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Hey folks, I have a question to ask and I need some opinions kind of quickly. Before I ask, let me say that this site has saved me tons of money with the quality information that is provided here and although I'm just a "lurker", I appreciate all the info.

So, my wife just had a very minor fender bender (front bumper) and my '01 Civic EX is running slightly rough since the incident today. There is no structural damage, just minor paint and contact scratches. There are no visible leaks in the engine compartment. Like I said, the car is just running a little rough and I'm thinking that with minor shock it took, maybe the timing was thrown off?

I'm really clueless as to what it might be but here's the kicker....I'm overseas and I was planning on putting my car on the boat to ship it back to the States tomorrow morning so a Honda dealer is out of the question. All I have is a general mechanic and I would like to give him some idea of what it might be. I know this is a long shot but if anyone has had this happen, please throw any suggestions out there. It is much appreciated. Take care.

 
Rep Power: 274

1: If the problem is happening only in gear or more noticeably at idle and when you are braking or accelerating, probably a busted motor mount.

2: Minor fender benders can be deceptively damaging. Does the car track straight or is it out of alignment? out of alignment and drifting to one side is definitely indicative of lower suspension component damage or minor frame misalignment.

3: If the timing is off, the engine won't start, period. I might do the idle re-learn procedure if your problem only happens at idle. You may want to check and make sure nothing got sucked into the air intake or the resonator as well.

4: If the problem is rough running at all speeds, you may have ripped a hose or vacuum line or something. really be careful and check the "soft" parts. If your fender bender was as small as you make it sound, it may very well be a torn hose or misaligned part that is pushing on something it shouldn't be.

Pics would help. So would some sounds of the noise.

 
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Ok, here are the pics. Thanks for your comments and suggestions. After taking another look, I did notice damage to the rubber "boot" (for lack of a better word). Is it possible that the reason the car is running rough is due to this? The car idles at 1,000 rpm, normal for this car.

 
Rep Power: 274

Yep, that thar would be a busted motor mount.

The rubber supports the mount and dampens vibration and cushions against the shock loads of acceleration and deceleration in the RPM band of the engine and in between shifts.

Even though our engines aren't powerful by any sense of the word, the torque from revving or from starting from a standstill is still enough to twist the engine on its mounts. If the mounts are broken, the twisting will still happen, but it will be in the driveline to the transmission, which is bad news.

Replacing a motor mount is not all that difficult, it's just that you have to support the engine and / or tranny with a jack + wood block to do it while the car is raised.

I would be more worried about the fact that you may have pushed the alignment of the mount hole back - seriously, I'd take measurements and make sure all distances are within specs - download the shop manual, get a tram gauge or make a poor man's version, and check the distances to different points on the frame.

 
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Well, as expected, the knowledge from people like you is outstanding. I really appreciate it. I think I'm going to just put the car on the boat and sent it over to Baltimore. I'll be stationed in D.C. and my vehicle port is in Baltimore. I'll just find a reputable Honda dealer in the area to get it fixed. Any clue on how much something like this runs?

 
Rep Power: 274

Thanks. Rep if you can.

No clue how much the labor would cost, the part for that one is:

$101 Plus shipping, handling, etc.

I have no clue what they'll charge for labor, nor what else is wrong with the car. Sometimes dealers won't do repairs on a car thats been in an accident but hasn't seen a body shop. Liability reasons, etc. There may be other stuff wrong with it obviously. Diagnosis from teh interwebz is sketchy at best.

 
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Thanks, bro. Rep has been added. Well, I guess we'll see what happens. It's either ship it and hope it doesn't get worse, or keep it here, order the part, and have the mechanic here fix it and be without a car for a month in D.C. Again, thanks for all your help.

 
Rep Power: 274

No problem. Just a heads up, the part link I provided was for a 2003 manual tranny sedan motor mount. You'll want to go to majestic's homepage and select your make / model / year and select "Engine mount" for the page to get the correct part number.

 
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Quick update to my situation.....the mechanic did a quick inspection of the other motor mounts and he said that they were in good condition, i.e. no damage. So, the only mount that received damage was the left engine mount.
His recommendation is that the vehicle can be shipped with no problem to be fixed. Now, the issue for me is cost to repair. This guy is only charging me $50 labor to fix the mount while I can expect a bit more in the states. I will be calling for estimates but I feel a little relieved to know that there is no other damage to the vehicle.

 
Rep Power: 274

Yeah, if he's only charging $50, just be sure he uses a jack to support the engine while replacing the mount, and that he torques everything down to spec. Also make sure that he uses a genuine honda mount. One thing you don't want is an el cheapo mount going bad on you and having to pay much more for labor in the states.