Comments: 1-15, 16-22
Routine stuff for a car with like age and mileage: Brakes, rotors, master break cylinder, head gasket, wiper motor, shocks.
This car was a blast to drive, just point and shoot. By far the most fun driving car I have ever owned. Except when traffic on the expressway comes to a sudden halt. The CRX stops on a dime. But sitting there feeling nearly naked parked on the pavement with uncontrollable 6000 pound SUVs bearing down on you is a scary affair. Mechanically the car seemed to be well engineered or rather "value engineered" It seemed like every crease or fold in the body metal, or molding was calculated and resulted in the use of a thinner gauge metal. The paint finish did not hold up well, especially on the plastic fenders and nose which developed stress cracks. Rust was also a problem. A large rust hole developed behind the front edge of the sunroof. Even though the lower body panels looked to be in good shape and did not have visible rust, underneath the skin the car was plagued with rust. Not at all what I would expect from any car in Southern California. The interior was a puzzle of overlapping cheap plastic parts that interlock with non-reusable fasteners that break on removal.
On a few long highway trips we took with this car, we actually got 45 miles per gallon! Although around town, because it so much fun to drive hard, we go closer to 25 mpg.
I found Honda dealership to be generally dishonest. Insisting that the $180 alignment included all four wheels, when the factory authorized service manual that I just happened to access to, clearly stated that there is no adjustment what so ever on the rear wheels. A service manager was unable to explain to me why when the timing belt breaks on a Honda, it results in bent valve stems. I know now that this is common in many cars as the engine design does not allow the valve to raise up one last time after the cam stops turning. The service manager said he didn't know why the valve stems bent and that he had never seen that happen before. Although he knew exactly what to charge to repair it!
An interesting note: I keep a very accurate automotive cost records database, recording every repair, every tank of gas, as well as insurance premiums, etc. Despite the 40 miles per gallon (highway) and the ILLUSION that Hondas are low-maintenance, trouble free, inexpensive to drive cars to drive, The SAAB 900 Turbo that we owned during the same time period, same model year, same mileage, was actually about 2 cents cheaper per mile to drive over that 6 year period than the CRX was!
The reason why the Honda dealership could not perform an alignment on the rear wheels is because the 1984-1987 CRX ,All Models, came with a solid rear axel.
The reason your valves got bent is that this is an "interference" engine, that is, the ends of the valve heads and the pistons occupy the same space, but not at the same time.
When the camshaft allows the valves to close, the piston is rising and enters the space previously occupied by the valves.
So, if the belt driving the timing chain breaks, your valves get bent.
This is a stupid design.
They DO NOT HAVE TO MAKE THEM LIKE THAT.
I believe Toyota engines, most of them, are non-interference design.
And TIMING CHAINS are more reliable.
The timing belt on ANY HONDA should be replaced EVERY 50,000 miles or you risk destroying the engine when it breaks and it WILL fail eventually. Any driving you do after the 50,000 mile point is gambling with your valves!! Dont risk it, change the belt! It's about a $250.00 job, but cheaper than the 1200.00 job of rebuilding the top end when the belt brakes.
If you own a Honda, just accept the fact that you have to replace the timing belt every 50,000 miles.
First I would like to start off by saying that a Honda's reliability is far from a rumor. My mother has owned two Honda's since I've been alive. One from 1987 which served a wholesome 280 thousand miles on to a brand new 91 on it's 132,000th. Both of which purred like a kitten until the day sold. And miraculously the mileage had no effect on resale value. My father owned two CRX's... a 1984 hf and now my 1986si. The timing belt? Ha Ha Ha... That plus an oil change every 3000 miles has kept all of our Hondas alive and kicking. Our Ford Taurus SHO? How about a replacement tranny after only 12000 miles? My grandmothers Oldsmobile Cierra 1993 model? 950 dollar computer ECU replacement. The olds... I dunno; but our Tarus; well it turned out about a year after we sold it that the factory finally made a recall due to the problem occurring too often. Reliability? CHECK AGAIN!!! Plus Honda has offbrand equal quality parts distributers in America where you pay no importing fees unlike some foreign cars. And I love my gas mileage... that is when I can resist staying off of the throttle at every light!!!
Whoa, too much fun not to comment. Interference engines abound and are as useful as the rubber timing belts that make them go round and round. Did not know this until my experience with the Hell rubber belts cause. I gained my education with a friend’s ’94 Saturn sedan w/dualcam V6. Broken belt and instant silence. To Saturn dealer and got a “no problem” because this was a “clearance head”. Sigh of relief because we were working in a temporary garage, mid-winter in Mid-West. We found every single valve bent. So much for knowledgeable, expert, GM Saturn mechanics.
$2000 later, that’s with 2 of us doing all the work, I was convinced of 2 hard facts.
#1 Saturn’s are crap. This was a 180 degree from my brainwashed belief from looking at their Saturn mockups of engine compartments on their showroom floor.
#2 Firm re-confirmation of belief in steel timing chains. Hardest part was getting parts because guess what? All the Saturn heads were coming in damaged at the same time with no stock in supply.
I had a 1974 Nissan 4 bang I sold at 334,000 miles on original engine (that means original STEEL timing chain). This engine was untouched except for 1 mistaken valve adjust I had a farmer-kid-mechanic do at a Nissan dealership. Result-1 burnt exhaust valve. I pulled head /replaced valve and that vehicle never saw the inside of a dealership from 1977 till being sold in 1996. Sold- because the vehicle completely wore me out, but was still running strong. Today it’s like this. I have no idea why anyone with 2 brain cells to rub together would want to buy any vehicle with a rubber belt. They say their quieter, but I can’t notice much difference. I believe their just CHEAPER, and also give dealerships a great revenue generator $$$$$. I will drive a crapmobile rex as long as it has FIRST has a steel chain. As far as whether you have a clearance engine, you’ll never know till you bust your rubber belt!
I need to know if the dimension of the Honda CRX 1986 GAS TANK, is the same as the 1991???
I know of a Civic with 135,000 on its timing belt. Yes it is sad to know that my neighbor will probably kill his car, but 50,000 miles seems too extreme.
The Honda dealership told me that Honda did not start designing cylinder heads with "interference fit" until about 1990 or 1992. My 1987 Honda Prelude (engine = A20A3) did not have an interference design. So a broken timing belt should not bend valves unless the head was milled down too far causing the valves to hit the piston. This is not likely to happen unless it was milled more than once.
If you search the web for "Honda+interference fit" you should get some hits about which engines were designed with an interference fit.
I had a 86 Honda CRX SI and had the problem with timing belt breakage. I had the mechanic at my local garage find a rebuilt racing head for it. I didn't notice any horsepower gain or loss. I drove that car for another year before rolling it 3 times doing 120mph down a two lane country back road. Funny thing was that it landed on its wheels and after I came to about 15 minutes later, I drove it home. When I turned it off in my driveway, I knew it was done and would not start again.
Odd how dealers, mechanics, owners, etc. all have different info. about the specs. The Honda dealer here told me that our 1988 CRX Si has an "interference" engine. But then, the Si has the 1.6 litre engine, whereas maybe the 1.5 engines in the DX, HF etc models might not be interference engines.
Thanks for info about the web site regarding clearance info- it would be nice if there was a comprehensive info site for all of this stuff, for all years of CRX. Info seems to be spread far and wide, and takes a lot of Internet searching to find tidbits of info, not all of which is correct, it seems! Even the several owner club sites I have reviewed are not consistent. I wonder if somebody from the Honda company would be a source of foolproof and comprehensive info??
To that milled head comment, that would only happen if after you mill the head, you don't put a thicker head gasket, other than that it should be okay, and if you don't put a thicker head gasket, you might have a chance to fail smog and your engine itself would end up having higher compression.
Reading the comments about timing belts in the Honda's I am amazed at how ignorant most of the posters are. WHY don't you just follow the recommendations in the owner's manual. I have a 1987 CRX SI, 224K miles. Wonderful car. Has had a NEW timing belt every 60K which IS what the manual specifies.
So if you don't follow the factory specs and belt breaks you asked for it, you deserve it.
Bill.
I bought a 86 CRX they said it just had a broken timing belt So I go buy a belt and a water pump cuz that's what you should do when doing a belt $66 later and I go to turn the cam and glory bee she was all froze up.
I sat in it for a few days wondering if I want to do the head... A mechanic said it would be like $2000 +/- I ended up doing the work myself The head shop asked if I was gonna keep it or? I was half way there so I did the rings and rod bearings So off and on working on it 2weeks later I had a 1/2 rebuilt engine the parts and head work came to about $450 and got the car for $500 so now I have 600 miles on engine and did my first oil change and it s a 4 speed automatic I'm averaging 24 MPG don't think that's too good could the carb need adjustment?
Ya CRX cars are good I own 2 of them and am selling one. the one I'm keeping just got a new engine in it. there good cars there small, but good. exept when they blow up.
I have a 87 CRX Si... Owned it since it was new. Traded in a 85 Vette for it and that's the best thing I ever did (when it comes to cars) I now have 365,000 miles on it. Replaced the transmission twice, many many timing belts and one fuel pump. NO HEAD GASKET!!! That's tight... same original head gasket! Honda makes the most reliable cars... well at least they did in 1987. with gas as high as it is.. I love my REX!