prairie chicken

Hello - new member here...

I just received my first Honda - a 2001 Civic LX, 257k miles. It was GIVEN to me by my son's g-friend who doesn't know anything about cars, her dad doesn't know anything about cars, and gave up when they were quoted $800 for a new radiator at the dealer. I offered to assist in keeping it going but they were tired of the car and done with it. I do all my own maintenance so no problems there.

The car needs:
Radiator ($25 at the salvage yard or might spring $125 for a new one)
brakes
tie rods
bumper cover/fender ($65 at the salvage yard)

Otherwise it is clean and fairly well kept and runs surprisingly well. It will be a PERFECT first car for my 15 year old daughter who is just weeks into her learner's permit. Maybe I'll leave the body panels as is??? LOL.

Which comes to my question -
The PO kept all maintenance records. I see lots of tires/oil changes/brake jobs/misc work. But...
THERE ARE NO RECORDS OF A TIMING BELT CHANGE NOR DOES THE PO RECALL EVER HAVING IT DONE. Could a timing belt possibly last for 250k and not fail? I have several VW TDI's and timing belts are definitely something you don't mess with, I thought it was the same thing with Honda?

So - I plan to change the belt also, but wondering if anyone has seen a car go this far on the original belt?

mikey1

i have seen timing belts last a damn long time, but 250k and 15+ years i would say is pretty much next to impossible,

also.....why does the rad need to be replaced?

is it leaking?....or is the car overheating?

this is smelling like a blown head gasket to me

prairie chicken

the radiator starts leaking at the aluminum/composite joint when the car gets to operating temp. I'd say its close to being a roadside steam bath...

Not sure about any issues with the head gasket - too early to tell. there is a pretty bad oil leak at the valve cover, so she kept adding oil because of that - I don't know if it is burning any or not. The oil looks good - no water in it at least. I haven't done a compression check on it yet, will do that soon. I'm waiting for the title then I'll start ordering parts.

I'm guessing I can get it into pretty good shape for around $500. That would be a good running car that doesn't leak, fresh timing belt/oil/flush trans/good brakes. If the car can last my daughter thru high school I'll consider it a major victory, then give it to the neighbor kids.

ezone

Some of them do blow the head gasket, it's a common (but not all do it) and you will never see anything in the oil nor a loss of compression unless it's been bad enough to overheat and warp the head.
The usual leak begins as an extremely slow pressure seep into the cooling system that ends up slowly pushing liquid out of the radiator until it runs hot or someone notices the heater blows cool at stop lights.
A leaking radiator could cause it to overheat, and that could compromise the head gasket integrity too.



I'm sure you've heard about the deadly Takata airbag recalls going on world-wide?
Even if your paperwork says it's been done a few years ago, there have been many changes. Some cars have received multiple replacements.
Check your car for needed recalls ASAP:

OneJzSupra

I saw a lot of post on here about timing belts letting go at around 150-180k and realized that I was way past due on replacing mine... and worried about it going while I was on deployment. It can take a while.... but so could changing out valves and everything else if it lets go. Here is what I ended up replacing:


Valve Cover gasket and grommets
Front Main Seal
Water Pump
Timing Belt


I also took the time to adjust my valves.... well because why not.

prairie chicken

thanks for the advice...

I initially topped it off with fluid and drove about 8 miles to see how it acted when it got warm - aside from the leak, the temp gauge stayed at op temps. My plan was to get the radiator fixed then get a little driving in to see if there wasn't anything more going on. It probably wouldn't hurt anything to pull the head also - I don't want this to turn into a thousand dollar car, but HG kits are pretty cheap and if it ensures I won't have to deal with it over the next 3 years might be worth it.

I'll adjust the valves for sure.

Are the head bolts 1 time use only?

GusBuz

Sounds like a plan!

The head bolts can be reused so no issue there, also choose oem head gasket because people have had problems with aftermarket gaskets going out too soon. OEM timing belt kit also, so you can have peace of mind lol

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

Navy? Just assuming since Guam.

In any case, I'd get on that timing belt, just because better safe than sorry. It shouldn't take you long. If you plan on pulling the head, take a look at the "headgasket" link in my signature. Good info there, including part numbers, prices, etc. Seems like you know what you're doing though.

I've beat the crap out of my 02 civic for the last 15 years and it's still going (granted, I did an engine swap a few years ago. lol)

prairie chicken

thanks so much for the replies... very helpful.

I'll check out that head gasket info for sure.

I was also just looking into some of the timing/head gasket kits and found some pretty cheap ones on the internet I was going to do some research on. I hate spending extra money but hate cheap parts even more... Are there any recommended brands that are good replacements or should I stick to OE?

CraigW

iTrader: (1)

Do not waste your efforts on 3rd party junk to save a few $$$.

Honda OEM.

ezone

A cheap tensioner can quickly cost you an engine or a whole pile of valves, as many have found out the hard way. Some didn't even last to the next oil change.
Want thread links?

HONDA parts all the way.

prairie chicken

sounds about right... OEM it is.

thanks!

OneJzSupra

You guessed it.