[mjc10001]

Hi

I have a 2005 CRV SE, with about 172,000 miles on it.

The other day while driving I got a blinking check engine light, pulled over and had it towed to a mechanic.

Mechanic did a compression test and found no compression in cylinder 2, pulled the spark plug and noticed the electrode was missing.

They haven't taken it completely apart yet so I don't know the worst case scenario but for now, they're estimating 2500 to put in a remanufactured cylinder head, replace the water pump, seals, etc. ( also included is a new main seal gasket which has a steady leak and a replacement of the serpentine belt). The assumption is that the electrode did some damage to the cylinder head and it will likely require a replacement.

I feel like the mechanic is giving me a pretty good deal cost-wise and I trust him, so I'm not worried about that.

My question is this: Is this car worth replacing all of these things? Or should I pursue other options? If I had a bunch of money, I'd consider buying a new (used) car - but I'd really like to keep this for another 2 years if possible. And I figure I'd probably have to fix this stuff anyway even in order to sell it.

Is it possible the spark plug electrode fell off and didn't do any damage? Or does the compression test assure that damage is done, to valves, etc.
Should it be expected that with a new cylinder head, my car will run better (gas mileage) and last longer?

Just looking for some thoughts here - feel kind of stuck as to what to do.

Thanks

 

[BDub]

May want a second opinion before you start yanking the head. If it has in fact lost compression, there is a problem. But, if they didn’t do a leak down test, there is no way other than assuming to know if it is the head that got damaged or the piston/cylinder.

Details are important here. If say they did a relative compression test against the other cylinders and found this one not contributing as much as the others. Then removed the plug and found the missing electrode, it could have been leaking through the plug. If they put a compression tester in that cylinder and came up with low compression, then something got damaged.

 

[Hunter1660]

Not sure how much of sparkplug was injested. If that's what's stopping the valve from seating the head would need to come off. It's a roll of the dice. Cars 14 yrs. old and high mileage. If you could get by with just the labor to remove and replace head after plucking out plug remains.....roll the dice. You,they might rap the quilty valve...cycling it..if you will and plug remains drop into cylinder and be "consumed".. It's possible good luck

 

[Tigris99]

right now what you have said about what the mechanic did doesnt make sense.

Have to pull the spark plug to do a compression test.

If it just lost the electrode then a new spark plug may fix it. It's not common for a electrode to actually do any real damage.

I am trying to figure out where you live because in the US from 2002 till current there is absolutely no reason to replace the water pump when changing the head. Will need a timing chain more than likely though.

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[mjc10001]

Thanks for the responses.

I think in the midst of things, I likely didn't accurately note the process of their diagnosis.

I didn't realize you need to pull the plug before doing a compression test. Will get clarity on this tomorrow. If he did do the compression test, then he must have removed the spark plug and found no compression in cylinder 2. That coupled with a broken electrode, would mean that damage was likely?

I'm thinking they're preemptively quoting me for worst case scenario. Ie: if the loss of compression is from a bent valve, then the whole cylinder head shouldn't need to be replaced?

This is all confusing.

I live in Philadelphia, the car is being serviced in Reading, they made it sound like it's standard to replace the water pump when the cylinder head is replaced. I trust this mechanic, and am hoping I get some clarity in the next couple days.

 

[Tigris99]

There is no need to change water pump AT ALL unless it is bad. He obviously has never worked on a Honda from about 2002 or newer.

New head is possible if the head was damaged. If it's just a valve it can be changed, wont know until the head is off.

The price really isnt bad at all with a replacement head.

If it was mine I would fix it. Bad choice not to, your crv is worth twice what the worst case repair bill is.

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[mjc10001]

Just realized I never posted an update to this. For those curious, I ended up having the cylinder head replaced. This included a remanufactured cylinder head, gaskets, serpentine belt, tensioner, oil pressure sender, vtec solenoid, crankshaft seal, etc - 2413.00

I'm still burning a ton of oil, going to make a new post regarding this.

Thanks

 

[mjc10001]

*edit, removing duplicate post.