artgeek09

So we bought this car used not too long ago, and it started making a clicking noise from the engine every now and then. I was told by one mechanic that looked at it that it would most likely just need a valve adjustment. It has 138,2xx miles. Just took in in yesterday to get Honda to look at it, and was told that there was something wrong with the 4th cylinder and that I needed to replace the short block to fix it.

Here's a video I made of the noise:
The exact wording on the Honda Service Summary was this:
"CS Engine clicks at times--speed of clicking sound is based on RPMS--sounds like a rattlesnake--happens about 40% of the time and is sometimes louder than others. Was happening this morning--
Performed valve adjustment for noise and after adjustment the noise was still there. Replaced spark plugs and when unplugged #4 cylinder the noise went away.Found noise in #4 cylinder. Found has wrist pin or piston noise. Needs short block to take care of noise - can continue driving car but will need to be easy on car and if gets worse will need short block. Est on short block, chain. chain adj. guides. headset $4259 (15.0) all parts special order). "

Please oh please tell me there's some other way to take care of this. Grad student here and can't afford a $5,000 repair on a car I just bought. Does that price sound reasonable?

Also, how the heck would this problem even happen? We haven't been hard on it in the 8 months we've had it. A manufacture defect? Previous abuse?

lazlong

Previous abuse/lack of maintenance.

Get a second opinion. Try to find an independent shop that specializes in Hondas. Pretty much any shop is gonna charge you $1000 for the engine and $2000 for the labor.

You could try finding a salvage engine: http://www.car-part.com/ but it's still gonna costs ya $1000 for a decent one. Then you have to find an import shop that does swaps (they can often times change out the engine cheap with same day service) or a "shade tree" mech but, you're taking your chances with a shade tree.

Hardedge

That's not a real diagnosis. The noise has to be completely pinpointed, you may have to pay to take **** apart and figure it out, but you don't just throw a short block at it. Besides, if you unplug a cylinder and it's a mechanical noise, the noise will still be there. You say the problem is intermittent and varies in severity, but increases with RPM? Valve cycles, fuel injection, and ignition also increase with RPM, and these modern cars are designed to shut off the fuel injector of any misfiring cylinder, so if they shut off ignition to cylinder 4 and the noise went away, it may be a bad fuel injector. An injector would probably be about a $350 repair, I would find an honest mechanic who specializes in Hondas, definitely get a second and third opinion, and only authorize a repair with someone who guarantees their diagnosis, meaning they charge you for one repair and if it doesn't fix it, then they pay for it til it's fixed. The noise is pretty loud, and sounds mechanical, but that Honda dealer is yanking you around. Besides, if they're just gonna replace a short block, they may as well repair this one rather than you pay for a whole new one.

Bocan

Is your stealership smoking crack????

$4259????

You could get a replacement engine with under 10k miles delivered to your door for half that!

Hey pm me on here ill tell you what to do