Honda Civic 180k, should I get my engine redone?

Question

I have a 1995 Honda Civic LX and it started running a little rough 2 days ago on idle. I took it to Tunex, and they said there is only 30 lbs of compression in cylinders 2 and 3(should be 150). He said you can redo the heads but at 180k miles, it could burn oil out the bottom, so I might need a new(or used) engine put in.

He wasn't equipped to do the work right there at his shop, so I don't think he was out to get me. Can somebody tell me if this all sounds right (could it be a different problem all together?) or how it could make it burn oil? Another person I spoke to said it may not make it burn oil. Anybody have and reccomendations?

Answer 1

Just a compression check will not tell you why compression is bad in that cylinder. If your piston rings are bad you will indeed be burning a lot of oil. What i would have the shop do is a cylinder leak-down test and this will tell you what part of the engine is giving you the low compression. But aside from that 180k is a lot of miles (but honda's are known for alot higher) and even if you spend the money to fix it your engine still has the high mileage.

Also that engine is not very expensive and you could most likely get one pretty cheap.

Answer 2

The compression test results indicate a burnt head gasket that is leaking between cylinders 2 & 3.  did your 'mechanic' do a wet and dry compression test?  sounds like he only did the dry.  the wet compression test would tell you if the rings are bad.  if there is no difference between the wet and dry tests then the head gasket is probably leaking.

you should check for oil in the coolant that is in your radiator as well as for the level of the coolant.  if the head gasket is leaking then you'll either push oil into the coolant or suck coolant into the engine to burn.  also check the engine oil to see if it looks like chocolate milk as the coolant may have contaminated the engine oil if the leak is severe.

have a tech check for the presence of hydrocarbons in the coolant as that would be an indication of a head gasket leak.  

head gaskets can be replaced without doing the lower engine.  whether or not a "valve job" would be recommended is up in the air depending on what the head looks like when it comes off.

beyond the head gasket, look at the valve adjustment and the ignition system (distributror cap, rotor, wires) for a problem that could cause the idle to become rough.

if the compression test is valid I would expect that the head gasket is leaking

hope that helps