Rep Power: 0

So I have an 01 Civic with about 180,000 miles on it. I'm having so many problems with it! I don't have credit to finance a car and even if I did my insurance rate for full coverage is insane (I'd have to live in the car). So I wanted to ask civic people if it's even worth trying to fix it.

Here's a list of the issues:

Blown head gasket
Small crack in the top of the radiator
Misfire in all 4 cylinders
Smoke came from the engine the other day (only for a second at cold start)
It looks like there's oil in strange places on the engine

And a few small things:

A nail in both back tires
Seatbelts come undone sometimes

So can y'all please help me figure out what to do here

Thanks!

 
Rep Power: 175

It's all about how much you want to keep your car. That's probably more work than the car may be worth in a trade, but a lot of people would do it because they love their cars and don't WANT a new one.

That sucks. There are a LOT of threads about blown head gaskets on the forums though. You are not alone.

Is it leaking? How bad is it?

Did they start misfiring all at once? Did you check the spark plugs for abnormal wear and tear?

Like, hardcore black smoke or steam?

Did you try looking under the hood with the engine running? What strange places?

It they're in the bottom you might be able to patch them up. If it's the sidewall, you're SOL and need new tires. If they're old anyway, replacement is a good idea.

Like, they don't retract all the way or what? The seat belts get dirty and the spring has a harder time retracting in an older car.

 
Rep Power: 0

I can't tell how fast it's leaking I just saw bubbles coming out of the crack
They didn't start at once first it was in the 3rd then all of them
The smoke was white
I had watched it while running it just shakes a lot
The oil seams to be just in little spots it can pool up in
The nails are on the bottom and are like a year and a half old
And the seat belts...it's the buckle just pops out sometimes

 
Rep Power: 245

Do you have money for repairs (at least 1K)? Are you a DIYer?

Some of that stuff you could fix yourself for cheap. Get a quote from a shop. Is the rest of the car in good shape? Do you like it enough to spend money on it?

My tensioner broke last week, bent all my intake valves 30 miles from home. Cost to fix $1500. I have money saved for stuff like this. 1500/12 months is $125 a month which is a low car payment IMO, not as good as $0 like it was but still good for a car I enjoy.

 
Rep Power: 519

Gotta ask:
Spring hole wore through/spring broke?
OE?
Replacement? OEM or aftermarket?
How long did it last?

 
Rep Power: 368

ouch! sorry to hear that...

Cantwell,

misfire and smoke sounds like they are consequences of the gasket/radiator...
Also, I moved your thread out of the 8/9th gen, since yours is a 7th gen.

 
Rep Power: 245

^ yea it was a rather shitty week.

Bought the car with 99K miles, broke at 177K. Timing belt was done before I bought the car. Dealer showed me the records, but not sure if it was OE or not. Replacement is aftermarket (no dealer nearby that I could take the car to).

Do you think I should give them an OE one, or replace the one they put on in a year or so?

Ill see if they can save the tensioner so I can see it, or tell me what part failed.

 
Rep Power: 519

177k? Wow.

I'd want OE tensioner pulley and spring on it if it were me.
If you can supply it to them before the job is reassembled-- go for it ASAP.

Too many horror stories with inferior quality aftermarket, for a part with such an important job to do.

How much is this job costing you again?

 
Rep Power: 245

$1500

Includes:

Timing Belt
Water Pump/Gasket
Tensioner
CAM and Crank Seals
Reman Head and valve train
Complete Valve cover gasket kit
Head gasket
Intake Manifold Gasket
Exhaust Gasket

Ill call and see if they will accept a customer part and see if I can get a tensioner to them. They are still waiting for the head to come in. If they wont wont accept it I can always do the tensioner myself come spring time. Don't want this to happen again over a $40-50 tensioner.

 
Rep Power: 162

As stated by others, it seems a lot of your problems stem from a blown head gasket. Having that fixed will solve most of your problems. Seems like you also need a new radiator at the same time.

For the seatbelt issue, is your Airbag light on (red light on the instrument cluster)? If so, take it to a Honda dealer and have them check it out. Safety equipment like seatbelts are covered under a lifetime warranty, and the dealer will fix certain items for free. Can't hurt to have them look at it.

You are driving on borrowed time with nails in your tires. Probably best to just have both replaced. Tires for this car are not expensive.

 
Rep Power: 0

not trying to hijack your post!! but I cant freakin figure out how to post my own thread!!!! Im also wondering the same thing about my civic!! Can someone point me in the right direction??? i apologize in advance for posting here!! but can someone message me answers to this question?
I have a 98 civic ex with an oil leak on firewall side of engine behind between the alternator and the engine block. The oil is showing on the oil pump I think from diagrams. But its so high on the fire wall side of the oil pump when parked I think it has to be coming from some where higher. I was thinking a cam shaft seal but there are a couple of bolts and stuff around there and it would sure be a lot easier if it was a smaller gasket or something. Anyone have a similar leak. What was the problem with yours. I am not sure exactly what is on that side of the engine above the oil pump but under the head gasket that could be leaking.
thanks for helping a noobie I did search first with no luck.

 
Rep Power: 519

In the FAQ:
https://www.civicforums.com/forums/f..._threads_posts

 
Rep Power: 245

The shop said I could supply them the parts so I am going to get an OE tensioner, possibly pump and belt also.

Is the worn tensioner spring an aftermarket problem or OE? They said they will put all the old parts in a box so I could see what happened.

 
Rep Power: 519

Both.

With OE units, I have only seen the spring problem, and even then they were well past 200k miles when it happened (actual total number of failures seen by me: 2).
(No bearing failures on OE units seen by me here.)
That was enough to make me try to replace on the 2nd or 3rd belt change, if it will go past 200k before the next belt service interval.
Problem is, it adds another chunk of change to a price most people already seem to think is too high. Aaaand we don't see many of those cars anymore at the dealer I'm in.

Aftermarket units, not so sure... (I have read about far more than I have personally seen, and I read far more than just this forum.) Bearing problems or spring problems at an incredibly premature age, either way it's a sure disaster if anything fails.


Make sure your pulley set comes with the new spring.
Look on your new unit, I believe there will be a small sleeve or ring (grommet) in the hole where the spring fits.

Some aftermarket units don't have that sleeve and the spring eats through the arm at an alarming rate. Bearing may be counterfeit, or just plain inferior.

 
Rep Power: 245

Interesting!

So a dealer interval timing belt change doesn't necessarily mean that they changed the tensioner? Especially if the person didn't want to spend the money on it.

I know you inspect it at a timing belt change but because of its importance thought it would be a standard change item.

Sorry OP for jacking your thread!

 
Rep Power: 519

Right. If someone calls on the phone asking about a timing belt service price, what do you think happens when they hear a price that is far higher than the next shop?

No, the only certain thing in a timing belt job is the belt itself gets replaced. Don't assume anything else until you ask and find out for sure.
We always do accessory belts with the job at our shop though. We replace the hydraulic t-belt tensioners on V6 engines (pre sold with the job at the desk). Not much else unless needed, and for that we must get approval.

Remember, the only thing a consumer hears is a price.
Does NOT matter what else is included for that price, all they know is it was waaaay higher than the other shop.
All jobs are exactly the same, all mechanics are exactly the same, all cars are exactly the same.

 
Rep Power: 245

I will be sure to not assume that everything was replaced next time. I just though it being dealer serviced it would have all been done. I know when my wife's TL is due for TB at 105k I will replacing the tensioner for sure.

I picked up a OE tensioner from the dealer today. $110 is a good price for peace of mind in my book. Thanks for the insight!

 
Rep Power: 519

Make sure everyone is on the same page there too.

'Tensioner' is a word that can get everyone in trouble if you leave off those words that change the outcome of the entire conversation!

On the V6 engines, there is the tensioner pulley for the timing belt (not to be confused with the idler pulley for the same), the hydraulic tensioner for the timing belt (older models use a mechanical tensioner that rarely has issues), and the tensioner pulley and arm for the serpentine belt, and that may use another tensioner (small shock absorber looking unit, depending on year and engine).

HTH