I just got the bad news that my 98 honda accord with 160k engine is cracked due to water pump going out and over heating while driving. Anyway this shop wants $2200 for a rebuilt engine. My question is how will my car drive after having a rebuilt engine put in? Will I have problems with it in the future? Is $2200 a good price (engine and labor)? Will my car last forever (at least 5 years??) once installed? Help me with what I should do?

 

Can you confirm that your engine is "cracked"? How long did you have it running without the water pump running, how many times did you overheat it?

Rare cases does it require you to have a new Honda engine unless you beat on it for a while without a cooling system.

 

for tht price, i would go with a fresh motor... preferably the H22 or F20b

 

My boyfriend was driving it and he left work and got about 5 blocks and saw it was getting hot so he pulled over and let it cool and put water in it and that's when he said it all poured out the bottom...so I am guessing when he was driving alot also leaked out cuz he said it was able to take alot of water in it after being cooled. So then he drove another 5-10 block to park it at my dad's house. Then we got it towed to the shop. There was also a loud grinding sound he said that started a few days prior to the (which he never mentioned to me until the day the water pump went out)...I was alittle pissed that he drove it with that loud sound for so many days without mentioning anything! So I don't know if this was something else that was the cuz of all this?? Also the day before that sound started we had someone install new O2 sensors (both).
On another post you said if I am getting an engine I should get one of those 2 listed....how much are those?? What's the difference with what I got? The one I got now is NOT a V6....just has the v-tech..4 cyc.

 

u have the F23aX (X=1 to 4), a 4 cyclinder SOHC vtec motor with abt 150 hp.... an easy swap is the H22a motor from the prelude, a DOHC vtec motor with abt 200 hp.... u can get tht motor for abt $2000, and the labor for the swap depends on ur area.... the F20b is the same as the H22a, just less torque.... but way cheaper motor

btw, he put water into the radiator rite? i dun see how tht would mess up the block at all... it will mess up the radiator, but the block? hmm..

 

Ya he put it into the radiator but I guess it just came right back out from the bottom....cuz the pump busted or something to make it just all flow right back out. So I was told the engine overheated and cracked it? Can a mechanic actually show me a crack if I asked? I am going to talk to them tomorrow cuz they want a down payment to get started.
Where do you find someone in my area to see if they will swap the engine for labor? I live in Las Vegas.

 

what part of the engine is cracked?

 

It's possible that, after being overheated, your boyfriend added the water to the radiator, which was probably cold. That sudden change in temperature could easily crack the radiator and possibly even the engine itself. As for getting the new engine (if you decide to do that) they are right, the h22 is a much better engine for the money than 2200 for the stock replacement.

 

im not sure they would want the H22 for performance.
If your looking to replace the stock engine F23 with an original F23, the cost of replacement shouldnt be that much.

i've seen the engine alone on eBay for like 500 bucks.
I dont believe the installation should be complicated for an installer since no modification is needed for the mounts or ecu.

 

tht's wat i thought too... it'll def crack the radiator, but the block as well??

wat flyromeo said is true also... f23 motors are pretty cheap if u want to wait a lil... ebay is a good source, but make sure u ask for the compression ratio first..also, which motor u wanna get depends on wat u want to do with the car... u want power, get the h22.. u want a replacement motor for DD, get the F23