Budget Honda engine shop?

[Thaco]

Any recommendations for a budget Honda engine shop? my kid has an H22a and we tore it down and found a minor issue.



Anyway, it looks like it also needs the crank machined or replaced, some good wear on the bearing journals.

Just want to take it some place to get a diagnostic/estimate to have it brought back to life, nothing fancy, just want it to be functional again.

I think all he really needs is someone to inspect the block and rebuild the bottom end for us, we can handle the rest of the reassembly.

[Disoblige]

Hu's Garage. Honest, competent, not overpriced.

[ThePenIsMightier]

Why?! That'll buff right out.

[haggis88]

H22A FTW

I miss mine, sort of



Sorry, I don't have anything to add other than how much of a bitch it is to work on in an EK Civic engine bay

[mr2mike]

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H22A FTW

I miss mine, sort of



Sorry, I don't have anything to add other than how much of a bitch it is to work on in an EK Civic engine bay

"So much room to work in the Honda".
- Every mid engine mechanic.

[zechs]

Get another used H22A and swap it in.

Any efforts to rebuild will be stupidly expensive vs going and picking up a used motor.

Unless this is like a project that you are willing to spend the money on. But for anything short of racing, I'd almost always prefer using something used with oem machining/tolerances.

[Thaco]

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Get another used H22A and swap it in.

Any efforts to rebuild will be stupidly expensive vs going and picking up a used motor.

Unless this is like a project that you are willing to spend the money on. But for anything short of racing, I'd almost always prefer using something used with oem machining/tolerances.

yeah i just don't want to buy someone else's clapped out POS and be back in this same spot next year

[zechs]

Even if that were the case, it would still be cheaper, have less downtime, and overall be a quicker process with two used motors vs one rebuilt.

I can say out of the 10's (if not 100's at this point) of used engines I've swapped, I've never had one fail. If an engine is known to be in good running shape when pulled, it is extremely unlikely to have issues unless the person doing the work caused them.

For piece of mind, you can probably get a very low mile jdm equivalent that has seen an easy life.

Or forge ahead with rebuilding the motor. Just laying out your options, in this day and age rebuilding is a waste of time and resources unless doing internal upgrades.

[Flexray]

What is your objective with this car? Do you want to repair it and have a reliable vehicle that you can drive for years? or do you want to get it running as cheaply as possible and sell it?

If you want to fix your current engine, anything that touches the engine oil is going to have to be inspected, machined, or replaced. All of the metal from that piston has circulated throughout the whole engine. Depending on what needs to be done, you are probably looking a $3000 to $5000. I'm sure most local engine shops can rebuild this.

The best repair would be calling up the dealer and seeing if they have a factory re-man long block. They may laugh at you because it is a 20-year-old engine, but you never know. This will hands down be the best engine you can buy for your car. Usually, they come with a warranty, but if it is a DYI install they probably won't give you one. Google around and find another company that sells re-man engines, but do your research. Don't buy ATK, they are shitty. You are still going to be looking at $3000 to $5000.

A used one is going to be the cheapest. You have no idea what you are buying, and h22's are like 20 years old. The engine you buy could have come out of a low mileage well-taken care of vehicle, or could have been beaten to death by some 16 year old Japanese kid. I have seen plenty of bad used engines. A used engine is going to need some work/maintenance before it goes in.

That piston looks melted. Lean air fuel ratios will burn holes in pistons. Once you get the engine running again you have to find out why it melted or you may destroy your new engine and be back in the same boat.

[littledan]

h22 are also fiber reinforced sleeved from factory as well if I recall correctly. May add more complication to resleeving?

[ThePenIsMightier]

Swap is maybe a 9x better idea than rebuild.

[mr2mike]

Swap motor is also honda built and machined. Typically reliable.

[Thaco]

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What is your objective with this car? Do you want to repair it and have a reliable vehicle that you can drive for years? or do you want to get it running as cheaply as possible and sell it?

If you want to fix your current engine, anything that touches the engine oil is going to have to be inspected, machined, or replaced. All of the metal from that piston has circulated throughout the whole engine. Depending on what needs to be done, you are probably looking a $3000 to $5000. I'm sure most local engine shops can rebuild this.

The best repair would be calling up the dealer and seeing if they have a factory re-man long block. They may laugh at you because it is a 20-year-old engine, but you never know. This will hands down be the best engine you can buy for your car. Usually, they come with a warranty, but if it is a DYI install they probably won't give you one. Google around and find another company that sells re-man engines, but do your research. Don't buy ATK, they are shitty. You are still going to be looking at $3000 to $5000.

A used one is going to be the cheapest. You have no idea what you are buying, and h22's are like 20 years old. The engine you buy could have come out of a low mileage well-taken care of vehicle, or could have been beaten to death by some 16 year old Japanese kid. I have seen plenty of bad used engines. A used engine is going to need some work/maintenance before it goes in.

That piston looks melted. Lean air fuel ratios will burn holes in pistons. Once you get the engine running again you have to find out why it melted or you may destroy your new engine and be back in the same boat.

i'm thinking it was caused by the previous owner running low octane gas... could be wrong though

[Thaco]

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What is your objective with this car? Do you want to repair it and have a reliable vehicle that you can drive for years? or do you want to get it running as cheaply as possible and sell it?

If you want to fix your current engine, anything that touches the engine oil is going to have to be inspected, machined, or replaced. All of the metal from that piston has circulated throughout the whole engine. Depending on what needs to be done, you are probably looking a $3000 to $5000. I'm sure most local engine shops can rebuild this.

The best repair would be calling up the dealer and seeing if they have a factory re-man long block. They may laugh at you because it is a 20-year-old engine, but you never know. This will hands down be the best engine you can buy for your car. Usually, they come with a warranty, but if it is a DYI install they probably won't give you one. Google around and find another company that sells re-man engines, but do your research. Don't buy ATK, they are shitty. You are still going to be looking at $3000 to $5000.

A used one is going to be the cheapest. You have no idea what you are buying, and h22's are like 20 years old. The engine you buy could have come out of a low mileage well-taken care of vehicle, or could have been beaten to death by some 16 year old Japanese kid. I have seen plenty of bad used engines. A used engine is going to need some work/maintenance before it goes in.

That piston looks melted. Lean air fuel ratios will burn holes in pistons. Once you get the engine running again you have to find out why it melted or you may destroy your new engine and be back in the same boat.

I dont really know what his plan is with it, i think he should just get it fixed so he can summer daily it and that's good enough, it's a 20 year old prelude with some crude bodywork, it's nothing fancy, but for a 20 year old, he worked to pay cash for it, so it's his and he wants to make it his... he flip flops back and forth between a full boosted build and just a basic rebuild, i dont want him to dump that kind of money in to an old turd, and he probably doesnt have the money to dump in to it anyway, i'd rather see him use that money a little more wisely.... so i dont know where we'll end up, just tossing some ideas around right now....

[Flexray]

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I dont really know what his plan is with it, i think he should just get it fixed so he can summer daily it and that's good enough, it's a 20 year old prelude with some crude bodywork, it's nothing fancy, but for a 20 year old, he worked to pay cash for it, so it's his and he wants to make it his... he flip flops back and forth between a full boosted build and just a basic rebuild, i dont want him to dump that kind of money in to an old turd, and he probably doesnt have the money to dump in to it anyway, i'd rather see him use that money a little more wisely.... so i dont know where we'll end up, just tossing some ideas around right now....

If he decides to keep it stock, I would put a used engine in.

If he wants to turbo it. That changes things. Mistakes will be made, money will be wasted, skills need to be developed. Start with fixing the current engine. If you cannot put together a stock NA engine, you won't be able to build a reliable turbo set up. Buy some engine building books, be careful with youtube. Learn how to properly assemble an engine using the proper tooling and procedures. Go through the engine find out what it needs, then send the parts to the machine shop. Once you get them back, check their work. Trust no one. A set of factory sleeves, bearings, pistons, and a gasket set is not going to cost that much.

Now buy a used engine and start building your turbo set up. Take everything you learned from fixing your last engine and apply it to this build. You can bolt on thousands of dollars of parts to this engine with a bit more confidence. This engine will probably blow up, because that is what happens with 20 year olds and turbos. Find out why it blew up, learn from it and start again.

Budget and aftermarket turbo don't go well together.

[mr2mike]

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i'm thinking it was caused by the previous owner running low octane gas... could be wrong though

Just a bunch of UFA conspiracy theories.
@max_boost

[ExtraSlow]

It's excellent gas.

[max_boost]

It’s like blaming the girl when you cream pied her

[JRSC00LUDE]

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Budget and aftermarket turbo don't go well together.

Thaco is a professional booster.

[Thaco]

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If he decides to keep it stock, I would put a used engine in.

If he wants to turbo it. That changes things. Mistakes will be made, money will be wasted, skills need to be developed. Start with fixing the current engine. If you cannot put together a stock NA engine, you won't be able to build a reliable turbo set up. Buy some engine building books, be careful with youtube. Learn how to properly assemble an engine using the proper tooling and procedures. Go through the engine find out what it needs, then send the parts to the machine shop. Once you get them back, check their work. Trust no one. A set of factory sleeves, bearings, pistons, and a gasket set is not going to cost that much.

Now buy a used engine and start building your turbo set up. Take everything you learned from fixing your last engine and apply it to this build. You can bolt on thousands of dollars of parts to this engine with a bit more confidence. This engine will probably blow up, because that is what happens with 20 year olds and turbos. Find out why it blew up, learn from it and start again.

Budget and aftermarket turbo don't go well together.

that was my thought process exactly, use this one to learn, just get it back together and when something goes wrong, because it will, you figure out what went wrong and how to fix it for next time when you're actually putting money in to it.