vexir

My coolant leaked out during the day and my car overheated while driving on the freeway (grey/white smoke coming out of the vents and the hood). Pulled over, got towed to a mechanic, and was told the head gasket was blown. Another mechanic told me the coolant leaked out because the radiator was cracked, so that'll need to be repaired too.

The car is a Green '96 Civic EX with about 123k miles on it. I looked up the blue book value to be around $2k-$2.6k. The mechanic (in brief conversation) said it'd be around a $1k repair.

I'm not very knowledgeable about repairs or buying used cars in general. I could use some advice on whether or not I should do the repair or just junk/sell the thing for minimal cash and buy a used car. Every day I don't make a decision is another day I'm shelling out for a rental car, so I need to pull the trigger on something fast.

A couple things weighing into the decision:

1) It seemed like repair might be a good option because it'd take the time pressure off compared to speed-hunting for a used car. I work 40-50 hour weeks and I don't have a lot of time to spend shopping around; but I've never bought a used car so I don't know how lengthy the process of researching and buying is. I wouldn't want to pull the trigger early on something because I was feeling the time pressure. Any opinions on this?

2) Repair also seemed like a good option because even if I sold the car and bought a new one, I'd come out ahead because $2.5k - $1k = $1.5k that could go towards a new car. If I didn't do the repair, I've heard I could at most sell the car to a mechanic for $500. However $1k was a casual quote from the mechanic on the phone. Do you guys agree with that assessment or am I actually looking at a different number to repair?

3) Many people have said to weigh the cost of repair against the value of the car. It seems like it's the right choice, but I want to know if I'm missing any information or not considering something correctly. Is the repair too costly to justify the expense? Should I just go for a used car?

4) For a decent, driveable, not-ancient (I'd hope at least 2000 or younger) used car, what kind of cost range am I looking at committing to? What are the risks of getting a car that could possibly conk out on me because of some problem the seller didn't disclose?

Thanks for your help!

Texas4door

$1000?!
Holy ****...was that JUST for the head gasket or was that the radiator and head milling too?
Jeez, the rates these days are nuts
Ok, if you can set aside a day or so, (or even better, a weekend) you can do the repair yourself with just simple hand tools (the most important of which is a good, accurate torque wrench)
You can find plenty of videos and instructions on how to repair this yourself (I did my own with next to no automotive experience a few years ago outside of exhaust and audio work)
Hell, all you really need is a head gasket repair kit, new head bolts, and torque numbers which can be pulled off the net.
Add to that new oil, coolant, and a radiator and I'll bet you can do it all yourself for WAY under $500.
The worst part might be if your cylinder head is warped, in which case take it to a machine shop and have them mill it (or buy a rebuilt or good used head online)
You can do this and the folks here can help (tis how I got it done and how I got started here on Honda-Tech)

vexir

Well, I'm not sure exactly how much it would cost - the $1000 figure came from the mechanic but it's Saturday night and shops are closed so I can't get any hard quotes till Monday probably.

I considered repairing it myself but it just seems like it's going to take a lot of time and it's risky - I know NOTHING about car engines. I'd be willing to learn if I had spare time, but I rarely do. I could probably mess something up easily and I could also just keep putting it off and rack up hundreds of dollars in rental car charges.

I also don't know for sure that the head gasket is the only thing screwed up - what are the chances of something else in the engine being broken and me not catching it? I wouldn't even begin to know what to look for in other parts of the engine.

94EG8

Chances are the rad cracked from excessive pressure in the cooling system caused by a blown headgasket.

What else are you missing? Has it had a timing belt recently? It has to come off anyway to pull the head so unless it's almost new it absolutely makes sense to replace it now when the labour is essentially nothing on that job when it would normally be several hundred. The same goes for the water pump (insist on a genuine Honda waterpump if you have any say at all. They're about double the price of an aftermarket unit, but still reasonably cheap and it wont start leaking in 30k) New cam and crank seals are never a bad idea either, and a new OEM honda thermostat.

As far as cost goes $1000 is around 3 months worth of car payments on about the cheapest new car you can find. I don't mind spending $1000 on a car every year for repairs if that car is paid for and it keeps me from having to make a monthly payment, even if the car isn't worth a whole lot more than that.

Texas4door

Get a decent diagnosis from a trust-worthy mechanic on Monday
Leak-Down Check and compression test it to make sure you didn't mess anything else up
If it's JUST the head gasket (and there's no real way to tell 100% until you have the head off), the repair is pretty straight forward-the only new parts are the head bolts and gaskets

Trust me, this is one of the simplest motors out there to work on
You DO NOT wanna get something used that's more complicated and possibly even more expensive to fix if the situation arises
That's the reason why I've kept mine for so long: easy to diagnose, easy and cheap to fix, and hard as hell to really screw something up on accident

Since you're kinda stuck where you are until Monday anyway, spend Sunday doing some research and figure out what you wanna do for sure
That's my advice for you
If you intend to fix it yourself, search out further help here
If you intend to have someone else fix it, make sure it's someone trustworthy who won't fleece you for extra cash
(tip: don't go to a big repair chain shop like Firestone, Goodyear, NTB, etc---they're WAY to expensive for the work they do, work that ANYONE with hand tools and a little information can do themselves, IMO)

vexir

I think the last time the timing belt was replaced was at 90k miles, so it's been about 33k and a few years since it was done. That's a good tip - I'll be asking the mechanics about that.

As for finding a good place to get the repair done - any tips? I'd really love to know what kind of cost I should be expecting (or if $1k is about right) so I have a sense of if I'm being conned. Since it's a straightforward repair would it be weird or unwise to poke around on Craigslist and see if any mechanics in the area might want to do it for cheaper just to earn some cash on the side or something?

VTECwalka

I had a really bad leak in one of my Radiator hoses and i also ended up loosing all my coolant. As you said You had smoke coming out from the hood while driving(as i did) and i assume a huge cloud of smoke came out from the hood when opening it(same with me)

I was still way off home and didn't have the money to call for a tow, So i waited untill the heat gauge was low and i drove it all the way home. Started hearing weird sounds so i thought for sure i blew my head gasket even my father(who worked on cars allot when he was younger)thought i blew it.

Bought new coolant,hoses the next day, replaced them, started the car up, drove fine no blown head gasket.

Now this could just have been me getting lucky. But i thought i'd share that with you.

If you are still even thinking of repairing it your self I'd just like to say I came to Honda-Tech about a year and a half ago knowing NOTHING about my first car that being a honda, Other than changing my oil and brakes i new nothing about cars at that time.

Now because of the very helpful members of Honda-tech I know i could change my head gasket without a problem with the guidance of Honda-Tech and i have never done it before. (Plus it's a 4 cylinder it can't be that hard)

When i thought mine was blown i was told it would cost around $500 by my mechanic(He's more like a family mechanic now as we have gone to him for years) So maybe that's just a discount I don't know.

If mine had blown i WOULD have had it repaired. I bought my car for $2.5k and junking it for $500-$1000 would have gotten me a motorcycle where i live.

Hope you decide quick, rentals suck!

94EG8

As far as the cost goes, you might want to check out any idependant shops that specialize in Hondas or japanese cars. Remember that if a shop/mechanic is used to doing these he can turn one out a lot faster than someone who isn't and is just feeling their way along. That makes a big difference in the labour cost unless the shop uses flat rate. Sometimes even the dealer is quite reasonable as the flat rate time for replacing a headgasket in one of those cars is pretty low.

KINGVEM^^ED6

iTrader: (1)

I know some one who will do it waaaaaay cheaper

Pm me if you like

hwyix

iTrader: (1)

If he does a ghetto head gasket job ( just replace the head gasket ) I think $1000 is real high.


Do you have a break down of the cost? Depending on what is included $1000 might not be that bad. Alladata has 4.3 hours just to do a head gasket, but a lot of places myself included will tell you since you already have the head off would like to do xyz, etc ( timing belt, water pump, drive belts, tensioner, bearings.

99.99999% of the mechanic shops I know have to farm out machine work. So, some of that cost is not even going to him.

vexir

This is one of the things I'm struggling with - how can I even be sure that my gasket is blown? If the damn thing is in the middle of the engine, can the mechanics be sure that it's blown?

Also, is it possible that sealing it is an option?

Not yet. Shops are mostly closed today so I'll be phone-shopping around on Monday morning. I'll update this thread with any numbers I grab a hold of.

Honestly I'd love to repair it myself. I just don't think I have the time or the energy to do it - work + classes + the time it takes to repair it myself + the time it takes to acquire all the tools + the time it takes to do the research. Maybe some day when I'm not in school and also don't work a 9-7/8pm

Thanks for being encouraging though. Honda-Tech helped me fix my window last year and if I did want to make a major repair this is definitely the place I'd come to!

94EG8

Block tester, compression and leakdown tests will all give you a really good idea if it is or not. That said from the symptoms you described it really does sound like you have a blown headgasket.

No. It needs to come apart and be replaced.

1991_crxsi

iTrader: (1)

Mechanics are expensive. The machine shop will charge to do the head milling only about 60-100. If the guy does your timing belt, idler/tensioner, water pump, head milled, change your oil and coolant (which he has to do), and replace the radiator cap (because they are like $8 and sometimes go bad after about 100K-150K miles), I think with parts and labor it's not all that bad. Here is why: You pay him $1000 and, so long as you maintain your vehicle you have a car that should last another 100K miles easy. Furthermore, even if something breaks on the car, fixing it is easy (if you have mechanical skills) and parts are relatively cheap and readily available. Where else are you going to get a car for $1000 that will last you 100K miles? Of course if you or a friend do it you can save a bundle. I just did mine 2 weeks ago. I pulled the head off on the weekend, took it to the machine shop during the week, (rented a car for the week from enterprise for $150), and then put it on the next weekend. Total cost with the car rental was under $400.