overhaul

the car is a 1990 Civic DX. A second overheat happened this morning.
The plan is to replace the cylinder head gasket and have the car overhauled. For those who had their civics overhauled, how much did it cost? Or can anyone estimate the cost of overhauling? Thanks!

probably cheaper to buy a used engine and drop it

this is taken from a thread made a day or so ago....

The mechanic said it would be around 200 to 250$ to put in another gasket and the head was probabley warped to. I thought that was too high.


that sounds about right for a head gasket install. i once had my head rebuilt and the gasket replaced (also water pump and thermostat) and it was $400. the mechanic ended up over torquing the head and it blew the brand new gasket within a month. looking back i think it would have blown again anyways. my stuff was warped and he sent the head off to be re-cut. so they slapped the straight head on a warped bottom. it would have been better off sticking the warped head back on as it would have at least gotten a better seal with the head gasket.

to be flat honest you could change the head gasket yourself. you could get the head rebuilt and cut. you could have the bottom dealt with as well. in the end it will be a lot of money in parts, even if you do the labor yourself. it would be much more cost effictive to buy a replacement engine.

crx manual: http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/manual.htm

if you click that link you will find from replacing the engine to replacing the head gasket to the rings. check it all out, that way you at least know what your mechanic is talking about and you know first hand what all is envolved.

feel free to ask more questions. sometimes you can learn a lot from others experiences and mistakes :)

by the way, a good way to tell if your head gasket is bad is to check your coolant. if you are low on coolant then check your oil. if it looks like chocolate milk (or milky) then that = coolant in your oil and the gasket is bad.

if your coolant is low and the oil looks fine, then it might be your thermostat

the smoke from the exhaust is white, the oil looks chocolate milk with lots of milk, and coolant evaporates quickly (in a full radiator, after 4 miles, coolant is all gone). Gasket is the problem.
Everyone's input is well appreciated especially ladynredsi's

everyone, thank you very much !

head removal:
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-6-8.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-6-9.jpg
check for warpage:
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-6-17.jpg
head install:
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-6-22.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-6-23.jpg
http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/images/91-6-24.jpg
info from: http://www.binghamtonlife.com/manual/2gsm/cylinder_head_valve_train.htm

if the engine has less than 150,000mi i would say it's worth trying to fix. if you're creeping up on 200,000 i would say replace the engine. it is very important to check for warpage before you replace the gasket. little warpage is okay. if it's overheated a bunch and really warped then replace the engine.

it's a tough call to make, but you need to know when to pull it. otherwise it will nickle and dime you to it's death.

I have never opened the head of any car; this would be a good start. Thanks once again

never a problem! if you have any other questions, feel free to ask.