Howdy All,

~1ST I would like to start my post by saying the following....

I AM NOT A LEARNED MECHANIC. I AM A MAN WITH A FAIR AMOUNT OF TOOLS AND A "CAN DO" ATTITUDE. SO PLEASE, IF YOURE KIND ENOUGH TO TO MAKE SUGGESTIONS AND SHARE OPINIONS, IT WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED. Now on to my situation....

my wife's 04 CRV is leaking oil through the rings.

We are the 3rd owners of this humble but noble Gen 2 CRV. When we purchased it, we were desperate, broke, and wanted something reliable. I knew enough about engines and suspension to know that the engine had been repaired (shotty head gasket job and oil leak remedies) and the suspension made all kinds of noises, but it ran strong and had AC, which was important at the time.

Fast forward 2.5 years of semi-reliable service, two 8+ hr trips, heavy duty city stop-n-go daily traffic, the occasional steep hill climbs, and less than good maintenance and repairs, i managed to get rid of some leaks (vtec solenoid, VTC, crank seal, valve cvr, PCV, etc.) and most all the suspension noises. I thought we were in the clear, then I started to misfire about 6 months ago. 😨

After some p301,2,3,4,5 codes, ring seal treatment, stop smoke, thicker oil, and a few bucks on sensors and such, nothing was stopping the leak into the piston chambers and the smoke.

So after much discussion with a "Honda" buddy of mine, we decided that this engine wasn't worth saving. A few years back I rebuilt a Ford 2.9 ltr cologne V6 in my lifelong project 90' Ranger 4x4. We did a high pressure oil pump, pistons, rings, sleeves, had the block and heads cleaned and resurfaced by a gentleman that builds race engines in Texas. We went the full 9 yards on my Ranger cause I have a deep sentimental attachment to it, and it cost me a grip and a butt load of head aches.

Needless to say, I'm not that attached to the CRV, but we do want a reliable car and to avoid debts, so we opted to go for a used replacement K24A1 that I will be doing mostly on my own. Again, as per my disclaimer above, I worked in auto repair shops when I was a kid, so I've participated in my share of builds and rebuilds; never did one on my own. Fortunately for me, the K-series seems to lend itself to DIYers such as myself, and there are forums with good people such as yourselves reading this post (hope you find yourself well BTW), and the good ol utube. So now i get to the topic of this post. Many apologies for the novel.

For those of you that read this far and for those who FFwdd to here, I thank you again and my solicitation is as follows:

1. What should i look for in a used engine? (Both in car & on the ground engines)
2. What tools should i have with me to check an engine that i cant turn over electrically?
3. What tips and tricks have yall got for the removal/install?

To sum it up, ill be pulling the engine out myself with a cherry picker. Ive dismantled the front end to make extraction as easy as possible. Ill be looking for an engine that I can put my hands on at local salvage yards, as i do not trust buying online. Im hoping to find one that hasnt been grossly tampered with. I dont want to seperate the head from the block, so got my fingers crossed for one with the original paper thin aluminum gasket and no internal leaks.

Im aware that IF i find one in decent condition, ill have to reseal it (all except head gskt), but any advice at all that you seasoned Honda vets can share will surely help us to not break the bank and have a reliable Honda for years to come.

Ill upload some pics as i progress. Im tearing down the accessories and harness at the moment.

Once again, I sincerely thank all who read and reply.

Many blessing to you all!

 

Well that front end disassembly was WAY excessive! This isn't a German car that needs the service position.

I would probably avoid CR-V and Element engines. They are typically beat to hell. Those vehicles are not typically well maintained and they are shoving around an oversized vehicle and like to burn up the exhaust valves and stretch the timing chain.

Accord has same engine and are generally less worn out.

Anyway look in valve covers. Avoid the ones full of dark oil staining and deposits. Even at 300k miles they should just be a very light golden color if any color at all inside if they were maintained.