93 Honda Civic DX Needs Piston or Engine (?)

Can someone advise me? I have a 93 Honda Civic DX, and need to have a
piston replaced, but the mechanic says it's just as checp to put in a
used engine. The engine still has so much power, I hate to replace it
with a potentially weaker or more unreliable one (going used to save
$$$). Can anyone tell me, is a piston replacement something a weekend
mechanic can handle with the aid of a Chilton's guide? Would I be
better off with a new "used" engine, and can I put that in myself?

Thanks so much for advice. I'm on a tight budget.

Thanks again.

J

 

it's true, a good used engine can be just a few hundred bucks. the
labor/machining/parts to re-piston is a lot more.

but the real question is, if the engine "still has so much power", how
come your mechanic thinks they need to replace a piston? what are the
symptoms?

 

I am just curious: What does the shop want to put in a new
engine (labor and parts)?

They seem abundant via the net (unlike other makes' used
engines). I think this is because Japan has some tough laws
on engine emissions, resulting in "young" used engines
becoming plentiful to the rest of the world. E.g. $800 or so
at

http://www.asapmotors.com/used-engines-honda-c-1_5.html
http://www.actionsalvage.com/engine/UsedEngineHonda.asp

Google using words like {"Honda engines" Civic}.

I remember reading at least two sites recently that discuss
people's experiences with Honda engine swaps. Google for
{"engine swap" honda} and/or see http://hondaswap.com/ and
http://www.honda-tech.com/ (registration is free on both, I
think).

 

What makes you think you need a piston replaced? Usually when they go bad
they damage the cylinder wall too, which **requires** the engine to be
replaced or totally redone. If one piston is worn, the others are too. In
my experience partial engine rebuild jobs cost more in the long run, than
doing it the right way.

Earle

 

Jim,

Thanks for the response. Regarding the piston, I had a compression test
done, and piston# 2 gets no compression at all, while the other three
get a reading of 150. The engine leaks oil like crazy, and the whole
car vibrates like crazy. Any thoughts?

 

Replacing just the damaged piston is not a good idea, because the broken
pieces will have gotten into the oil and caused no end of damage to the rest
of the engine. Besides if one piston has decided to give up the ghost, the
other three are on the verge of it. I have seen people fix problems like
this for a while, but not a real long while.

Earle

 

+1 put in a new engine. If you got to that point, you most probably need
the full engine rebuild, and this will cost you more than "new" used
engine. If you try to do partial rebuilds, they will cost you much
more, albeit somewhat spreaded over the time. And if your engine has
less than 200-300K on it, try to think what did you do to ruin it? That
may save you some money in the future:wink:

 

Thanks for the advice. Not happy to hear it, admittedly, but thanks.
I'm heading for a new engine.

 

Thanks, I got a price of $495 from asapmotors.com, and am heading over
to actionsalvage.com now. Thanks.

 

sounds like a thrown rod. if so, the engine's uneconomic to repair and
you need to get a new one.