Hello folks,

After many years of reliable service (200K miles), my engine (97 GSR) finally pittered out. I was just driving along, minding my own business, when the check engine light went on and the car started running rough. It turns out that cylinder 4 lost most of its compression (only 25 psi) and the leakdown test showed leak thru all intake, exhaust, and crankcase. Well, this cylinder had an oil burning problem that was slowly getting worse with time, but I don't know why it would leak out the valves also. Anyway, the mechanic thought it was a total loss and started telling me about the joys of new car ownership. I guess there are two main options for me - get rid of the car, or try to fix it - so I wanted to ask u guys for advice.

Option 1 - Fix car) To do this, I would pretty much have to end up replacing the engine. I read good things about hmotorsonline (B18C1 engine for $2k), but the mechanic thought that the mileage on those JDM engines is a lie and doesn't trust them. Plus there is no warranty. There are also those rebuilt engines with warranty, but I don't know yet the cost. I would probably be willing to pay up to $4k total to get the car running again. (Yes, I know the car is worth less than $4k)

So for this route, my questions are:
hmotorsonline or rebuilt engine?
Any recommendations for an engine installer in Northern California silicon valley area?
What do I do with the old engine? Will anybody buy it for parts? (I don't have much room to store it myself)

Option 2 - get rid of car) Umm, in Calif, how does one go about selling a broken car? At least we have a "Cash for Clunkers" program that can give us $1k, but I figure I can get more by other means.

That's all I can think of for now. Comments or other ideas welcome.

 

I would like to see the engine you have now, rebuilt. Buy some 82mm pistons, maybe something a little in a more aggressive type r or JDM gsr casting. Send the block to CSS, have them CSS the sleeves and bore/hone it exactly to match your new 82mm pistons for exact piston to wall clearance. Gap the rings correctly. Buy new color matching oem bearings. Have the head resurfaced, valve job, new guides and seals (maybe a mild porting). ARP rod and head bolts/studs. My Honda habit oil pan kit. All new oem head gasket. water/oil pump, timing belt, and miscellaneous other gaskets and seals. You should come in at around 4 grand, with a bullet proof engine that is a little peppier and stronger than stock (a tad more compression/displacement/head flow) and easily get another +200k miles....

Before doing this, I would totally tear down the engine and make sure that you don't have a deeply scratched or ovaled cylinder that a 1mm overbore couldn't save, a damaged crank or anything else that would prevent you from saving the engine.

 

For your purposes getting an HMO engine is perfectly fine. They are one of the few reliable places to get a great engine for a decent price, and have a "startup" warranty.

As for going through a whole build with CSS CNC WERX and all that, before going ***** deep into such a big investmentfor a regular driving car, just look to the purpose of the car, your resources available to you, your engine knowledge and mechanical inclination, and how you feel about the car. (Sentimental value). These are questions that only you, yourself can answer and we can't decide that for you.

Some would look to a newer car for the purpose, others don't. For your car in California, your only options are a cash for clunker deal, sell the car for parts (which is more valuable than you think,)or donate it.

 

Japan has very strict laws on vehicles, and many people will buy a new car instead of attempting to pass the inspections. There is also the issue of not actually being able to drive your car anywhere because the traffic is so bad, the high cost of gas, and the great public transportation system (much faster than driving). This means low mileage engines for the rest of the world to swap in.

 

I would say sell me the block.

 

In June of 2012, I bought a b1b motor ($795), from Steve at hmotorsonline and used facebook, to find a honda swap guy.
He offered to modify my harness, near the ecu, in order to trick the ecu in to thinking that there was a usdm crank sensor, but I say no.
I got the parts ($375/TB inc.), he installed the parts (the most expensive was the new oil pump), did the TB (ASIN kit, from ebay), and swapped in the jdm b1b, for $500, in my driveway.
The $1,700 was worth it, as all of the codes are still available and it was 1/2 the cost of rebuilding my old usdm motor.
Go with hmotorsonline and let them splice around the crank sensor code.

 

I would go the hmotors route as the TheShodan stated. However, if you want to rebuild the engine my personal opinion is to contact Anthony from Hybridworks out in Vallejo. From my personal experience he is a real honest guy that usually goes above and beyond to help.

 

Are you in good repair everywhere else? If you have rust, worn suspension/brakes/transmission/radiator/etc. putting in an engine or rebuilding yours might not make sense. I'd hate to see a customer buy an engine and then need a trans a week later. If everything else is great, I'd go with rebuilding the existing engine you have over a used one.

 

Pull the head, drop the pan, re-ring the block in the car. Is that an option?

 

With 200K and compression issues? Not likely to resolve the issue for long, if at all. Bores are likely no longer round. Rings will never properly seat. Probably has valve guide issues as well.

 

Thanks for the replies. I don't have a garage, so doing any work myself is not really an option. Plus I don't really feel like it anymore. I would gladly pay somebody else who does care, though.

I am moderately sure that one of the cylinders has been burning oil for a long time now, so to fix both the bottom and top end of the engine drives the rebuild cost way up.

Going the used JDM motor route seems the most straightforward at this point, but I am not so confident about the used engine. I mean, MOST engines can "start up", right? That doesn't mean there aren't any other problems, or that it could fail California emissions, etc.

At this point, I'm looking for a mechanic that actually knows Honda engines well, and cares. My usual mechanic is the usual mechanic that fixes the common problems well, but doesn't specialize in engine stuff. The second mechanic was more of an enthusiast guy, but he turned out to be mostly about Subie's and ECU tuning stuff, not really a rebuilder or fixer. I tried Yelp, but most of the mechanics I found turned out to be these two types. How do I find the type of mechanic that is familiar with engine swaps, how to deal with errant sensors, stay smog legal, etc?

As for the rest of the car, the body is in nice condition, transmission is still ok, SRS computer died, ABS complained about something... Other than that, it works well as a daily and recreational driver.

 

Beanbag, the B and C series engines are very easy to work on and there are many weekend wrench turners.

I used facebook, to find a local Acura enthusiasts, which led me to a wrench turner.