getting to where I'm not sure what's really going on... would appreciate a second opinion from the experts in this forum on the next step I should take. I have to use this car on a 2-week trip out of town in 2 weeks, can't really afford any more repairs, and I am not sure the latest suggested fix is correct. Let em explain...
The car is a 1991 Civic DX hatchback with 130K miles. It's kind of a beater, got some dents, the A/C and seat belt doesn't work, and the brake light's been coming on most of the time since a brake job almost 2 years ago (no fluid leaks, sponginess, squeaking, shaking, etc. but it does seem outside temperature-sensitive so assumed it's just a bad sensor... I only tell you that in case it's a clue to the real issues below.) The car gets me to work and back and it's paid for. It's usually only driven around town, mostly just to work and back (about 35 miles a day.)
Like it or not I have to get a few more years out of it.
-----------
Problem 1 (3 weeks ago):
Temp gage went thru roof while driving home, slight whiffs of steam seen coming out from under hood. Got home, discovered a visible leak (the crack was near a metal tab on the very top of the radiator, which holds the air intake tube in place). When the car cooled down, I refilled radiator w/ distilled water. Steam stains were visible on the underside of the hood, not sure how long the leak had been going but that was the first time the temp climbed up. Had to wait for payday before anything could be done, but the next day on the way home from work, it died (very suddenly) as I turned a corner from a stop light. With patience, I was able to get it to start and run long enough to drive it to Mechanic #1 (near work.)
The mechanic ended up replacing the radiator and radiator hoses, and found that the distributor cap was badly cracked, so he replaced that and the rotor. The path of the steam leak from the radiator was somewhat in line with the distributor so I figured that it could have been suffering from steam/coolant infiltration as well, or maybe the steam caused the problem... who knows. He also said that the valve cover gasket was leaking and a couple of plugs were "swimming in oil" and the plugs and wires really needed to be replaced as well, but due to money constraints I could only get the radiator and distributor fixed then. The car then ran as before, thought all was OK for the moment, and planned on doing the plugs and gaskets a paycheck or two later.
-----------
Problem 2 (last Tuesday night):
Coming home from work, turned the wheel and the car just died. I was 30 feet from the parking spot at my apartment, fortunately (how often does THAT happen!?) Attempting to re-start it caused about 3 "normal" sounding revs followed by a bad sound somewhat like a sick St. Bernard belly-flopping into an empty pool. Didn't ever try to fire. We got a nylon strap from work on Wednesday and towed it to Mechanic #2, near my house.
On Thursday he looked at it... as I suspected, the timing belt had broken. He replaced the timing belt, water pump, and also went ahead and replaced the other belts for the cost of parts (since they had been removed anyway.) When I picked up the car that night (after business hours) now it ran but roughly, sounded like it was skipping every now and then, and the Check Engine Light was on (I don't think I've EVER seen it on before). Had to take the car, though I didn't wanna leave the mechanic's lot without them looking at the new issues, but I didn't have a loaner and being without it just wasn't an option.
-----------
Problem 3 (today/Tuesday):
Called the mechanic who changed the timing belt, and told him about the rough running and Check Engine light. He said to bring it by and he'd check on it, which they did. Said that he pulled the error codes and that the whole distributor was shot and needs to be replaced, to the tune of about $370 (including labor). He didn't charge me for this and said that if I could tolerate the car not accelerating quickly, it would at least be drivable for the near term. So I got the car back until I figure out what to do next. It still runs roughly, but at least it runs. They left the carpet pulled up, so serendipitously I discovered where the ECM was... and I had no idea that you didn't need an expensive device to read the computer. Anyway, it's blinking a code of 8 (which traces to the Top Dead Center/TDC sensor.)
-----------
My questions:
Does this really sound like a problem with the distributor, especially since the cap and rotor was replaced 3 weeks ago?
Could the timing belt have blown up the distributor when it broke?
Am I right to be su****ious that the timing belt may have been mistakenly installed without properly aligning everything, and that's the real source of the rough running, the CEL and the TDC alert? (If so, what's the fix... reinstalling it?)
Could it realistically be both of those things?
It's hard to believe the string of problems in one month, especially on top of the $500 ignition coil replacement for my wife's 2001 Civic just one week before my car first blew up. We can't afford any more repairs, but we REALLY can't afford a new car (my wife is screaming at me to ditch my "deathtrap" before we waste another dime on it). What would you all do?
Thank you for any advice!
Merlin
#2
04-04-2007, 12:11 AM
RE: Chain of problems... PLEASE HELP!
Im not a mechanic or anything but it sounds like when Mechanic 1 replaced your cap and rotor he didnt align the new rotor correctly which caused your timing to be off, which caused your belt to break. This happened with my 89 civic. Just like you,after that happened it stalled and I had more troubles, this time it was the ECM and Map sensor. The Map sensor is located inside your distributor, which could cause you to need a whole new distributor like mentioned. IF it was me, I'd repair it and tell your wife even if you drop a grand a year into repairing your "deathtrap" it would still be cheaper then payments on a new(or used) car. Also I'm sure your insurance is cheaper to.
Another thing, since you have an older car you should expect stuff like this to go wrong. A good Idea is to put aside like $50 a month for your car in savings for events like this so you can get your car back on the road again.
Another thing, since you have an older car you should expect stuff like this to go wrong. A good Idea is to put aside like $50 a month for your car in savings for events like this so you can get your car back on the road again.
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