Took my type-s to a mechanic who is telling me that I need a new engine. Blowing smoke from the tail pipes. He tried replacing PCV valve with no change. Called another shop and explained the situation. He said he would look at it but would probably have the same outcome. Is this just how they treat this problem? Or are they too lazy to put the work in?

 

Lazy? They will do anything you want them to do, it is just going to cost you. At times, it is easier to just swap in a used engine than to start tearing into an engine. It really depends if they have been able to 100% confirm they know what the issue is before they tear down the engine. The last thing most of these want is to tear into the motor, the car can no longer be transported, to find something bigger is wrong, and then the customer back out on repairs or try to blame them and now they have a bay tied up with a vehicle that can't easily move and will take more hours to reassemble. Or they buy a used engine, drop the old one, swap the replacement, seal it up, done.

 

Is it faster to engine swap than do the valve seals? I can understand if it's easier on them. But I'm not ready to fork over 2k for the engine plus the labor involved. Seems like they don't even want to diagnose it first. How about a compression test to see if any rings are bad? If they are afraid of a customer backing out, I would think a steeper bill would do it. My original concern is, does smoke from the tailpipes instantly mean a new engine is needed? I think not but I'm no master mechanic.

 

to me, a good mechanic providing a worthwhile diagnosis (what is required in my mind to get you to part with $2k+) may not be able to say for sure what the root cause is but ought to be able to list potential fail-modes and the likelihood of each based on their training, experience and exploratory test they performed.

valve stem seals are a possibility but much more often with Honda/Acura engines its the rings. it could be worn rings, worn cylinder walls (could be checked with compression test, leak-down test and probing with a borescope) or oil-control rings packed with carbon build up (high carbon build up or sludge in other more accessible areas of the engine would be a good first check).

it is very uncommon to find an independent shop that can justify the risk of repairing engine internals. anything deeper than a timing belt or valve adjustment it's better for the business and the customer to have a warrantied, low-mileage used engine installed. replacement seems expensive but I am willing to bet the added labor, rebuild parts cost and machine shop expense would add up to more in the end (for most modern vehicles)

 

And the final verdict is, bad oil rings in 2 cylinders....Time to start looking for a low mileage engine.

 

Why not to change pistons and do the honing?

 

Like others wrote, it is faster and cheaper to replace worn out engine with used low-mileage one with a warranty.

There are places that rebuild engines, but nobody with common engine will go there.

 

It could be done. In the car. In a driveway. you wouldn't need many special tools other than the hone, a torque wrench and some feeler gauges. you would need a full engine gasket set (cheapest way to get what you'll need with some left over) a ring set, and, unless it was done recently probably good idea to do a new timing belt too.

all that being said, it's pretty risky even for the well-informed. honing and ring install aren't a huge deal, but there is pretty much the maximum amount of tear-down and reassembly possible short of a full rebuild just to get to that point. it's a big job with many opportunities to make expensive and/or frustrating mistakes.

this is only for the oddball like me who enjoys that kind of work and has the tools and has the experience and has alternate transportation options.

right, if the options are:
1) pay a machine shop/engine builder to rebuild (most indie shops won't do in-house rebuilds anymore) or
2) have a low-mileage, used engine with a warranty installed

option 2 every time. removal and re-install are about the same labor-wise. there is a better chance of getting your money's worth out of this option

 

Mileage or cause of the ring failure known? Boost or high mileage?

 

I think there are even more factors that really tip the scales in favor of an engine swap:

1) liability for mistakes made by the shop are limited to install/removal of the engine, which are fairly easily remedied if they do occur. The engine itself is guaranteed by a third party, the dismantler. If the engine fails down the road, the shop can pass off the claim to the dismantler.

2) Problems like bad rings often cause chain reactions in the engine. Once there is more blow-by, you get engine sludging, fouled plugs and coils, clogged cats, cylinder warpage, and ruined O2 sensors at the very least. That rebuilt engine may never run quite right.

3) Less and less techs even know how to do a rebuild. And with tons of "Excess Oil Consumption" claims, lawsuits, and TSBs, dealers are frightened of any engine complaints.