No I don’t agree that the engine is toast. Odds are that it is, but I have on occasion seen an engine that others thought was toast, and it was perfectly fine, it was an accessory making noise or a broken wire somewhere that was causing the issues, easy fix.
The parts counter guy’s opinion had less than zero to do with mine.
I wouldn’t put much faith in what the auto parts store said. They sell parts. Mechanics diagnose & repair cars. Seek out a good mechanic for a diagnosis. It might be something simple. Worse case, a replacement engine. Not that big of a deal, esp with an Accord, since the engine will be easy to find. Folks here post about needing replacement engines most every day. The main concern about a replacement engine isn’t the engine, it is the rest of the car’s condition, especially structureral rust issues.
In defense of the parts counter guy, there could be a caveat here. The OP appears to know little about vehicles and it’s possible that something was lost in translation between the counter guy and what was posted here.
Maybe what the counter guy said was drop the pan, remove the bearing cap, file it down a bit, reinstall it, and then tighten the bearing cap bolts.
That’s not something I would ever do but it has been known to happen. Any benefit may last seconds or 1000s of miles; all depending.
I agree with @keith
For example . . . broken/cracked flexplates are often misdiagnosed as bottom end problems
Some mechanics say the engine is toast, when it’s something actually something relatively minor
The Reason we are saying it is probably toast is because the OP is obviously NOT car savvy…so they took it to someone who was at least more familiar with cars than they were…which is getting even scarier. I would like to think a parts guy knows the sound of Rod Knock…its an Extremely Distinctive sound. While he knows the sound of Rod Knock he didnt know how to remedy it properly.
My money is on the engine is ruined due to oil starvation…OR the Rod Knock he thought he heard was the water pump starting to let go and it snapped a T-belt…All Roads lead to Rome in this instance.
I dont say that she should not get a second opinion as we are all sitting at our computers trying to help someone after all. We need to be part mechanic and part psychotherapist sometimes when diagnosing peoples noises that are associated with their cars. Many times its behavior that causes car failures…its a fun field of study
Blackbird.
We need to be part mechanic and part psychotherapist sometimes when diagnosing peoples noises that are associated with their cars.
I would think more clairvoyant than psychotherapist.
That Too !
Blackbird