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Overhaul 86' CRX engine

H

Hellotalkie

Golden Member
I have this winter beater CRX that's been having engine issues. It's the original carb motor with 160,000 miles

The engine overheated and I'm sure it may be damaged. A lot of white smoke, and possibly knocking. Burning coolant. Guessing head gasket

Car isn't worth much at all, if I was to keep it it's mostly sentimental and the fact that it has 0 rust, and they're hard to find unmodified.

I'm wondering, how much would an engine overhaul/rebuild or replacement cost me? I wouldn't take on the task myself as I have 0 experience doing so or have the tools or space. The car is old but it sure is fun to drive.

Junk it or keep it running?

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Its best to get another engine and work on the old one in your spare time. I think this cars are collectible. Your head gasket is blown.
 
I'd guess at $2-5k. But that depends a lot on what needs to be cleaned/replaced/machined once the engine is apart.
 
JCH13 said:
I'd guess at $2-5k. But that depends a lot on what needs to be cleaned/replaced/machined once the engine is apart.
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If I was to replace the engine I would look into fuel injected rather than carb. But I don't know how complex that would be.
 
cr2250 said:
If I was to replace the engine I would look into fuel injected rather than carb. But I don't know how complex that would be.
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Is it possible for you to get a replacement engine as oppose to upgrading to a fuel injected engine? You might have to do some modification for an upgrade. It is possible to replace it with a different engine but it will require some work.
 
Junk it?!!
You should at least try to sell it I'm sure someone will buy it even with the bad motor.
 
Because it hasn't been mentioned yet... LSX swap...

Seriously though, don't junk that. Someone will buy it even with the toasted engine. You aren't going to get a lot of $ for it... but better than scrap value probably.
 
eng2d2 said:
Is it possible for you to get a replacement engine as oppose to upgrading to a fuel injected engine? You might have to do some modification for an upgrade. It is possible to replace it with a different engine but it will require some work.
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If I source an engine that's exactly the same, how much do you think a full swap would be?
 
cr2250 said:
If I source an engine that's exactly the same, how much do you think a full swap would be?
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$1-2k in labor for a swap I bet.

And yeah, I would want that shell if it were to go up for sale and I am not a Honda fanboi. The CRX was/is a great sports car.
 
JCH13 said:
$1-2k in labor for a swap I bet.



And yeah, I would want that shell if it were to go up for sale and I am not a Honda fanboi. The CRX was/is a great sports car.
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Except it's an auto! It is nice to not have to drive the ST every once in a while though.
 
Yeah I bought it in California. Richmond area. Thought it was a gold find! Drove it for a year then it stopped working. 1 owner no accidents (or at least recorded).
 
I'd probably hit up the local forum on honda-tech to find someone to do the work. I can't imagine that whatever you end up doing would end up costing that much, I'd probably find a replacement low milage JDM engine on ebay and swap that in.
 
AdamK47 said:
What's the big draw with these cars?
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I think it's because they're so light and feel very connected to the road. While my ST is fun, the crx just seems wildly more connected. The powerless steering, the the 50hp engine be able to rocket this car from a stop. Honestly this car is a blast to drive because I can drive it to its limit and stay within the legal limits of the road.
It's also been super cheap to maintain.
 
You should be able to find a bolt-in D-series engine for ~$300 without too many miles, tack on another $1-200 (optimistically, will need to shop around) for harness and electronics if you're moving up to a fuel injected model.

Paying someone to do it, I dunno. I do my own engine work.
 
I'd buy it for more than you'd junk it for. I just junked a 87 Accord & 95 Odyssey and got $500 out of it, and I didn't get jobbed (I had someone with a flatbed remove them and they got to do all the dirty dis-assembly bits, fluids / gas tank, etc.)

I'm 2 hours from Columbus by the Ohio River. Let me know if interested. It'd go to a family of Honda mechanics by trade (former, anyway). 😉

An option to consider. If you keep it and get it going again then that's awesome, too.

And I would NOT drive it in the snow. Unless, like, my others cars spontaneously combusted or something.
 
The fact that you have zero experince working on cars, lack a garage to do so and have no tools makes DIY out of the question, but as other have said a lot of people dig there cars, I've driven one, it hugs the road like a go-kart!, someone will still pay you decent$$ for it as-is or you can take it to a mechanic as already mentioned it just might need a head gasket.
 
Zor Prime said:
I'd buy it for more than you'd junk it for. I just junked a 87 Accord & 95 Odyssey and got $500 out of it, and I didn't get jobbed (I had someone with a flatbed remove them and they got to do all the dirty dis-assembly bits, fluids / gas tank, etc.)

I'm 2 hours from Columbus by the Ohio River. Let me know if interested. It'd go to a family of Honda mechanics by trade (former, anyway). 😉

An option to consider. If you keep it and get it going again then that's awesome, too.

And I would NOT drive it in the snow. Unless, like, my others cars spontaneously combusted or something.
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Drove it in the snow last year since my ms3 had summers and I didn't bother with winter tires. The CRX was a lot of fun, definitely felt ok in the snow, just didn't do anything crazy.
 
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