Need a new Honda engine- what are my options?
 

I have a 2003 Accord (first year for that generation) that has 140k and has an oil burning problem. Apparently, this is a problem for this particular year but Honda has never admitted to the problem.

Nevertheless, I can either buy a new car or just drop a new motor into it (body still good)

What are my options if I get a new engine or used engine. I have no idea how much they cost. Can anyone give me some ball park figures for:

-a junkyard engine? how do they sell them? how can i verify the mileage if the odo is electronic?
-a rebuilt engine? where to buy?
-a crate engine? from the dealer I suppose
-how much to install?

Thanks in advance.

jdm

40-50k miles on them.

plenty available.

You can also check in car-parts.com

If it still runs good I'd trade it in at Carmax and get something else.

Any used engine you buy will have the same oil burning problems as the current used engine. The oil burning is caused by stuck oil control rings. Visit a Honda forum and check for some quick fix or oil additive that might free up the stuck rings.
I think swapping a new engine into a car this old is probably not economically sound.

put some of this in it and swap it for another car.
http://www.greasedlightningdirect.co...es/GL-8000.jpg

Be sure to trade it in at the Honda dealership for another used car.

How about a Cleveland 411?

I agree. Unless you have some sort of attachment to the car, or you just sunk a lot of money into the rest of it, it's not worth it.

woah!

we're junking a 7 year-old Honda with a smoking engine?

this is not the archetype I am accustomed to seeing around here - especially not from the guys in DD who drive 30 year old cars.

Its a Honda its not worth it, trade it in one something else and get $3kish out of it if your lucky. Thats the least expensive way to get out of it.

Any used engine is going to be a crap shoot, and you have to pay someone to swap them or do it yourself...and I don't know about you but my time isn't free.

A new engine is going to cost more than the car is worth.

its alway a balance of "is it worth it" if it were an older honda, say my dads 91 accord, it may be worth it to swap the engine... new engine for a 91 accord $600-$800 cost to replace the car ~$2000... with NO trade in value on a smoky old 91, so replacing the engine is cost effective.

the 2003 has a greater value to it then my dads old car, and would make a worthy trade in. not sure the cost of a new engine, but if you can get lets say $4000 for the 2003 and you can get a good used 2006 for $6000 then it may be worth it, if the cost of the engine is less then the difference... and then you have to value your time, and the conditions of the 2 autos being traded.

sadly you can't just swap out old Mercedes... its better to invest in the repair if you want to keep your car... and most of us who have had these cars for more then 10 years are a little attached to them!

In this ongoing comparison of:
 

Honda and Mercedes...

Almost ANY collision that is fatal in the Honda,
you'd be able to "Walk Away From" in a Mercedes.

in defense of the Honda guys... my dads friend once told me "It doesn't have to be nice for me to like it"

I think that statement applies here.

I bought a JDM engine for my Mitsubishi. It was about $1100 plus a couple hundred shipping. This is including the tranny however...