I have a 99 Civic EX basically stock, no engine mods. I went to start my car today and discovered my 3rd cylinder is dead.... little compression and a little oil coming out... i took it to the honda dealer to get it checked out and they changed the distributor and plugs but with no success.... what i want to know is what is my best bet now? should i go for an engine swap, fix the engine with factory parts, or load it up with aftermarket parts? also, what is the most likley problem with the engine.... is it a bad piston, a bad valve, etc? please post some ideas for me as it has only been 6 hours since it happened but i already miss my baby.

-ryan

 

Time for a swap.
now how much money do you want to spend?
and i would assume it was a piston ring

 

i'm guessing that it will be about $2000 before it is all said and done.... if i were to do a swap, should i go with a B16 or just stick with a d16y8 ... is there much price difference between the two? What is the difficulty of an engine swap?

 

a b16 would be an easy and economic swap, a d16y8 would be cheaper but i think a b16 would make you happier. Your car is already wired for vtec and as long as its a manual the swap would be simple

 

Just break down and get the ITR u can never go wrong the B16 is weak anymore

 

Just out of curiosity how much did the dealer charge you for diagnosing your motor and trying a different distributor?

If you are going to swap a motor, definitely go for something B-series, huge improvement over your stock D-series.

BTW, a leak down test should tell you where you're losing compression on the dead cylinder. May just have a bad valve which would only be a couple hundred to have someone repair.

 

Have someone do a leak down test on the cylinders. That'll tell you (if done right) where the cylinder is leaking. (ie piston rimgs, valves?)

 

awesome thanks a bunch guys.... ok so i've called numerous places in town and explained what happened and they all told me that if it is a ring that i will need to get my whole engine replaced... what i want to know is why can't you just replace the ring? is there something too difficult about tearing down the engine that stops someone from doing it or are they just trying to make more money off of me? today i pulled the valve cover off and all valves look to be in fine working order so i am dreading the fact that the problem is within the block. another thing is how hard is it to do a b16 swap ... what does it consist of is it pretty much plug and play or is there a lot of modifications to do? is it something that a import mechanic can do or do i need to find someone with b16 experience? being up in the middle of knowhere Wisconsin it is hard to locate a mechanic that can do such a thing, most of them are too scared that it will be extremly difficult. other than that i guess i'll just keep an eye out for replys.

PS-- does anyone know where i can order a B16 or a D16Y8 for a good price, cuz i really don't want to search the junkyards around here as there aren;t very many civics around this neck of the woods.... i;m thinking of going through ebay to find a motor but i'd rather just buy one form someone i can trust

 

http://www.hmotorsonline.com