Hey guys, I come to you with my head hung low...

I have a 1997 civic ex (212k miles) that I drive everyday from Tampa to Sarasota (150 mi round trip) and on the way to work the other day the oil light came on and I did not react immediately. I figured I would just fill it up when I got home. Needless to say I did not make it back home that day.

On the way home I heard a loud ticking from the motor and shut it off and coasted to a stop on the side of the road. I tried to re-start the car but it sounded horrible so I turned it off and called a tow truck.

Now that its been home for a few days I have drained what remained of the old oil and filled it up with new. I did inspect the old oil and noticed several tiny pieces of metal, each one about the size of a grain of sand. I did run the engine for two or three minutes with the fresh oil but its obvious that something is not right. There are no strange noises at idle in neutral but if you give it the tiniest bit of throttle you can hear something from the bottom end of the block.

I've have done a lot of searching here and elsewhere in the past few days and I'm quite certain that I have spun a rod bearing, I will pull the oil pan and visually inspect the rotating assembly when I get a chance to (probably this weekend).

My question is what next? I have searched for replacement motors and they seem to run around 1500. What does it typically cost to have someone repair a spun bearing? Any suggestions on where I go from here?

Thanks, and sorry for ruining a perfectly fine civic that was still averaging 42 mpg hwy while being a little fun to drive.

 

Find a new short block, or pull the motor apart and start inspecting the crank for damage.

ALWAYS SHUT THE CAR OFF WHEN THE OIL LIGHT TURNS ON, ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

$1,5000? Where are you looking? Is that engine and install? Maybe as much as $800 in my area to as low as $250 for a questionable Junkyard/Craigslist offering. But no one can tell you how much an engine rebuild will cost you because prices vary from place to place. I will tell you we ordered a JDM equivalent low mileage engine and had it installed for much less than $1,500 total.

And once the oil light comes on, it's already too late.

 

Could be a rod bearing, or it could be a main bearing. Either way, your easiest route would be to get a new block and rotating assembly. Like grumble said, you can easily find motors for a hell of a lot cheaper than $1500. Pull a D16 bottom end out of a junk yard for a couple hundred, get new seals, rings, and bearings from your local dealership for another few hundred, have a machine shop check your head for warpage and clean up the replacement block, and put it all back together. With brand new wear items (all the stuff except the rotating assembly and block) even at stealership prices, you can easily be done in a few weekends for under a grand.

 

get mechanically enclined friends. My friend just spun a bearing too, we found another D16y8 for $300, an we can do the install

 

People need to check their fluids weekly or bi weekly.

 

"Every time you fill up the tank" was the oldschool way of doing it. It's unfortunate people don't do that anymore.

 

Thanks for the responses guys!

Unfortunately, I am going to have to go out this weekend and find something that runs to get to and from work. I might try and swap another d16y8 into the civic. I think it would be a fun project, the only thing is trying to find the time to do the swap.

Anyone reading this... Please learn from my dumb*** and properly manage all the fluid levels in your car.

 

Wait. So instead of replacing the engine, you're going to replace the car?

 

Yes, due to time constraints and the need to drive to and from work, I plan to purchase a cheap replacement car in the short term. I will investigate the opportunity cost of repairing or replacing the motor in the civic (both doing it myself or having the work done at a local shop).

I have access to a car through the end of this week, but come Monday I need to have a way to get to work (73 miles from home), and I don't see that happening without finding another car. I have not ruled out the possibility of repairing the civic and maybe re-selling it or the cheap replacement car once it is running.

 

I live in tampa as well. If you decide to do it yourself (get a new block or longblock etc), I could probably help you out if you need it. Just looked on car-part and there is a block for 300 from a salvage yard in clearwater.

 

gramentz,

I looked up that block and gave the guy a call, if I were to buy that (or another short block) would I need to have it inspected by a machine shop before installing it? If so, and being that you are in Tampa, do you know of a shop I could call to find out what they would charge to inspect it?

(About) How many man hours are involved in a taking out the old long block, swapping the head over and putting it all back together?

Also, what would be a good estimate of the other costs would I incur to do the replacement... new gaskets for the head, intake and exhaust manifolds, specialized tools and anything else that I don't even know I'm going to need.

Thanks for the advice, and I a may very well be looking for someone to help.

 

Sent you a PM.

 

You can get a new engine in there in 2 days... Engine maybe be $1000?

 

I had a similar situation recently. with only 134k miles #1 rod bearing spun. fortunately at the top of the hill as i was entering the neighborhood. coasted right into the driveway!

pulled the motor. tore it open to find the little that was left of the bearing and some scuffing on the crank. $100 for a crank regrind at a nearby machine shop (they regrind all journals as the heat from spinning a bearing tends to warp things). $50 for oversized bearings. then found a great deal on a rebuild kit including a new oil pump (which i then ported to prevent future failures) for about $230. then a replacement rod and piston from the pull-a-part to replace the heat effected original for $16.

so including fluids just over $400 for a rebuilt, like-new motor.

not an option for everyone, but if you've got the skill, a few tools and a good workspace it is possible to do yourself for very little expense.

 

Sounds costly....
If your screen and filter worked you might be able to get away with a crank kit and oil pump.
I think you can only grind these cranks <.030 because they are case hardened to that depth.

 

you can grind to 0.050" and still be ok.

 

There are different schools of thought on this. There doesn't appear to be an official service limit.

 

i have a scrap Y8 crank i could cut and check the case depth at the journals. i like emperical data, then there is one school of thought- engineering/science.

 

What if the oil light comes on for 2 seconds and then goes away?

 

Pull over and check it anyways! better safe than sorry. I check my oil everytime i pump gas. Since i usually pump a full tank and check my oil real fast or I do it when i get home.

 

Shut the car off, pull over and add 2 1/2 quarts of oil. then continue on your way.