I have a 98 Prelude w/ about 110K miles and had the engine light come on this past weekend. The car was idle-ing harder than usual. I don't know anything about cars so I kinda have to "rely on advice." Anyway, I finally got a chance to take it to Autozone to do their quick test and they basically gave me something like "Miscelleanous Random Cylinder Misfires." Replaced the spark plugs w/ some Bosch Platinum 2 last night and finally took it in to Mieneke this morning. Mieneke basically told me that my 4th cylinder was outputting only about 20 psi, when it should be at about 160-180 AND told me not to drive it because fuel is getting into the CAT. Mieneke recommends I swap engines or maybe even invest in a new car. Several friends thinks that something doesn't seem right. I'm going to the Honda dealer to get a second opinion. Suckie part about this is how much they charge just to plug a few things here and there and turn the key. In case I need to actually swap the engine, does anybody know if I should consider a used engine or just bite the bullet and buy a new car? Does anybody know any good shops around the Woodbridge, VA area that does this type of stuff?

Thanks

 

A muffler shop did the compression test? Id wait to see what Honda says. If your 4th cylinder is blown, it might just be a headgasket. Its worth investigating before buying another motor or a new car.

 

It could be the head gasket, like stated above, or your piston rings on that cylinder are gone. You can check to oil and/or coolant and see if they have mixed. Thats a sign of a bad head gasket. Have you mis-shifted or had any timming belt problems to where you could have bent a valve?

A new headgasket would be alot cheaper to replace than if you had bad piston rings. Find out exactly what is wrong with it before you go spending thousands of dollars. You might not have to spend that much.

 

the misc cly misfire perplexes me..... if it were cly 4, i would have thought that it would have thrown a code specifically for cyl 4...... i thought that misc cly misfire was for when the dizzy starts to go and misfires on all cyls...

anyway.... low comp on 1 cly is no need to buy a whole new car.... worste case you have to either buy a new engine or rebuild your current one, both cheaper than a new car....

and i would not trust honda very much either....

 

do a leak down test..... if you can hear air coming out of the oil cap, your rings are done. if you hear air coming out of your IM or exhuast ports, then your valves are bent.

just trying to think of more cheaper ways to diagnose

 

yeah this just happend to my car the other day too.
but my engine already has 173k miles on it.
surprised it didn't last longer than it did.
the shop said i should probably look into getting a new engine.
repairing a cylinder is gona cost me 2g's parts nd labor.
how lame.
found an h22a4 for 1700 w/ 20k some miles?
like everyones been saying.
run those tests.
could be minor.
rather do that than replace the whole engine.

 

Hey thanks for everyone's help
I just came back from the Honda dealership and to make a long story short with all the details, their estimate is 1205.88 (Pull Head + Possible Pull Motor to Inspect) + 5490 (used short block + labor install) = $6695.88 (Ridiculous). Let's not even talk about the "trade-in value" since that was just a rip-off too.
Um.. I wish they would tell me exactly what test they ran and stuff, but it's basically the same as what Mieneke told me (only this time, my 4th cylinder is at 10 psi). Seems like I"m gonna blow up on the road or something the way they made it sound.
Anyway, I talked to some more friends and they recommended that I find a small shop and ask for a "top overhaul on my 4th cylinder" (whatever that means.... so I guess I"m gonna have to go research that). Btw, a few others were asking me if my engine has smoke (because of the bad cylinder)... well.. there's no smoke coming from the hood, inside the car or whatever.

Anyway, thanks again... now I"m gonna have to find a ride to class.

 

this is really ironic because this just happend to me too.
they said it would cost 2200 in repairs to cylinder 4.
i said eff that.
you should do what i do.
i went on jspecautosports and im ordering a used h22a4 for 1700.
1700 [engine] + 200 [shipping ] + 700 [installation] > 8000 for what the shop said.
shops here in washington are just effin' jerks.

 

Thanks VTEC
I actually got quoted with the same thing to fix the 4th cylinder as well. I won't mention any names, but yeah... approx ~2K.
Anyway, what I ended up doing was actually getting another friend's advice and called this one mechanic all the way up in Manchester, MD (about 105 miles away from where I live). They said that they would rebuild my engine for ~2K to 2.5K (max) depending on what he finds on Tuesday (when he actually gets to see what's wrong... although now, seems like everybody's leaning toward a burnt valve).
I asked a couple of friends and they said that ~2k to rebuild the engine is a pretty good deal. Their shop seemed like the best choice cos I needed a quick resolution. NoVA sucks cos you're pretty much stuck if you don't have a car to get to work and stuff.
I visited the site you mentioned and seemed like a good place to buy stuff. The best link I found there (as a noob) is Engine Maintenance under the Tech Center.

Aight, let me know how your stuff turns out

 

personally i would just go with a new engine and part out with the old one. the way i see it is if your engine is starting to rack up on miles like mine [173k] then the performance and longevity of it will only go down [if i keep it stock] so i figured, buy a used one guarenteed 20-60k on it for 1700 and i got a shop to install it for 700. ppl here are `itches. so 2600 including shipping. will getting upgraded sleeves increase performance or life of the engine? like the cast iron or is that the stock ones. sorry noob question.

 

Actually, a new engine would be more expensive. With time, fund and knowledge constraints, the rebuild was the best choice for me (only time will tell if that theory holds up) Are you from NoVA because I don't know where you found someone that will install it for only 700. Anyway, my car also only has 110K miles on it. Supposedly, she's still quiet young. As far as guarantees, the guy who I"m getting my stuff fixed at guarantees upto 60K (for the engine overhaul), but he said that he's built lots of them an they all have tacked on 100K after the overhaul. I figured for the same amount, (both to do an engine overhaul or fix the busted valve, or get a used engine... I was gonna pay the same amount). I took the engine overhaul because I at least know the history of "MY" engine after it has been fixed, opposed to a new-used one's where I can just hope that I got a good deal.

As far as your question, I"m sorry, I don' t know. I"m a noob too. I"ll try to look it up and let you know if I find an answer

 

Hey found an answer for you...maybe

http://www.eindiancompanies.co...g.htm

A friend told me that you should use cast iron and shaving off less than 1/32" wont hurt it at all (I guess if you're gonna oversize your pistons). You might want to post this around and see if you get similar responses.

Btw, my bad... I should have looked and saw that your location is in WA.
Aight, hope this helps..

 

thanks a lot.
i'll do that.
yeah i got real luck with this tech who's gona install my engine.
it's funny cuz when i called them up the head tech answered.
he quoted 700 at least.
handed the fone over to the boss and he quoted 1100.
what a bastard. tryna rip us off like everyone else.
thankfully he obliged to the 700 offer.
i just got back from the shop.
they said 880 final.
80/hr x 11 hrs = 880.
i guess that's fair enough.
i should be a tech.. i make in 10 hrs what they make in one.. damn..
haha.

but the thing is.
im parting out my old engine.
so with the money im getting from that will go to my new pistons nd sleeves.
then on with my wishlist..
im tryna hit 250 minimum going na.