A non-Brick mechanical question

[billday]

Friends,

Today we received the sad news that the rough idle of my wife's 1999 CR-V (255,000 miles) was due to low compression in one cylinder. It needs a valve job. My question: what if we just keep driving it? What's the worst that could happen?

Thanks in advance,

Bill

[johnny]

no valve job for me... id gets some of the engine restore and put in there... the stuff in the black can... i hear that stuff is nearly as good as weed... they call it overhaul in a can...

j o

[Chaos]

Fix the top end and the bottom gives out.  Other that mileage, emissions, power, and smoothness all getting worse you're fine. At that age just run it till it won't run.

[billday]

no valve job for me... id gets some of the engine restore and put in there... the stuff in the black can... i hear that stuff is nearly as good as weed... they call it overhaul in a can...

j o

Slick 50, perchance? We're giving it a try. Thanks for the feedback, JO & Chaos.

[johnny]

guess its in a silver can these days...

j o

[wmax351]

Make sure your AAA is paid up, and drive it till it won't move.

That being said, if the car is in otherwise perfect shape, a replacement, lower mileage engine (or even engine-transmission) could be had cheaply, and installed pretty quickly.

[billday]

Interesting thought, thanks. The car spent most of its life in Virginia, the body's in good shape: no salt down there.

[Freelancer]

Give it to a teenaged child/grandchild to practice driving in a pasture or to fix up themselves. A used mid milage motor will cost between $400 -$600. Some will be higher in cost but that would be up to the kid.

Later,
Freelancer

[thegingerbeardman]

Interesting thought, thanks. The car spent most of its life in Virginia, the body's in good shape: no salt down there.

poke around the internet for "JDM engine replacement"  or something like that.  the story goes that for several reasons, most cars in japan are scrapped around the 60k mile mark.  the engines and transmissions are often in very good condition, and get shipped to the US to be installed in vehicles like yours for fairly cheap, certainly cheaper than rebuilding or repairing what's in there now.

[koapono]

if you love the vehicle and it is otherwise sound a "jasper" replacement engine will set you back a few grand (more/or less) just bear in mind everything else is 1999 vintage and could last indefinitely or quit at the next intersection!
cheers

[billday]

Thanks for the  input, guys.

[ts888]

CRV's are good little cars.  The fact that you got 255k out of the engine before any significant failure is a testament to Honda build quality.  If your better half wants to keep it, have a reputable shop install a good used engine.  Anything under 100k should be fine, have them replace the timing belt, water pump and any other ancillaries you want to go another 100k. At 255k the odds of the bottom end giving up are too high to bother with the cost of having the head refurbished.

[kris]

I've heard about that 60K mile engine replacement in Japan. Apparently it's due to incredibly strict emissions control. Shouldn't be too hard to verify it either through a Japanese dealership or even a letter sent to the Japanese Ministry of the Environment, DMV, whatever.

Good luck. CRV is a tried and true vehicle.

[billday]

OK, chapter 2. I found a mechanic who I would trust to do the swap, told him our story. He gave the car a going over: brakes, clutch, steering etc. all sound; and cylinder #1 is getting 2 (two) pounds of compression (cyls 2 through 3 are getting 200lbs). Needless the say the engine light never goes off (it just alternates between being lit and blinking), and we'll never pass the inspection that's due this month.

He recommended a valve job, we trust him, so that's the route we're taking. Looking at $1400 -- probably what a swap would cost with labor.  In twelve months we'll have the cash flow to get something newer, right now we need to spend the least possible to get us groceries through the winter.

Thanks for your interest everybody, I'll keep you posted.

[billday]

OK, chapter 2. I found a mechanic who I would trust to do the swap, told him our story. He gave the car a going over: brakes, clutch, steering etc. all sound; and cylinder #1 is getting 2 (two) pounds of compression (cyls 2 through 3 are getting 200lbs). Needless the say the engine light never goes off (it just alternates between being lit and blinking), and we'll never pass the inspection that's due this month.

He recommended a valve job, we trust him, so that's the route we're taking. Looking at $1400 -- probably what a swap would cost with labor.  In twelve months we'll have the cash flow to get something newer, right now we need to spend the least possible to get us groceries through the winter.

Thanks for your interest everybody, I'll keep you posted.