supagyrl88

Okay, so I took my car to the mechanic (a new one for me) because my check engine light went on. Told me I need a new o2 sensor ($214) and can also clean my fuel system ($189)--didn't force me to do it, but I chose to. Anyway, later on he tells me that he opened up the manifold area and noticed a crack in my manifold. And he said I need to replace because it affects my car, air going into the crack causes strange idle (which I have noticed on/off) and then eventually get my engine. Is all this true? Can someone help me? Do I really need to do this? My car has 169000 miles on it and expect to get at least 150000 more hopefully. He said with parts/labor (including a catalytic converter/manifold/gasket) it's $870. What say you experts?

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

wow, i assume ur an lx/dx, since the header/cat are one piece, short answer, this sucks, becausethe cat/header are one piece, but u can do it cheaper yourself, www.hondaautomotiveparts.com will help with that, or you can switch to ex exhuast(vtec) either way ur gonna be paying a crapload to fix this, id look in the for sale section to see if anyone has a used manifold you could buy, it would be much cheaper

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

oh, and u got ripped off on the fuel system cleaning, its a 10 dollar bottle of stuff that they inject through a vacuum line, and does very little

supagyrl88

sorry it was throttle body service not fuel cleaning.

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

either way they are crazy, that cost is nuts, but what year and submodel is ur car, ie lx/dx or ex

supagyrl88

yeah, it is nuts, but what can i do...i'm no pro or anything. my car is a 1999 civic lx 4 door sedan

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

ok, manifold is 455 bucks, because it has the cat built in, o2 sensor is 142 dollars, plus shipping, plus install, i can see why it so expensive, id look into aftermarket exhausts and cat converters, dont know much about 6th gens, but its not gonna be cheap

supagyrl88

so from you expertise, you think it's a good idea for me to change it?

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

its gonna make u lose some gas mileage, and have SOME idle problems, its nothing major right now, but it will be in the future, and it will make u throw a check engine light and change the way ur car runs

supagyrl88

I just moved far from all my friends who know anything about cars and can fix them, but from experience it sucks to have friends fix your cars because of all the labor and stuff. If I knew how to do it myself I would do it. I already got a new sensor, it says bank#1, sensor #1 so when I have them replace my manifold and converter, the prices is $870 (parts/labor) + tax. Do you think that price is fare as far as getting it done by a mechanic?

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

its not bad, they are expensive parts, so its really not horrible, if ur in considering doing it, i would, its just a good idea, u dont want to let this go

WgnrNick

iTrader: (3)

Yea, considering what the parts cost and with labor thats not too terribly bad. You could let it go for a bit but you should get it fixed as soon as possible imo. Best of luck and tell us what all is going on.




Wagner

supagyrl88

thanks for all your help. I'm glad I found this forum. I've had bad experiences with mechanics so I've been pretty much very skeptical of what they say. THANKS!

greeen01civic4d

iTrader: (7)

any time, and this is a new topic for me, never had this question, good thread +1 for u, welcome to ur first green dot

02CivicLX4dr

I have a 02 4dr LX with a cracked manifold also. I have done some research and found that you can have the crack welded for about $150. Better yet, check on a product called Permatex Hi-Temp Metal Repair Compound. It seals cracks in manifolds and is supposed to get harder as it gets hotter - up to 2000 F. It is hard to find, but they do have some on Amazon.com. I ordered some last night and I am looking forward to getting it soon so I can check if it is going to save me not only a lot of money, but twice as much time. I will let you know!

02BLKCIVIC

iTrader: (8)

ex exhaust swap!

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

From the experience of everyone who has ever welded a crack, its going to come back. Its just how it works. You need to replace it.

This stuff you picked up on amazon... post the part number and product name for reference... but I dont think it will work. Please post some info on it- maybe a mini step by step on how you did it, and update it every few weeks until it cracks again, or if it seems like it def will hold up. I'm interested to see if it stands up.

supagyrl88

I just changed my manifold. Found someone to do it for $775 total. I just wanted to get it over with. It seems to run pretty well now. Smells a bit form the work but I assume it will die out eventually.

TRIZ

iTrader: (14)

Yeah, the donut gasket has to melt for a tight seal... it'll stink for maybe 2 weeks and be like new.

SearchLight

another 150,000 out of that bad boy? that's asking a lot, but good luck haha

Dticalman81

^I've seen ppl drive this car up to 500,000 miles. Go search on the forum...!