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Hi,

I'm looking at buying a civic to work on. I'm currently looking at one that is 2014 Honda Civic that has 105k and a new timing belt.

She said that her daughter let it almost run out of oil at one point. The car still runs, but it has a knocking sound.

Any advice? I want to know if this is possible to fix or should I stay far away?

 
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Can you buy it for $1000? Are you willing to swap the engine? At home because a shop will want way too much money.

 
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Just talked to them on the phone and he said it has about 1 1/2 quart when he found it was low. So it wasn't completely out.

 
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He is asking $400.

 
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Still needs an engine, I call bs on only 1.5qts low.
is the rest of the car in decent shape?

 
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Yeah, there’s no chance it was only 1.5qts down. I ran my civic almost empty (I put two quarts in and still wasn’t showing on the dipstick) when I first got it still runs perfectly. I’d do $400 if it’s in good shape. An engine will run you a grand at most

 
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Yes, the rest of the car is in great shape. No rust, etc.

Where do you recommend I get an engine from? Is this doable at home?

 
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You may get lucky with a salvage yard but wholesale where you’ll get the most options.

Definitely doable at home.

 
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Yeah you'll need an engine crane ($100-200) jack and jack stands, plus all the normal tools. Should be able to just unbolt the AC compressor and move it out of the way, that way you don't have to worry about recharging it

 
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Thanks for the information. I think this would be a fun project although I've never done anything like this.

Anything else I should know before I commit? Is there a good overview video so I can get an idea of what is going to be done.

 
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YouTube probably has something.

 
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Next best thing is a Haynes manual. It'll show you everything you need to do.

 
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If the Civic drives, can is it safe trying to drive it home?

If I do end up not being able to drive it, what is the cheapest way to get it to my house? Tow company? U-haul?

 
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how far is the drive home and how loud is the knock? I mean, if you're gonna swap the engine anyways, drive it if it's not too far and the knock isn't so loud it makes you say, "HOLY CRAP IT'S GONNA EXPLODE!"

I had rock knock on my 2002. Was loud enough to make me say, "wtf is that..?" Oil had metal shavings it in, a main bearing or 2 was bad. Luckily had spare block on hand, so I just put that one in.

Harbor freight engine hoist/crane with some chain from home depot did me very well for a good price (I wanna say it was like $200 for both engine stand and engine hoist)

 
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Drive it, make sure the oil is full. If it blows up you at least got it closer to home

 
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Put some real heavy weight oil in it too, that will make it last a bit longer.

I have rented a Uhaul tow dolly numerous times to get cars home. Runs me about $50 to rent but is a piece of cake to use. Granted you have something to pull it with.

 
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Thanks again for all the guidance.

So I'm rethinking if I'm actually going to be able to do this or if it's worth it.

As far as cost, so far I have:
Car: $400
Hoist: $180
Stand: $50
Engine:$600-$800
Plus all the extra small things.

That is $1500 total cost and then KBB says the car is worth $7000-$9000. Potential profit of $5000 which sounds great when I'm not thinking of what work is involved.

I watched this video:
There is so much to do just to get the engine out. I feel I would be overwhelmed because I really have no idea what I'm doing once that engine comes out.

Does the Haynes manual give a lot of detail?

And with Winter coming(I'm in the northeast), I don't know if I have enough time.

 
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The car’s still available? That’s surprising. You should be able to just flip it for that cheap if you don’t wanna do the work.

 
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haynes manual did me good for pulling the engine on my 2002. However, it did tell me to drop the subframe and drop the engine out the bottom. Found videos to pull it out the top. The 8th gen engine bay, however, is a lot tighter than the 7thgen. As far as what to do when the engine is out, start tearing her down. Pull the head off, make sure that's good to go. The real fun comes when you start tearing down the bottom end, given what we know about this engine. Main bearings probably no bueno, especially if there's a knocking sound (rod knock is highly likely). Do yourself a favor, find yourself a good machine shop and work with them

edit: well, i'll be damned. I didn't know that part that comes over the top of the engine on the firewall side comes out

 
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Well, I just found out a few minutes ago that it is actually a 2004 civic, not 2014. I don't know if its worth it at all now.

 
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Eh, yeah, at that point, unless you wanna have fun and k-swap it, idk if it'd be worth it either

edit: dropped a couple letters

 
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That makes a lot more sense. A 2014 for $400 wouldn’t last an hour.

 
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It looks like those engines are $$ too.

 
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And any 7th Gen civic has the potential for head gasket issues