Rep Power: 0

I have a 2003 1.7L four door Civic sedan that apparently has a blown head gasket. It’s had ongoing overheating issues and two garages came to the same conclusion. They both said that it passed a pressure test but when really hot (for me it started acting up around 90 degrees weather wise) the temp needle would start to peak. Car has 135,000 miles and I have put a LOT of maintenance into it. There isn’t much that I haven’t replaced (timing belt, radiator, hoses, CV axles, motor mounts, fuel injectors, sway bars, full brakes, new battery, after market modern stereo, etc…) as I wanted the car to last another 100K miles. To my mind it makes sense to do the repair

So after talking to various garages I’ve come to the conclusion that the smartest thing to do is replace the engine. For starters, no one wants to give me an estimate for the head gasket until they “get in there” and see what they are dealing with. Fair enough but seems to me a better bet is to get a good used engine from a reputable reseller for a grand or so and get a set price to just replace the entire engine instead. I’ve been told that I should be able to find someone to replace the engine (labor) for $800 or so. The only other issues / annoyances the car has is a small oil leak that the garage said was at the bottom of the engine (?) and a crazy squeal from the A/C that has went on for years and does my head in. Replacing the engine (I believe) should solve those issues as well I would think.

So my questions are this:

1) Does this all make sense here and am I making the right decision?

2) If it is indeed a fairly minor gasket issue (for now) would I likely be OK driving it for a while in cooler weather if I keep the radiator topped off? If I decide to try and nurse this along until Spring (big $$ issues paying for this currently... like really big) do I risk doing any additional damage that wouldn’t be resolved by the engine replacement?

3) Are there any pitfalls that I might face if I do go with the replacement engine that I might not be aware of? Any other general advice here? I've put a fair amount of money into the car already and want to be certain I am making the best decision moving forward. Any help appreciated!

 
Rep Power: 224

The issue with buying a replacement engine is it could very likely need a head gasket replacement too, or at least would need one soon. You also don't know how it was cared for in the past and would likely have more miles than your original. 135k is fairly low mileage in my eyes.

If the engine has not been severely overheated, everything else should be in good shape. If the engine still runs and sounds healthy, I see no reason why there would be any addition costs. I would estimate around $1k (including labor) for the head gasket replacement.

You could theoretically keep driving the car and topping off the radiator. The coolant reservoir will likely overfill so check it too. Keep checking it often and track how much you're putting in. Don't expect it to drive 1k miles or something without overheating.

 
Rep Power: 367

actually... With a special warning that mine had a small leak when I detected the overflow pushing coolant out - it did not overheat at that point.
detected around November/December
sadly, I was not at home, still in Canada, plan to return to US in the following year...
So I kept checking coolant levels and temperatures.
May the next year, loaded the civic with my stuff, coolant in hand
1.2k miles, it did not overheat. had to fill when i stopped in a hotel for the night
changed the gasket at home myself.

Again, mine was detected early and never overheated

 
Rep Power: 0

If I could find someone to do the head gasket for $1000 as mentioned above I think I’d be inclined to do that but (so far) the few places I’ve asked locally are much higher. The garage that first looked at it didn’t do it but recommended a place that had a machine shop in house. I contacted them and the guy hemmed and hawed and finnaly said “it could run anywhere from a couple to a few thousand”. I watched a YouTube video on the repair and it seemed so technical with various torques and such that I’ve been nervous about who to contact. Am I over thinking that? Would any good tech or mechanic likely be able to do it without issue? The second garage that looked at it also didn’t do the repair but recommended they do an engine replacement for OVER 6K

 
Rep Power: 0

For the record, this is the engine I've considered

 
Rep Power: 224

I worded my post poorly. I meant don't expect it to do 1k miles straight without topping off the radiator.

Back in ~2012 it cost me $800 for a head gasket replacement, this is likely the price I would charge someone to do it myself (no shop and not technically a mechanic). This was a guy with his own shop who only worked on Honda's.

Parts list:
-Head gasket $100
-Check/mill head $150 (machine shop)
-Coolant $50
-Miscellaneous other gaskets $50
-Labor $$

 
Rep Power: 367

couple to a few grands? that is too much...
1.5k if high.
Where are you located? Could be higher depending on state/city.
I did mine at home, you hit a snag here and there, but a shop shouldn't have that much issues

 
Rep Power: 0

I'm in St. Louis City which makes it extra frustrating as since I moved here it's seemed that every single thing is cheaper than anywhere else I've been and I've never had a problem finding a guy willing to do car stuff relatively cheap. I know there is a guy out there willing to do this for a decent payday for a weekends work if I can just find him. I'm going to keep posting on Facebook and NextDoor for now I guess until he shows himself lol