Hey fellow Honda folks,
I’m in a rough spot and want to run this by you all. I have a 2010 TL SH-AWD (J37 3.7L) with about 460,000 km on it. Top end rebuilt by dealer under warranty around 150-200k km due to valve tick. Timing belt job done about a year ago. The other day I got a bunch of random warning lights while driving, but car kept running normal. The next morning after starting, it idled miserably (misfire or uneven) for a few seconds, then smoothed out. It drove okay but seemed power-limited (like held down RPM).
Later, I got to a gas station, tried to start it again — it cranked once and stopped. Since then it wouldn't start (cranks once then stopped). The shop in town looked at it and installed a new starter, forced it to turn over, but said it sounded bad and they determined it slipped timing.
I put a borescope into the front 3 cylinders and didn’t see obvious catastrophic damage (no visible bent valves hitting pistons, only generic scoring which I assume to be from age, one concerning mark on a Piston). I’m hoping the bottom end is still okay as it didn't happen under load/high RPM.
This is my moms old car and she gave it to me to get me through my final years of University. I don't have money for another car and i just got a fresh inspection for this car (legit less than a week before this happened lol). I am hoping this can be repaired cheaply (not worth putting a new engine in). My plan is to source a complete set of J37 used heads and install them to get a few thousand more kilometers out of the car. Before I start tearing the car apart, i want to know if this is possible/worth doing or if it is a totally bad idea. Any insight or other ideas are appreciated, thanks!
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I’m in a rough spot and want to run this by you all. I have a 2010 TL SH-AWD (J37 3.7L) with about 460,000 km on it. Top end rebuilt by dealer under warranty around 150-200k km due to valve tick. Timing belt job done about a year ago. The other day I got a bunch of random warning lights while driving, but car kept running normal. The next morning after starting, it idled miserably (misfire or uneven) for a few seconds, then smoothed out. It drove okay but seemed power-limited (like held down RPM).
Later, I got to a gas station, tried to start it again — it cranked once and stopped. Since then it wouldn't start (cranks once then stopped). The shop in town looked at it and installed a new starter, forced it to turn over, but said it sounded bad and they determined it slipped timing.
I put a borescope into the front 3 cylinders and didn’t see obvious catastrophic damage (no visible bent valves hitting pistons, only generic scoring which I assume to be from age, one concerning mark on a Piston). I’m hoping the bottom end is still okay as it didn't happen under load/high RPM.
This is my moms old car and she gave it to me to get me through my final years of University. I don't have money for another car and i just got a fresh inspection for this car (legit less than a week before this happened lol). I am hoping this can be repaired cheaply (not worth putting a new engine in). My plan is to source a complete set of J37 used heads and install them to get a few thousand more kilometers out of the car. Before I start tearing the car apart, i want to know if this is possible/worth doing or if it is a totally bad idea. Any insight or other ideas are appreciated, thanks!
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