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First time poster, but have lurked and found useful info form this forum for the past 3 yrs.

I have a 2001 Honda Civic Lx, 240,000 miles.

She needs her engine replaced, my mechanic found one with 55,000 miles on it for $900, with labor cost it'll be 1,700 to fix.
She will also need a new transmission ($600) and a new clutch more than likely sometime coming up within the year.

My 'new' car budget is only $2,000 and the Hondas in my area are older, have more problems but cost around $1,000. Other car brands have higher mileage for what it would cost me to fix mine. My mechanic says I should do it, as any used car in my budget would need fixing eventually and at least with this I will be at a way lower mileage bracket.

I am agreeing with him, but wanted to hop on here to get second opinions from other Honda owners. I bought her used and she was well taken care of, and I have continued to do that.

Thoughts from other Honda lovers? I am not in a position to wait out a good deal on a used Honda either, and I really love this car. Thanks.

 
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Why does it need a new engine? And what is wrong with the transmission? Manual transmissions last forever with clutch replacement.

I mean if you really like the car it might be worth it to you.

 
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fwiw, I was able to nab an almost new engine probably 15 years ago for $750. Seller claimed it had less than 1000 miles on it, machine shop I brought it to for a once-over said it looked like it had less than 500 miles on it. Then again, was a "right place at the right time" sorta deal.. And it was the current gen civic at the time

just food for thought

 
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The camshaft assembly needs replacing. As for the transmission, I’m not 100% sure.. it makes a weird growling noise, or chatter? Especially in 1-2 gear. I’ve had it for 3 yrs, it has always made that noise, and my work had it for a year before that, with it making that noise. (I worked in a pawn shop.) When I first took it to my mechanic, he said it’s not supposed to be making that noise. I’ve put 40,000 miles on it since then. He figured it would have gone out by now.

 
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I'm curious as to which part of the camshaft assembly.. Technically speaking, that assembly consists of a bolt, cam gear, dowel pin, camshaft, and the cam seal. About $375 in parts if you bought everything new from an online dealer (e.g. hondaautomotiveparts.com), possibly $600-700 in parts if you bought from a dealership. Then another $5-10 for a big ol tube of assembly lube on hand for good measure. Changing that entire assembly would take me.. a few hours in my driveway. 5-6 hours start to finish taking my sweet time and a food/get the hell out of the heat break. lol

 
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I'd get another opinion. Is it burning oil or something? I'm curious what is bad about the camshaft assembly too.

Can't be that bad of a noise if it ran 40k miles with it lol

 
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when my transmission went, it actually lasted a lot, including a 1200 trip.
synchros.gone, shaving killed 2nd gear (or the other way around?)
camshaft usually does not have issues, unless run too long with low oil (actually never heard of camshaft having issues)
finding a new head is another way to do. Keep in mind that EX cars have a different head and a pletora of stuff to do if you install it, so keep to a non-EX head if you choose this route.
but do confirm if it is a camshaft issue

 
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Agreed with the prior posts about the camshaft. It is fairly easily replaceable, either just the camshaft or the head. It seems odd to change the engine for a camshaft issue.

In terms of the transmission noise, the description sounds like it might be the input shaft bearing. Easy test for this one - check the noise while idling in neutral. Clutch depressed = quiet/no noise, clutch released = growling/whirling noise likely means ISB. The opposite of this would point to the throwout bearing - possible but seems to be a less frequent issue for Civics.

We had the same issue on our 2005 LX SE 5-spd and drove it for ~4 years that way. Finally fixed it last fall...definitely not a job for the novice mechanic. We had an extra car at the time, so I took my sweet time (5 weeks, a few evenings each week) to replace the ISB along with the clutch, pressure plate, flywheel, throwout bearing, clutch fluid, axle seals, rear main seal, some misc transmission seals, suspension parts, and engine mounts while I was in there. Probably spent ~$450 in parts with a mix of OEM and aftermarket. The ISB itself was ~$25 (OEM from Honda!). The labor time dominates this repair for sure.