I'm in a pickle! Since I bought my 95 accord used (190k miles) about 6 months ago it has struggled to start. It just takes a while before it finally turns over. But it always eventually started. Until now.

The starter is fine and the pressure guage shows all 4 chambers have decent pressure. one was over 200 and the other were mid to high 100's.

One had water spraying out so we believe the headcasket was blown recently when it overheated due to a leak in a heater hose. I'll have to take it in to have that fixed. But, if there's something seriously wrong that's preventing it from starting I would just be wasting money fixing the headgasket.

Any ideas why it's not starting? Is it just totaled?

 

Warm engines have pressure in the cooling systems. Usually around 1.1 of atmosphere. This means, while the car is running, the coolant that is pulled/pushed into the cylinders is somewhat quickly burned. But, when a warm vehicle is shut off and sits, coolant is pushed into the cylinders where it sits and accumulates. When the vehicle is restarted after some coolant has built up in the cyliners, the engine has a hard time starting until the coolant is pumped out and burned off.

If you know there is a headgasket leak, fix it first. Then recheck for any other remaining problems.

It's worth fixing. It's a good year.

 

Hmm...is there a way to find out if that's the problem? And what is the fix for it? Thanks so much for replying!

 

This is exactly what I have in mind on my DD '94 Accord EX every time I go to start it when the engine's cold. I have a feeling that the HG is going bad causing coolant to seep into the cylinder overnight.

 

Going by your compression test it appears that the head gasket is bad. This can be a costly fix and takes precision to get it right. I would just get another engine to swap in.

 

Wouldn't that be way more expensive than just getting the headgasket fixed?

 

It depends on if the head gasket replacement is done right the first time or not. Also, if somehow the block is also warped(in addition to the head being warped) which does happen sometimes, it can just be a lot of headaches versus just replacing the engine with another one.

 

Wouldn't replacing the engine cost more money than the car is worth?

Is there a way to find if the block is warped? That would definitely play into my decision!

 

?

 

Not necessarily. You can probably find a place to replace the engine for around 1500 dollars. You'll just have to check around. I like using yelp to find reputable places.

To check if the block is warped, you will need to pull the head and use a precision set of feeler gauges to see if the block is warped.

If not, then you can get a rebuilt head from somewhere and save money doing it all yourself.

You can get online access to a copy of your repair manual at either www.eautorepair.net or www.alldatadiy.com

Do a search for "coupon code" before buying as you can usually save around 10 percent.

 

Would the 1500 dollars include the price of the new engine?

 

Obviously it won't be new, it would either be an imported or rebuilt.

 

Does it crank? Could be your ignition switch. Quick Test: Turn your key hold it from going back to the on position, if it stays running, you need to replace the switch. 40-55$ from Honda. Happened to me, all the contacts were burned out, never had the issue since.

 

yeah it cranks it just takes forever to turn over.

 

Correction. It turns over but doesn't fire. It just all of a sudden starts, but after a good 30 to 45 seconds of cranking.

 

any ideas?

 

guess not

 

You can change the ECT and see if that helps it start but uve pretty much already confirmed the engine is bad by your compression test.