My Odyssey lost power on a long uphill about a week ago. I took it to my mechanic and he said that one of the cylinders is bad. No pressure. He told me that I need a new engine.
My questions, can this engine be repaired?
If not, what should I do about getting a new engine. What would be a good option on used engines?
I live in San Francisco and I have been driving it slowly like that, but I try to avoid uphills as much as possible.
Thank you very much
Anytime you lose compression on any cylinder, it means you replace/rebuild the engine, or look for a replacement vehicle.
Tester
The thing I’ve never liked about minivans is that it’s difficult to get to the engine to do any work. This means it takes more time for a mechanic to maintain or repair the engine, and it’s going to cost more than it would if it were a car, truck, or SUV.
It might be worth it to rebuild or replace the engine if this were another type of vehicle, but the fact that we’re talking about a minivan makes this easy. It’s time to let this one go and buy your next vehicle.
Unless there is a particular reason a minivan most suits your needs (rather than a car, an SUV, or a crossover vehicle), I recommend getting something used that is cheaper to maintain and repair.
The mechanic should have clarified whether or not this low or no compression cylinder is caused by rings or a valve.
With zero or near zero compression I would think this would more than likely be caused by tight valve lash on a valve in the cylinder head.
IF this is the case that does not mean the entire engine needs to be replaced; only a valve job or cylinder head replacement is needed.
It’s also possible that adjusting the valves properly could make the engine run fine again. The issue there would be how long it would do so before needing a valve job or head replacement.
As mentioned above, it depends on what tests the mechanic used to determine the engine is toast. If this engine has some combo of a lot of miles (like 175 k or more) and a history of deferred routine maintenance, the shop’s diagnosis is probably correct. No way to tell via the internet of course, and you always have the option of getting another opinion. But I expect, yes, you’ll need either a major overhaul of this engine, or replace it with another engine, either a used one from a wrecked vehicle, or a remanufactured engine, or a new engine. Of those three options, none are perfect. But all three are worth considering. Which one to chose depends on the condition of other parts of the car, your willingness to spend money on engine repairs, and your other objectives for this car. If you post the model year, the number of miles on the clock, the general condition of the vehicle, any known problems it has, and the routine maintenance history (like the interval on oil and filter changes),you’ll get more specific recommendations here.