sanjbb

hi,
the timing belt failed on my civic and I have bent valves as a result. my mechanic said that I should replace the rod bearings and piston rings beside the valves.

opinions?

(sorry wrong subforum. could you move please)

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

Moved!

Explore your options. It might be cheaper to replace the engine with a lower mileage one than it would be to repair it. Check junkyards in your area and forums. Kijiji and craigslist. You can find a replacement D17 for as little as 500 dollars if you look. If your strapped for time and absolutely need the car than it might be best to fix it. I would fix whatever is broken, dont cheap out on parts that may have been damaged but also don't replace stuff that doesnt need to be. Most of the time you can leave the piston and rod alone but you have to check the piston face for damage and the rod for trueness. It depends on how hard the impact was. Generally a valve will bend before damaging anything else.

ezone

^^^What he said.
If you go with a used engine, put a new timing belt and water pump on it before it goes in the car.

I haven't seen rod bearing damage from bending valves, myself.

Once the head is off, there will be dig marks in the pistons where the valves hit. What you can't see is whether or not those dents have collapsed the soft aluminum piston top onto the top ring.

Most of the time, a valve job is the most anyone wants to pay for. So that's all it gets. (They couldn't afford a timing belt maintenance in the first place, but they can afford this now?)
I tell them to start checking their oil, there's a good chance it will use more now. And don't cry and whine later, because you only wanted to do the cheapest possible repair to make it run again.

Most come out just fine with only the valve job.

Gearhead 1978

I agree with blueem2 and e zone. Explore your options before putting serious money down on fixing the Rod bearing and piston rings. In my experience, I haven't really seen rod bearing or piston rings get screwed up because of timing belt failure (unless you're going like 90+ when the timing belt snapped). I would definitely suggest getting a valve job but I would first take the head off to inspect the damage as e zone suggest. This way you can see how bad the damage was to the piston and valve. If it really wasn't that bad, still get a valve job AND I suggest getting and using a set of ARP head studs and possibly a new & thicker head gasket (Cosmetic is a good brand). YES I am going to get people to disagree with the both head studs and the head gasket. However my reasoning is that the head studs will allow you to remove your heads if it is needed in the near future and besides OEM head studs will stretch in time and frequency of head removal. With the thicker head gasket, I suggest it only as a precaution to future hassles to the engine. This is what I would do if given the chance to redo my heads instead of relying on Honda techs.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

You don't want to mess with the thickness of your head gasket. Thicker head gasket = lower compression which is not good unless you plan to turbo it. As far as ARP head studs go I do agree they are a good investment. However the civics OEM head bolts are good and don't stretch unless overtorqued or removed 3+ times.. Unless you plan to turbo your car or do major modification dont bother spending the 100+ dollars on those either. Sorry gearhead but I disagree (lol). Your valve job will be expensive enough without aftermarket improvements. Unless of course you plan to turbo it

sanjbb

thanks guys..

as a thought, a valve job will resolve the situation for most cases.. hopefully will mine to...

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

EP2...
let's see, it seems that it uses same chassis as the EP3 (US) but with a D16 engine?
i think they EU/UK models?
so, timing belt, not chains, i guess.

civic0427

When it comes to bent valves on a Honda, those engines are cheap enough to just get a JDM. To get a valve job and have the machine work done on the head its more cost effective to just buy the JDM. They usually have around 50-60 k on them for anywhere from $500 to $800. That is what I did. I bought my car with a hole in the block and oil pan.

BlueEM2

iTrader: (1)

^ I'm skeptical on JDM. Most JDM dealers sell crap engines that have never been tested even though they say they have. I think your best bet is the junkyard or a place like that. They actually run the engines and compression test them. I love how JDM engines give you a 30 day warranty when they know most people won't even have it installed and running in that timeframe. If you do buy JDM, be very careful who you buy from. DO YOUR RESEARCH.

sanjbb

yes, you're right. d16v1 eudm. no chains....