Car Fix Pricing

[doc holiday13]

So my wife honda odyssey is burning oil. Has been for awhile and its finally forked the catalytic converter. 230K miles. What cost differential am I looking at for having the cyclinder heads rebuilt and replacing the cat VS. getting a new Cat and dropping in a low mileage JDM motor? Don't have money for a car payment right now and the van doesn't have any resale because my wife drives the thing like its offroad monster so its dented to fawk

 

[GSPHUNTER]

You are looking at a fair amount of $$$$ to do repairs. ???? is it heads, valves, rings and what ever + cat converter. If you go that way, make sure you have a firm price up front, otherwise, mech will call later and say, we found this and that and we want an extra one billion $ to make it right. Go find a decent used vehicle, and be sure to have a mech. check it out before you buy it, if you don't have the mech knowledge yourself.

 

[CamoPirate]

If you're mechanically inclined and the transmission is fine, I'd swap the motor and the cat. Otherwise you'd have to talk to a couple shops and see; since COVID auto shop prices have been pretty high for the hourly rate.

edit: Also what GSP said, if you have other repairs adding up like tires, suspension, etc. you might consider a new used vehicle.

 

[CRJR45]

Throwing good money away , trying to fix it . It's toast , move on , IMO

 

[lonedave]

I would only add to the discussion that judging from your last sentence, there may be other issues popping up soon. Though it may last another bunch of miles, 230,000 is getting up there. Ultimately, the decision is yours, but do you want to invest a lot of $$$$ in a high mileage car?

 

[doc holiday13]

I would only add to the discussion that judging from your last sentence, there may be other issues popping up soon. Though it may last another bunch of miles, 230,000 is getting up there. Ultimately, the decision is yours, but do you want to invest a lot of $$$$ in a high mileage car?

Based on the last few years I'd rather my wife continue to beat the shit out of her van instead of having her beat the shit out of a new vehicle

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Based on the last few years I'd rather my wife continue to beat the shit out of her van instead of having her beat the shit out of a new vehicle

Get a new/used car, and tell her to stay away from it.

 

[lonedave]

Based on the last few years I'd rather my wife continue to beat the shit out of her van instead of having her beat the shit out of a new vehicle

Unfortunately, I totally understand that view too!

 

[doc holiday13]

Get a new/used car, and tell her to stay away from it.

Bruh... The way my wife drives... kinda makes me think the muslim culture of not allowing women to drive might be okay... But then I see it in practice and its not right

 

[rideold]

I'd compare the cost of fixing what you have to buying the same thing used in better condition. With oil issues and a CAT it's teetering on the knife edge of "aint worth it".

 

[fmyth]

Put an aftermarket cat on it and drive it till it won't go any further. If you want to keep it I'd buy a complete used engine and install it. I use car-part.com to search salvage yards near you. If you can turn a wrench you can do the swap. If you have to pay to have it swapped I'd guess your looking at 2k in labor/liquids etc plus the price of the engine. I woul avoid JDM as they are often not exactly alike and you'll spend more time swapping sensors, brackets etc. You'll probably be able to swap a JY engine in for 2k if you do it yourself or 4k if you have a shop do it.

 

[Billy Goat]

No idea what JDM stuff is available now, but it use to be you didn't always know what exactly you were getting. I'd take an American market engine from a junk yard over jdm for what you are doing. But the whole vehicle is a ticking time bomb more than likely. Only spend the money if you are comfortable with spending another 2-3k in the next few months when the transmission, ecu, etc craps out too.

I don't thinknits worth the cost of the machining on the heads, especially since rings are probably pretty torched too. I'd be like the other poster and just put a new cat on it, or probably just bash a pipe thru the cat, and keep driving it. Guess it depends on where you are getting it inspected. 1500$ buys a lot of oil.

 

[browning2480]

Yep either replace the Cat or remove the internals and keep driving it. You don’t need a new engine just because it is burning oil. Keep it full and drive it

 

[CorbLand]

Do you have to pass emissions when you register? If not, I would just gut the cat and call it a day. I kind of like vehicles that leak or burn oil. I just chalk it up to self changing and count it as a feature on the vehicle.

 

[BRTreedogs]

Machining is expensive..the good ones are booked out months.
I waited like 7 months for my 7.3 and was around $5400 and it burns oil.
Imo nobody really knows how to do the things any more.
Move on.

 

[TheHammer]

If you don’t have emissions testing like previously noted. Gut the cat n let her keep pounding the atv(all terrain van). Run a friction reducer in the oil (I run fr3 in all my engine builds) and it’ll keep going. Most shop quotes don’t go according to plan. I deal with it almost daily. Finding a good machine shop is almost impossible.

 

[TheHammer]

Machining is expensive..the good ones are booked out months.
I waited like 7 months for my 7.3 and was around $5400 and it burns oil.
Imo nobody really knows how to do the things any more.
Move on.

A lot of things can be at play here. No tq plate while machining, wrong RA on the cylinders, to tight of gaps and the rings broke upon start up, more then 8thou PTW(which would then cause larger then spec 30thou ring gaps), doubtful it’s valve train related but is always a possibility & a grooved out turbine seal in the charger…. If the valve cover breathers aren’t remote routed to a catch can then it’ll definitely eat oil on the compressor inlet tube.

 

[GSPHUNTER]

Do you have to pass emissions when you register? If not, I would just gut the cat and call it a day. I kind of like vehicles that leak or burn oil. I just chalk it up to self changing and count it as a feature on the vehicle.

The good thing is, when they are leaking oil, at least you know it's got some.

 

[mooretitan]

We have a 2011 and its at 210,000, hoping to push it into the 230,000 range before getting something new. Its had some work done and the wife and kids have beat it up. As long as the repair is under a $1000 for the year I fix it and drive it now. A few years ago I replaced the CAT. Not fun but hopefully we get another two years out of it.

 

[BRTreedogs]

A lot of things can be at play here. No tq plate while machining, wrong RA on the cylinders, to tight of gaps and the rings broke upon start up, more then 8thou PTW(which would then cause larger then spec 30thou ring gaps), doubtful it’s valve train related but is always a possibility & a grooved out turbine seal in the charger…. If the valve cover breathers aren’t remote routed to a catch can then it’ll definitely eat oil on the compressor inlet tube.

Its all new.
New everything.
T4 kit. Injectors. Like 20k under the hood and its a giant un reliable pos.
It it wasn't a family heirloom id burn it to the ground and crush it.