JJ291

My daily commuter has 175K on it. Starting to smell burning oil and I hear what I believe is piston knock. In any case, I plan to rebuild the engine soon. I've looked at some kits for ideas but my plan is to purchase OEM parts. What are the best parts to buy in advance? I recognize that I will probably have to order some items once I've started and I find issues but up front what is recommended to start? Thanks for any help.

• Piston rings
• Wrist pins
• Rod and main bearings
• All gaskets and seals
• Valve guides?
• Valves?
• Valve springs?
• Pistons?

xRiCeBoYx

iTrader: (22)

It'd be rod knock, really. A sign that your main bearing(s) are on their way to being gone.

does it sound anything like this?

If so, then yeah, main bearings is the issue. Luckily, I had a spare engine laying around and just swapped the bottom end (didn't do a straight engine swap because I had previously used the head during a head gasket change). The way to fix this would be to replace the crankshaft bearings, then you'd have to get a machine shop to balance the thing. Rod bearings would be good to have on hand, just in case, but you'd only have to replace them if those bearings are wiped, too. Also, since you're gonna have the engine apart and you're burning oil, replace the piston rings, too.

You shouldn't have to replace any major components like the pistons, wrist pins (unless someone chimes in and proves me wrong), or the valve springs. The valves and guides should be fine, too. The only reason to disassemble the head would be because you wanna use everything the head gasket kit comes with, since it comes with valve seals. Gaskets and seals are a given.

Cliff's notes:
Buy the head gasket and engine block gasket kits from Honda (either from majestic honda (Rhode Island), bell honda (Arizona), or similar)
Have the rod/main bearings on hand. You'll at least need the main bearings.
Stuff with the question marks: I wouldn't bother, but that's just me. Same goes for the wrist pins, unless someone else chimes in and says otherwise.

ezone

OP needs to identify and prove what's actually knocking first.

If it's got a loud heavy knock (bearing damage of any kind), it's probably gonna be a lot cheaper to get a low mileage used unit from a recycle yard and either go through it or freshen it up and stuff it in. Used engines can be had for $400 all day long LOL.



If your engine has wiped out ANY bearings..... and you really want to fix the original engine....

If it's spun a rod bearing-- the crank will need to go to a machine shop and be turned, and measure the rod that had the bearing failure (and likely replace it because the hole will now be oversize).

If it spun a main bearing, the crank AND BLOCK need to go to the machine shop to be measured and machined and line bored if necessary.


If it trashed any bottom end bearings, the block and head need to be completely disassembled and cleaned because bearing debris can be carried all throughout the entire lubrication system, including every bit of the cylinder head, cam, valvetrain and VTEC parts.

You don't want debris from the previous failure lurking in the deep dark recesses of the engine waiting to come back to life and cause maximum damage at the worst possible time, do you?

JJ291

OK - I should probably clarify a few things.

1) Only happens infrequently on a cold start when I begin to accelerate
2) Goes away once warmed up
3) Changed the main and rod bearings in car about 15K miles ago. Sound was there before and is there after with no change in sound. Everything plastigaged just fine on the bearing changeout and no signs of spun bearing.
4) Starting to smell smoke out the back end - much smellier.
5) Did a compression test prior to changing my tranny 30K ago. Had one suspect cylinder but couldn't tell if it was the test or the gauge. Was not too low either way so went with it but I wish I had just done the lower end at the same time as the tranny because I did the timing belt at the same time.

I'm thinking I will just get new rings and do the bottom end. I have a horrible oil leak that I can't shake - been fighting it for years and I want to get to the root cause of that as well. Maybe I just won't mess with the valves, etc other than pulling and inspecting the camshaft.

Just trying to give it some longevity before I start a grinding commute again (haven't had a commute for a year now).

Thanks.

mikey1

if your into it that deep i would at least take it to a shop and have the head/valves inspected, and definitely replace at least the valve seals while your at it, they could be the source of your oil consumption

ezone

Either piston slap (normal) or carbon knock. Carbon buildup on top of the pistons can sound a LOT like piston slap.

Going away when warmed up means it's not a big problem.

Pistons are made to fit the bores when at operating temperature, and they shrink when cold so they can slap skirts until warmed up.

Carbon buildup can be dealt with without teardown. Top end cleaner, soaking overnight in seafoam, etc.
Burn Top Tier Gas!

Cat fail? Catless?

310civicEX

i know...old thread..

buut..... ok.. can someone swap a crank while in the car and just pull old crank out and slap a new one in , torque it down and call it a day?

ezone

You'd have to pull the trans away from the engine or all the way out, and for that much work IMO it's probably more advantageous to just yank the engine out.

310civicEX

well i gotta put a new clutch in also... i mean is it realistic to think the crankshaft could be swapped out without new bearings or anything new? im reading that helicoils will work. i might pop a helicoil in there and a couple spot welds on the bolt for safe measure..lol...

ezone

Helicoils are intended to fix problems like yours.....it's cheap and easy if it works.
If it doesn't work as planned, you're not out much.

Don't try to weld the bolt on..... it's not a wise move IMO.
If the helicoil works there will be no need.