ARainer

I am considering buying this Honda Civic 1990. I test drove it today. It actually drives very well but I did notice some issues. First, it looks like there is an engine leak. The leak can be seen on the right side of the engine (I circled it in the picture - Sorry it doesn't show very well here). The leak is there but not enough to accumulate to drip onto the driveway. Should I be concerned about this leak? I don't really hear anything strange when the engine is running but I'm very new to this. I would like to do a motor swap eventually but I need to keep this thing running for at least a year. Right now, it's got about 123k miles on it.

The second issue is there is quite a bit of rust on the rocker panel (see photos), both on the side and underneath. The owner told me that rocker panels are easy to replace and they are not actually part of the underside of the car body. Is this true? There is some rust on the driver's side door hinge as well. The car definitely needs a paint job but I'm not sure how much of a hassle it is to deal with the rust.

All these are part of my consideration whether to buy this car or not. The guy is asking $2k.

Engine leak




Engine leak




Door hinge




rocker panel looking from the side




rocker panel looking from underneath


Any thoughts, recommendations, and advice are greatly appreciated.

White_EG1

Appears to be a distributor O ring leak. I have gone atleast 2 years without replacing it and mine has been leaking just like that, not dripping on the driveway but all over the transmission. And if you put a rag under the distributor and you get oil on it, then it's definitely bad.

Not saying to drive on it forever just that its a minor leak, what should get your attention is that rust, I would pass. Unless the person will get rid of it for next to nothing.


EDIT: He wants 2k? Lol I wouldnt pay more than 1k for that car. That rust is like cancer, it just keeps spreading. Judging by how the OP didnt even try to save it but what looks like he painted over it? And very poorly at that. Guarantee its one of those everything the previous owner touched is fucked up kinda cars. Trust me I'm dealing with one now its a pita.

CrxChicken

well since the first person addressed the oil leak which is probably from the distributor but who knows until you clean it and actually track it back.. like they said its probably not the end of the world... i will address the rocker panels

on a Unibody car without an actual frame .. which is most cars today ..

The Rocker Panel is part of the car's frame so its important to fix that correctly when you buy it.

welding on a new aftermarket rocker is not that difficult but when you remove it you will need to brace the car so it does not sag.

Its pretty easy to do this on a frame rack .. in your driveway or garage its a bit harder.

Rockers normally come in a inner and outer part and the floor is welded to the inner part.

with that much rust I would expect there is much more rust on the car.

Sheet metal is expensive .. if you buy parts its expensive .. if you build patches from a sheet of sheet metal .. also expensive...

I guess it comes down to how much they want for the car.

unfortunately you didn't give us more pictures of the entire car and its interior.

I would expect to spend $500 to get those rockers replaced .. things are expensive now.. i just got the lower half of a house window .. just the glass replaced .. cost me $250 .. so

As long as they aren't asking market value It probably could be ok.. but like I said if its that rusty there .. then there is probably rust in your quarter panels around your wheel wells and maybe in other areas..

That door hinge helper you showed rusted .. real pain to fix.. and you can not just weld them there it never holds.. once they rust or snap there from wear .. most shops try mig welding it in place and then it snaps again in 3 months.. so people just live with it or they go through a lot of pain repairing it.. since its so rusty i probably would mig weld a piece of 18ga metal in there though.

good luck

ARainer

Thanks, guys, for your thoughts on the vehicle. In the CL posting, there are a couple of interior pictures but I didn't take anymore of those when I saw it yesterday. The interior shows its age but nothing I'd put down to abuse. Things like glove box, speaker grill, seats etc. have indeed seen better days. I guess the owner just puts up with these instead of fixing them.

I forgot to mention that the motor mount is also on its way out. If you let off the gas and quickly get back on it, it vibrates a little. Not a huge deal to fix but it does add to the to-do list.

I think I'll take White_EG1 and say no to this one. Sounds like there's quite a bit of work for someone who isn't very experienced like I am.

Thank you again!

v4lu3s

I wouldn't pay more than $500. That's pretty bad rust, last EF I bought was $350 with no rust at all and much straighter body.

M3THTICAL(EF)

iTrader: (1)

Give him 750 at the most. I paid 2200 for my hatch 4 years ago, no rust clean body, runs great.