i have a 96 civic EX and recently all three accessory belts fell off randomly while i was driving. i bought the belts figuring itd be a simple replacement and come to find that the crankshaft pulley was knocking irratically so i took it to a local mechanic who comes back telling me that the engine needs to be replaced. he claims that whoever last changed the timing belt (which was changed by me a month or two ago) put the keyway back in wrong and it chewed up my crankshaft. My girlfriends brother recently took his entire engine out and rebuilt it because of the exact same situation only coming to find that the job could've been fixed for 20 dollars from a junkyard. Any ideas on what i could do? I've never really done a fix like this and im trying to get as much research and feedback i can so i dont screw my entire investment up. Any help would be appreciated. thanks

 

You can bronze or weld the end of the crankshaft with a gas welder (if you use an electric welder you run the risk of arcing through the bearings) and grind and file out a new keyway.

 

Depends how chewed up it is. IF it cant hold a new pully straight and keyway, you are screwed.

 

Post pictures.

 

ight ill get some pictures. i got a honda guy givin me a second opinion on it but i appreciate the help. ill get some on here once i get a chance to look at it myself. do i have to machine a new keyway or can one be purchased? its kinda my only car and im low on resources here unfortunately.

 

lets say i went ahead and said screw it and bought a new crankshaft, how much you think it would cost me to get the crankshaft, four new pistons and rocker arms (if those are what connect to the piston, again im a noob at this)? and also how much time would it take me and my gf (also a noob at this) to fix this with her brother on the phone guiding us (who recently took rebuilt his entire engine on his 95 del sol with 350,000 miles on it because his car was doing the exact same thing)? i apologize for the completely complicated question. lol

 

The keyway is a channel running through the length of the snout on the crank. It should be about 1/4" deep and maybe an inch long or so. The D16Y8 engine in your car is junk to start with, but that's because they normally spin a rod bearing and throw it out the side of the block. Either get another motor, or get another crank.

Your pistons and rods will be fine. infact, you could pull the motor and just take the oil pan off and replace the crank without touching the top end. This would be the time to do a compression test and see if it's time to re-ring it. If compression numbers and a leak down test check out, just replace the crank, check your clearances with Plasti Gauge, and call it good.

As for a ghetto keyway fix. Maybe the grinding and refilling and grinding could fix it, but I'm just a bit leary of that.

 

Replacement motors are cheaper than rebuilding, IF anything else in the engine is damaged. See if someone can weld it up and grind a new keyway, otherwise I'd just find another motor.

 

well he bought the crank no way to turn around now i hope u got a z6 crank. i recommend u research and buy a helms manual as long as u follow directions good u can do it without ur brother.

 

this is not the sorta thing someone can walk you through over the phone. you're gonna have to pull the motor.