So the problem with these cracked blocks is a slow coolant leak, not a catastrophic failure. The slow coolant leak, if not detected, leads to overheating/head gasket breach/worse?
Actually, Iām well aware of the exact nature of the cracked blocks on these Hondas
Iāve encountered them myself
One time, I diagnosed a cracked block and sent the lady to the Honda dealer, as I had discovered that the car . . . at the time . . . still had that extended warranty on the engine
She got it repaired at no cost to herself and she showed her gratitude to me . . . by doing not a darn thing. Not a word of thanks, in spite of the fact that I saved her a lot of money. She knew nothing about the extended warranty on the engine and was prepared to spend a considerable amount of money installing a used engine
Believe me, I turned down some future opportunities to work on her car.
She could have at least brought me some donuts
Look at the bright side, maybe doughnuts could lead to high cholesterol, weight gain and diabetes! Just kidding, yes a thanks for your help would be the least to hope for.
From my understanding yesā¦not a ācatastrophicā failure per say, not like a chunk of the block falls off. But couple any coolant leak from anywhere with consumers who donāt even check their engine oil, lift their hood or otherwise know they have an engine and that seep becomes low coolant, overheats, warped headsā¦blown head gasketsā¦which are very real problems.
In Hondaās instance most of the pressure is held in by the nature of the crack in the aluminum, it is sort of a natural labyrinth sealā¦so it seeps. This is in NO WAY an attempt at saying this issue is no big deal because, it IS, and would be in any vehicles engine block, it simply shouldnāt exist, period.
Every instance of this repair was a ānothing to loseā, fix it or junk it situation. I made it clear that this was a unique situation and something that should never exist and that I could not properly guarantee that it will be permanent or work at all. In spite of this, I was asked to help. So far so good, but for how long?
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Iām not sure if you will get this but itās worth a try. I got my son a 06 civic back in 2015 with about 133K. Regular maintenance done on it. 2 months ago it started smoking. I had it checked and found out the block had a crack like the one in your video. After almost 2 month dealing with Honda they declined to assist in repairs. We live in the Oakland - East Bay Area. Do you know a reputable shops in the area and about how much is the repair? Thanks.
Can you tell if itās smoke (as in burning oil) or steam (hot coolant)? It might be something he can live with if lost fluids are replenished. A crack like that might be sealed with JB Weld - it worked on my old 79 Toyota 4X4ās cast iron block.
Guesses at a repair price over the web is almost impossible . As for a shop just do like most of us. Google shops and read the reviews and look for reviews on Angieslist , Yelp and others . This is a very involved repair so you might consider a used replacement engine. Or the cost might not be worth it on your vehicle , only you can decide that.
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I doubt you will find any shop that is willing to sign its name to a repair like thisā¦ Whether that be right or wrong is another discussion entirely. Most places would not want to take on this responsibility or hassle as people can make a business owners life hell especially if that business tried to repair something that was none of their business to try repairing in the first place and the customer was unhappy with the resultā¦ It could get ugly. So my guess is any smart shop owner will say āno thank youā. Iād suspect you will be told to junk the vehicle or replace the engine.
Because I have repaired this problem in the past, does not mean that I should have repaired itā¦ and unless you find a guy you can coerce into attempting this repairā¦I think you are S.O.L.
In each instance I tried to assist with this problem, I made it crystal clear that I should not be attempting this repair and cannot guarantee what will happen, how long it will last, etcā¦ It was a do or die, nothing to lose, Hail Mary situation.
But Iām a special type of idiot, who enjoys problem solving and helping people, so there you have itā¦ A few repaired Honda blocks on my resumeā¦there are plenty of other repairs on my resume that shouldnāt have been attempted also, but againā¦read the first few words of this paragraph again.
Good luck fixing this issue its possible if you find the right person.
There is no repair to speak of
You either replace the block
Or you scrap the car
There is no in-between
And if you replace the block, I HIGHLY suggest you buy the new block from Honda. If you buy a used block or engine, there is EVERY reason to think it will be one of the early versions, the one likely to crack
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I know that if this was my car or one of my relatives cars, I would absolutely attempt this repair. There is so much to gain and so little to lose that I canāt see any DIY scrapping a car without trying this. What is to lose? A package of JB Weld and the price of an oxygen sensor socket. I have never bought an oxygen sensor socket because when I take one off, a new one is going in and after I chase the threads the new one goes in easily with an open end, crescent, or crows foot wrench. I can understand why a shop might not want to do it. I gave had great results with J B Weld.
The only better epoxy I have ever seen was a fuel tank repair kiy that NAPA used to sell. They still may sell it but the last time I saw it used was 45 years ago.
The trucking company I worked for had one in stock. We had a rig set to go from Buffalo to Montreal and a diesel fuel leak was discovered near the bottom of one of the 60 gallon tanks. the mechanic took the kit that consisted of a plastic bag with about a half pint of epoxy with a tube of hardener attached to it and a large wax stick The mechanic bent the tube of hardener and shot it into the mag and mixed it by kneading, plugged the hole with the wax stick, wiped the stick with a rag, sliced on side of the bag and applied the epoxy to the tank. No more leak and out the gate it went. The mechanic said the epoxy got very hot as soon as it was mixed and would grab the metal of the tank right through the diesel fuel.
The kit wasnāt cheap, I think it was a little over $30 at the time but it saved a bundle of money.
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My civic engine block cracked as well and honda did not want to fix it, I filed a complaint with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration , if they receive enough complaints they can force honda to recall the engines and fix it.
Not on cars that old. If you are counting on this you will be sorely disappointed.
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Your car is too old for a new recall, recalls arenāt issued after 10 years unless the investigation was started before the 10 year limit.
Your engine defect is not a safety issue, the NHTSA does not oversee quality issues.
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Oh, so your just using JB weld or something like that?
The thing is, I donāt have the car yet, donāt even know if the block is cracked, but was reading about possible issues.
Local classified has a real clean looking 2008 Civic says
185k miles
Reliable and well maintained
Valid WV inspection sticker
Great gas mileage
No rust
Newer tires
Newer brakes
Price is firm at $1,800.00
From checking Kelley blue book $1,800.00 almost seems too cheap for the car does it not?
I donāt know maybe Iām just overthinking a good deal but almost like itās raising a red flag.
Iām too new of a member to add pictures but itās real clean looking.
Well the guy just wrote me and said he has a couple people looking at it today so Iām thinking at that price and itās nice looking as it is it will be gone.
I had asked him if the timing belt was ever replaced and then I got to reading how an 06 they went to a timing chain,
So I told him I may be incorrect and it may be a timing chainā¦
and he wrote back kind of sounded smart at first but I donāt think that was his fault he said
" I donāt know what youāre talking about timing belt/ chainā¦ thereās nothing wrong with the car. Then he said he had a couple people looking at it so like I said at that price itāll probably be gone.
Trouble is to I donāt have no transportation to go look at anything but nobody to really ride me so I canāt jump on these things right away.
Probably see it relisted in a couple days for $3,000 thatās what people do.
@mrbreezeet1 What are trying to do ? You have tagged on to a thread about cracked blocks and you are writing about a used vehicle you have not even seen . If you want to know if you should buy it no one on the web can answer that . Frankly the guy has people looking at it so he really does not need to mess with you.
I was just asking for an opinion sorry for the confusion forget about the car just Iām just asking about the JB weld and Iām going to look at it today.
I guess I should have started a new thread sorry for the confusion.
ā¦ but a mechanic can be very helpful, prior to purchase.
If this Honda is still available, and if the OP is genuinely interested in buying it, he should ask the seller if he will permit an inspection by a mechanic of the OPās choice. If the answer is ānoā, then keep lookingā¦
Yes a mechanic inspection is a good thing to do . But if I am selling a vehicle for 1800.00 I will tell the person either buy it or go away . There are plenty of buyers for something like that so reason to mess with someone.
I donāt normally have an extra $1,800 in my back pocket I would have had to get a cab to go look at it and everything and they didnāt want to let me leave a $400 deposit and come back with the balance on Monday.
well I told her just let me know if itās still available Monday and Iād show up with the cash banks are closed today and I can only take out $300 at a time from the ATM Iām sure itāll sell.
Like I said Iāll probably see it on there next week for $3,500.