Advice before buying civic

[fastdustin]

Looking at a 1998 Civic DX with a stock d16y7 with a 130,xxx. I plan on trading the guy my current car for it. Situation is the guy works nights so he says he has short time to work on the civic and really wants an auto instead of 5 speed. Says the car has no spark so the distributor is bad and needs a coolant temp sensor bc he is getting a code for one. Said the car just died one day at the bottom of the drive way, he just had gotten home and then left again so it had been ran for about an hour before this and was hot. At first wouldn't start and then started for a min and then he got the code for the cts and now no spark. Am I in for a real headache or does it sound like an easy fix. I priced out parts for cts, coolant, t-stat, distributor, plugs and wires, and ignition coil online for $200 online.

 

[AlaskaB16]

I wouldn't believe for one second what he "thinks" is the problem and what it will take to fix it. Here's a lesson in trading cars. If someone asks YOU to trade them, the deal is NEVER good for you. If you know how to fix and work on your own cars, sure. Then it may work out. But if you haven't a clue on how to deal with problems, don't have the time, don't have the tools, or don't have the money, WALK AWAY NOW.

It may be simple, it may be a disaster.

Now, if you came to him asking to trade for a car you know isn't running... Well... Just be prepared to do more work than what he's sugar coating the problems to be. Trust me on this one.

 

[RonJ]

Sounds like the car is probably a disaster.

--> No spark is not necessarily caused by a bad distributor. For no spark, the worst case scenario is a snapped timing belt accompanied by bent valves and cracked pistons.

--> Are you saying the engine overheated? If so, worst case scenario is a destroyed engine that would require replacement.

--> For the ECT sensor code, jump the service connector or hook up a code reader and pull the codes after cranking the engine for 30 seconds. You need to know all codes thrown.

 

[fastdustin]

I'm handy with cars and have the tools. Car didn't overheat I was just saying that it had been running, I had read somewhere that if the cars ect failed it could trigger something not to cause spark. I actually was looking to trade my car for it but was thinking it would be an easy fix. My car needs work as does this one about the same mileage but mine has some rust and definitely needs new struts, and ball joint.

 

[RonJ]

I'm handy with cars and have the tools.

In this case, do some thorough troubleshooting before considering whether to trade.

Check whether the fuel pump primes and whether there is bright white spark at all 4 spark plugs. If there's no spark, check whether fuse 9 is blown or the timing belt snapped. In the latter case, you'd need to install a new timing belt and compression test the cylinders to assess for engine damage.

I would only consider trading for the car if you can get the engine running and verify that it has no major issues.

Verify that the hood Back Up fuse is not blown, jump the service connector, and pull the codes. If none is thrown, crank the engine for 30 seconds and then again jump the service connector to see whether any codes are thrown.

I had read somewhere that if the cars ect failed it could trigger something not to cause spark.

Nope, this^ is incorrect.

 

[ej8Chrzt1an]

the first thing you gotta do. is make sure the engine even turns. if the engine is lock. WALK AWAY! unless of course you know you will do major repairs.

 

[Trekk]

One problem with it not running, minus the motor problems, is you don't know if the trans is any good.