So im buying a 2002 honda civic si on February 5th. The body is very clean and it has 157,000 miles on both motor and body. The clutch and flywheel where put in around 135,000.

Now i drove the car and everything seems fine. BUT. You never know what could go wrong after i have it my possession. Especially with 157,000 miles on it.

Now what are the averages costs for a rebuild with OEM parts Vs Aftermarket Performance parts? (Including labor)

Also would it be better to find another engine. Or How much would it cost to do a k24 swap?

Now i know honda's are notorious for lasting a long time. And the car was owned by a family guy, and the owner before him drove to and from his military base. So i know the car wasnt ragged on too much.

And im also sure some of you will say dont touch the engine at all and to just get a compression test and do regular maintenance and ill be fine. But i just want answers to my questions on a "what if" basis.

 

I think you should swap the motor.... your K20A3 has high mileage and yea you could bore it and throw new pistons and rods in, and get Kpro (Aftermarket EMS) but you wouldnt gain much power, chances are that cumbustion is low around that milege and hoses are cracking and suspension needs upgraded, but I could be wrong.... to relate to you, I have the same car with the same motor and Im swaping over to the k24 because the A3 is not worth my money or time.

Your looking at a price range of 3-4k if you go with a proper k24 swap... I heard of the K20A3 (your motor) doing some great things, but with alot of mods which is money and lots of time.,.... If you want something simple get a K20A2 swap found in the RSX Type-S...

 

truthfully I would do an engine compression test before anything. Those numbers will tell you a lot. I mean I've owned two Honda that hit 200,000 and one of my Accords I sold with 300,000... Maintenence is key and the K series is a great engine.

If you are buying the EP3 to turn it into a track car then yeah your begining engine platform is junk to say the least. But if you are just buying it to have it and drive it I see no reason to rebuild unless asbolutely needed.

 

+1... Compression test, monitor any oil consumption, etc.

Possibly check the timing chain & chain tensioner, or would this be unnecessary with that many miles on a stock-cam'ed engine?

 

I plan on doing a compression test for sure. My main purpose is to make sure i can drive it every day and maybe drive it a little hard from time to time. Ive also heard from other people that the chain tensioner can go bad. Also from what i understand that its not a good idea to put say "skunk 2 tensioner" in with an old timing chain, so i would have to do both. The tensioner really has me worrying though.

Also would it be a good idea to replace valve springs and valve stems just for peace of mind?

Mind you i wont be doing the work lol. I dont trust myself.

 

The main cause of tensioner issues has been more aggressive, aftermarket cams.

With a stock setup things should be ok, probably. Honda's maintenance schedule goes up to 120k miles, then repeating; and doesn't mention checking the timing chain/tensioner.

 

as long as testing looks good, you wont need a rebuild. not only can you do a compression test, you can get a leak down test to see where any compression is leaking if at all. as long as you know what youre doing, rebuilding an engine is easy. labor is gonna kill you. aftermarket rod and piston combos go for $700 +. I dont really know what oem parts go for

 

Why not buy a jdm engine?