So,

I posted in my car models section and was pointed her instead. I have a roommate who owns a 1993 Honda Civic. LX I believe is the Trim. Well about a month ago she was driving home and suddenly the temperature jumped and the car shut off on her and she heard a pop. Well it's been sitting the last two weeks. Two weeks ago she started driving it again, but it kept overheating. It drove fine till the temperature went to H, it simply shut off. No noise no nothing.

Today I went ahead, and replaced a leaking pipe coming from the engine to another spot. It was a small leak, more like a trickle. Then I started it up and it overheated again. I replaced the Radiator Gasket, Thermostat, and also the seal for the Thermo. It started up fine and ran perfectly fine for about 15 minutes. Then suddenly it started to stutter and the engine idled out. Now when the I turn the key, all I here is the car TRYING to start but it won't. It's not a dead battery sound, more like no combustion is happening.

So yeah, nice story. I am dumbfounded, a whole 5 hours of work and making stuff work is now gone due to another problem. Two questions.

1) Could it be that the Head on the motor is cracked? And if so what will the cost be around or how much approximate for a shop to shave it?

2) When the car was running I heard a small whistling noise from the hose that went directly from the radiator to the motor. Like air was leaking, at the same time the radiator fluid area was leaking out like back pressure. Could that be from too much air in the system?

Some assistance would be greatly appreciated. And no I am not a mechanic, just a person who has a lot of people that knows cars and well frankly I am trying to help my roommate out here lol

Edit: Another question. I was checking the title and the information on the car itself. I did NOT see the trim of the car. The car shop said the thermostat for a Honda Civic LX for the year 1993 would fit an EX if it was that instead. And yes my car is a Coupe, so I don't think it's an LX.

 

Almost guarenteed blown headgasket. Its not usually worth replacing the headgasket in a D15B7, the usually keep blowing headgaskets after they go once, usually cheaper in the long term to buy a used JDM engine. Do a compression test first and see what you get for numbers.

 

hhmm,, ok and where can I do that test? I doubt Walmart can do it. Gotta keep it cheap

As for a JDM engine. What will they cost? or more frankly, what SHOULD she look for? She ain't into cars, so I just really need a regular engine to look for. We have tons of Junkyards here in Orlando, I am sure I can find one there, but what should she get? lol

I was thinking something along what my 03 LX has, a D17A1 or a D16. Also couldn't I just swap heads from said motors? Or the entire Engine Block has to be changed?

Yes I am trying to be cheap on this car cause she's a budgeted girl lol


Edit: On another note, I don't know if it's an LX. The title doesn't have the trim, and I have NO idea where to find it on the car. The Driver side doesn't have a sticker telling what it is either :/

 

I think autozone rents compression testers. Not sure though, we don't have autozones in canada.

SOHC non vtec ZC is probably your best bet, like the one in this link http://www.sunrisejdmmotors.com/engi...p?id=86&page=4 direct drop in replacement engine.

A D17A1 will cost you a fortune to swap in, its just about as much work as it is to put in a K-series.

D16 you can swap in, but if its a '96 - '00 you will need swap on your intake, exhaust, distributor, alternator, etc. In the case of a D16, yes you can swap the head. But beware the block deck surface may have also warped.

It should be on sticker on the passengers side of the trunk lid. Or you can post the forst 6 digits of the vin and I can figure out what came in it for an engine. Although basically if it has a factory power moonroof it has a D16Z6, otherwise its a D15B7.

 

if your having problems with the rad. hose leaking and your over heating my first thing and the cheapest bet would be replace the thermostat if its sticking that could be your problem good luck

 

Already did the Thermostat replacement as I said in the post.

94, I will try and get you the VIN. However yes it DID come stock with a Power Sun/Moon Roof. Whichever it is lol. I keep getting told it's an SI, but I don't believe it when I see the engine. I will try and get the engine off the Block itself.

For the D16, I could just switch the heads?

 

It it came stock with the power moonroof, its an EX and comes with the same D16Z6 found in the Si hatchback and EX coupe. vin should start xxxEH9, the xxx part isn't important here, just the 3 digits following. You can swap the head for another D16Z6 head, but again the block deck surface may have warped. Also disregard my earlier link as that will not be direct engine replacement anymore. a D15B Vtec would be an excellent choice though. see link http://www.sunrisejdmmotors.com/engi...p?id=15&page=2

 

Thanks a lot for the help man. So it's an EX then? Ok, now I can go tell my friends they WERE wrong and it wasn't an SI lol

Alright, I will look into the price for the Head Gasket, and the D16 Head. However if the D15B would be better I might look into seeing if she would rather just do the swap and have a settled vehicle.

Again, thanks everyone for the help. Lets hope I can reply in the next few days if it was just the head gasket *crosses fingers* :/

 

if you do replace the headgasket remember to use new headbolts, or ARP headstuds. In either case it would be very wise to replace the timing belt and water pump at this time.

 

lol, I keep reading that everywhere lol.

However, the timing belt was just replaced like 3 months ago and I believe the water pump was done about 4-5 ago. So eh.

 

(Posted on Clubcivic.com and got some information, just wanted to see if I could get other opinions ))

Ok,

This morning I had to use my OWN car to start my roommates car. Seems the battery if shot (another problem great).

Anyways the car runs smoothly, but white smoke pours from the exhaust. My friend told me it's the head Gasket so we shut off the car. We removed the spark plugs and checked, we didn't see any coolant there, but when we checked the oil it was low on the dipstick. So I put in a quart and ran it for a little bit. The white smoke came out only after letting the car idle, NOT when the gas was pressed. We checked the oil again and it seemed a little watery. My friend told me it's the Headgasket. So I should just replace that and the battery.

What would yall say about this:: http://www.autopartswarehouse.com/de...QFP9915PT.html

I noticed my Local Advance Auto Parts has them in stock. I wanted to check before purchasing.

 

Your link is dead, just gives me a 404 error. If you do replace the headgasket most guys recommend the D16Y8 metal gasket from the '96 - '00 EX coupe.

 

im guessing this is just a daily driver. it sounds to me like the head gasket is gone. if it was me i would pull the head and have it checked for warpage and cracks. driving it with a bad head gasket couldve trashed the head. if its bad id go to the junk yard and find one (have it tested also). if shes not looking for more power there is no reason to hassle with swapping an entire motor. its more time and money than its worth. specially if you having an shop do it and dont know if theyre going to do it right or not.

there is no reason to replace the head bolts on a stock motor. they are not toqure to yeild and as long as the threads are ok they can be reused. also as far as the vin# goes the first six digets should be either 1HGEJ1 or 2HGEJ1 if its an ex

also stop running it with a blown gasket, it will only make things worse.

 

they are stretch bolts and cant be used agian. i haven't known a honda engine that didnt have them. they are a cheap insurance to have new one's anyway

 

It is believe it or not easier to pull and replace and engine than it is to replace a headgasket. I've done both. Theres also a whole lot more ways you can seriously screw up replacing a headgasket. Theres not a whole lot you can screw up replacing on engine with another almost identical engine, at least externally. That coupled with the fact that i've seen so many competent mechanics change headgaskets in D-series hondas and still have repeated failures tends to make me suggest replacing the engine, then you know what you've got.

Honda very definitely tells you to replace to replace the headbolts when replacing a head gasket if you read the manual.

I got the impression it was a sedan, EX JHMEH9. If its a coupe you're right though

Yes, definitely, bearings do not like coolant at all.