Hello friends,

I have 2001 Honda Accord EX that's at about 75K miles now.
I somehow feel the engine is way too loud and isn't smooth anymore. All I have been doing is oil changes regularly and at 65K miles I did basic maintenance through a mobile mechanic on fluid changes and spark plus replacements - thats all.

I called him again and he said that while changing oil, he saw traces of water in the oil and that the engine gaskets might be worn out. He said that all engine gaskets will need to be changed in one go since the engine needs to be opened.

His quote to me is $500 and said its a 4 hr job.

Now, is this right? Is there a way to find?
What alternatives do I have?
I am in Gainesville, VA - do we know of any mechanics here?

Thanks a ton !! !!

Dodx

 

its not a bad price for what he says he is doing(if he is doing head gasket, IM gasket, exhaust gasket, oil pan gasket)

however if this problem is legit or not, and if this will solve your noise issue i doubt it.

Did he only mention this issue after you called asking about noise? because if so i smell BS.


I would bring it to another shop(preferably a honda dealership) and see what they say.

but $500 to change all gaskets would be a good deal, however i doubt you could change all the gaskets in that amount of time

 

Thanks,

He said it will take him about 4 hours to do this job.
Yes, I called him for an oil change and asked him about the noise quality and he said he'll check.
He thought its one of those pulley's connected to the belt at the bottom there had a very minor wobble. But he said that's normal and it not the cause.

He said the noise is because, he saw some water in the oil when draining it out and the oil had thinned when he saw it. However I could not see the oil for myself.

So are there other symptoms that I should see apart from the water in oil he mentioned about? I don't see a whole lot of smoke as well from the exhaust pipe/silencer.

We also put in a BG MOA and a BG 44K to see if it helps. But there has been no change.

Again, truly appreciate all your help.

Please chime in with suggestions. I am based in Virginia, so a known reference/mechanic is welcome.

Thanks

D

 

I don't know what the BG products that you listed are. Water in the oil would indicate a blown head gasket and the car would likely run like crap if that were the case. A compression test is the next thing that you need done. If the head gasket is blown, the comp. test will see it. If the head gasket is ok, I'd seafoam the intake via brake booster line (half can), have 1 qt of oil drained and replaced with Marvel Mystery Oil, and if they haven't been done, change the spark plugs (NGK double platinum) and the air filter.