Mr.Volks

Hey guys just picked up a 1999 Civic LX, and it kinda has a valve tick, and now my water pump is leaking, so I was wondering what would the best option be for a unemployed college student in cali
Oh and the previous owner said the motor had 90 on it.. but I dunno, cant seem to trust the guy now with all the hidden problems i'm finding.
1: rebuild (just a stock rebuild for 0 miles Just to last me years and years lol )
2: new motor ( stock/used again something to last me years and years, but might need a rebuild later )
3: valve adjustment and new waterpump

only thing with option 3 is I feel like with all the little things that COULD go wrong, I coulda rebuilt the motor or got a new one with low miles.. or at least around 150ish

thumper64

If you could get access to a bore scope to look inside and see if there's still cross hatching on the cylinders, it would give you a hint at the motors health. As well as the condition of the plugs. Maybe just a tune up and fixing the couple things would keep it running another 200k miles.

thumper64

You're not really doing a lot when rebuilding the motor, just replacing bearings and piston rings for the most part.

anothersickhatch

cross hatching on the cylinder walls? how would that be an indication of the motor's health?

supra-n-civic

the onyl thing it would do is help age the motor on a motor that has no indicator of its milage. but thats already known so it wont help.

id go option 3 and buy your self some time to decide what your doing. swapping or what ya know? it will cost you 35 for the water pump and the valve adjusment is free so its a cheap investment to keep you on the road

sde780

I had a 200k motor that still had the factory cross-hatch so idk what you're talking about

compression test first

Snap-off

I would do #3, valve adjustment and water pump and you might as well do timing belt if you don't trust the previous owner. This will definately help prolong the life of your vehicle.

boxeocampeon

i would get a valve adjustmen, replace the timing belt and water pump, and change the spark plugs wires rotor and cap.

thumper64

the cross hatching aids in lubrication and if it's wore out it will be worn down more. Or scoring could indicate it needing to be overbored. It's not the only indication of what condition the motor is in, but it can help. I had a Civic with 180k miles that burnt oil really bad and my aunt's Integra has over 200k and runs like a top. Mileage isn't the only factor on these motors...

lilphokidd

just get a new motor rebuilding is pointless with all the problems

itsnotfast

Just throw in a new water pump and get a valve adjustment. When you do the water pump, I would go ahead and replace the timing belt and tensioner.