I recently replaced the engine in my 2000 Honda Accord. I sporadically drove it a few times before taking it out of town, and other than a slight burning smell the first few short drives (which the mechanic said was just oil burning off), it overheated and the engine has now shut down. The vehicle has been driven about 600 miles since it was repaired. It shut down in a different city than it was repaired in so we took it to the dealer and they said that it had the following problems:

1) it had an old/worn heater hose which blew out;
2) one of the temperature sensors blew out; and
3) the other temperature sensor is not connected.

Shortly, before the engine overheated and shut down, there was a small amount of fluid that appeared to be leaking from the vehicle, but it didn't appear to be (or smell like) oil or fuel and may have been mistaken (by my son who was driving) as condensation from the a/c. I hope the original mechanic doesn't try to get out of warranting the work and want to be as informed as possible when I talk to them so any thoughts on how this could have happened would be appreciated.

 

Have the Honda dealer document all the issues they found, make a copy, and bring that copy to the mechanic who did the swap. If he is worth his wrenches he will back his work. Disconnected sensors shows a lack of attention. Hard to blame him for the hose blowing, but he should have inspected and noted any problems and listed them, even if you did not want a given part to be replaced.

Why was the engine replaced the first time?

 

We replaced the original engine after making various repairs and it was leaking oil and the timing belt broke. It had been looked at by 3 mechanics (1 was a dealership) and they all recommended the same thing. As far as the hose, I never opted out of having it replaced. I specifically requested that anything that needed to be replaced to get the car up and running in safe and good order for my son to drive while away from school be done. So, needless to say, I am confused and frustrated at the situation.

So how long can a car typically be driven under these circumstances before it ends like this? Like I said I didn't drive it every day, but I did drive it several miles when I took it to my son. Then it sat for a week before he drove it.

 

Your son drove your car and the engine overheated. In fact, after thorough repair of the engine must go slowly and do not need to load at least 2,000 kilometers.

 

so the car shut down and wont crank?
sounds like another timing belt also. may have to scrap this engine too. heater hoses are cheap and available anywhere as well as temp sensors. then add coolant for what spilled. car should cool down and be drive-able until overheating occurs again. sounds like u just got unlucky. interference engines will smash valves when timing belt breaks and is cheaper to scrap than rebuild. make sure u get new parts on next engine or the cycle might continue

 

Right, it won't crank. I don't think we'll be able to get a brand new engine since the warranty is going to be for a similar part, which was a rebuilt assuming they will not try to explain away the fact that the sensors weren't connected. As in my original message, I drove the car a few times around town off and on for a few weeks before driving it about 250 miles to my son, it sat for another week, then he drove it and in less than a day it shut down. Is it safe to assume that due to the sensor issue, it could have been overheating and we not know...like it was just bound to happen eventually??

 

overheating will ruin ur head gasket which will cause coolant to mix with oil and ur car will blow white exhaust smoke in abundance. the car will crank but will be filled with coolant/oil and be tough to start. it sounds to me like the water pump seized and broke the timing belt and that's why it wont crank.

after the new work is done take it to a Honda/Acura dealer and have a routine inspection done some will do this when u get a oil change. this will help u minimize any potential problems in the future

 

I would speak with the mechanic who installed the engine. See if he will stand behind his work. He is the mechanic not you, if he failed to connect sensors or not verify everything was correct, it is his responsibility to verify a correct installation.

Speak with him but don't place blame. Tell him what happened and take note of his response. If he is worth his wrenches he will try and make it right.

 

I have a 2000 Civic That overheated, melting the overflow reservoir cap. What am I in for here?
Is it worth repairing?