about to buy a 89 crx si from a guy. says the motor isn't running (stock d16a6 with high compression pistons) due to a thermal sensor.
does this make sense to anyone?
all the temp sensors i know, might make the car run like crap, but not completely keep it from running.
any ideas before i spend money on a car that has more wrong with it than advertised?

 

"High compression pistons" is not "stock." Someone has been dicking with it. Strike 1.

A bad TW/ECT sensor can indeed cause a no-start. However, this is a $37 part that is easy to replace with basic hand tools. I suspect that if it were the only item preventing the car from running, the current owner would have already done it. Strike 2.

A no-start in an early fuel-injected Honda is pretty easy to troubleshoot. If the car is half-decent, I'd personally recruit a friend who knows what they're looking at and do a little troubleshooting on the car to pinpoint the problem prior to making a sale agreement. If it's something simple, buy it and fix it; you don't have to reveal your findings to the owner. If it's something complicated, move on.

 

couldnt agree more

 

Thats good advice.

 

ok...the word stock was my wording not his.
if it's easy to replace, he may just not know what he's doing at all. that sensor is actually inside the head, if i'm correct.


say worst case: the pistons he installed started rapping away at the valves, would the easiest thing to do just be to get a new head? if so....what's a good head that i can find for extremely cheap that'll sit on the d16a6 block? i was looking into trying to find a z9 head, but that requires a new ecu, a new harness, and i'm just not looking at doing that much to get it running if i don't have to.

 

ok, so i got to talk to the guy again. he says it starts and then dies right away. any ideas?