2007 Honda fit sport- engine replacement
 

Hi,
I've read the forum on and off but haven't really participated but I have a question and wondering if anyone had any thoughts or advice based on their fit.

I have a 2007 Honda fit sport that I loved and have taken good care of in terms of maintenance and everything. On Monday, on the way to work, my car died on me while idling and I thought it was the cold. I restarted it though and it kept dying and then started to make an awful noise that sounded like helicopter blades hitting each other, so drove home.

But the time I had it towed in, what I'm told is that it had absolutely no oil and now needs a new engine. The technician thinks that there was a seak that broke all of the sudden and the oil started to leak. It usually happens more slowly I guess, but I didn't really notice symtoms of it (though it did die randomly once last week also while idling but then was fine). No warnings that morning other than the engine light coming on that I noticed.

Anyway, I'm told it needs a new engine, and I'm trying to decide if it's worth putting one in or if I should get another vehicle. I've been offered a used engine which helps but still will be almost 3000$
I'm wondering if anyone else has experienced something like this or if if anyone has thoughts or an educated guess on how long my car might be expected to drive smoothly after a new engine. Oh and I have about 140000 miles oh it.

Do you find that you are having lots of repairs on your fit yet as it is getting older ?

Thanks in advance for any thoughts,
Kelly

You can buy a used engine and get it installed for way less than $3000. You can check car-part.com and ebay for an engine in your area to gauge the prices of a used engine. As for the price to install you're going to have to call up local shops and ask for quotes.

Where and why was there an oil leak? Can you show us?

My guess can be oil filter, oil drain plug or a plastic plug on timing cover.
The cure is to check oil level weekly !!

so here is the deal as far as i am concerned. 1. a used engine can be had for less than 1,000 and you could honestly probably find a remanufactured one for less than 2,000 what your paying for is labor almost surely. so you have to ask yourself is it cheaper to keep her or do you want another 5 years of payments. If it were me i would just put a new engine in and call it a day but if you have the time/means i would shop around for a new/used one. I've seen them online for as cheap as $500 for a used engine with a warranty here in California and I'm sure it wouldn't be difficult to find a guy who's not at a shop who does work on cars (check craigslist) for much cheaper. I bet you could get the whole thing done for 1500 dollars with patience.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/07-08-HONDA-FIT-Engine-1-5L-VIN-3-6th-digit-AT-/351228093141?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3AHonda%7CModel%3AFit&hash=item51c6d362d5&vxp=mtr
the internet is going to be your friend.

Re: 2007 Honda fit New engine
 

Thank you all. One of the issues influencing my decision is that the car has already been towed to the honda dealership and is sitting there, which makes it a more intensive process to have it towed somewhere else and though my retired father has offered to help put in an engine, he doesn't have any equipment and I don't know that I want to ask him to figure it all out- even though we work together and he does love cars.
I did find out though that Honda is now willing to give me quite a bit more in trade in value than initially, so I'm going to go see what they have and go from there. So things are looking up that way. I might even end up with another fit, since it sounds like something pretty uncommon what happened.
I'm going in tomorrow to look at their cars and going from there, but just wanted to thank you all for your input - since it is all helping me weigh this decision. I'll also try to get more information from them on what exactly happened and where on the car to share with you all, especially since my engine knowledge is shaky. As of now, I was just told that it was a seal somewhere that allowed the oil to leak, so I'll see how much more they are willing to share about it- especially if I get another fit.
It might sound crazy to some getting that same car again, but I really have liked it other than this recent incident.- thinking maybe all of you might understand that.

Thanks again,
Kelly

So if it had no oil in it did you try and put oil in to see if the noise goes away. You never had an oil light on so the pressure had to be good. I'm thinking there is something else wrong with the car and probably not an engine. Maybe a fuel pump that caused the car to stall or a vacuum leak somewhere.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/sale...000-miles.html

$500 plus shipping, pretty easy change.

agreed the engine in this car is not rocket science to get out. a few motormoutnds some hoses and a couple sensors and you're good. if her dad has the right tools ( go to harbor freight and spend some cash) it would take maybe a week tops. you'll end up saving thousands upon thousands of dollars... considering leaving your car at the dealership to charge you 4000 bucks for a job that you could do for under 1000 is just lazy. just saying...

There is something fishy here.

No low oil pressure indication on the dash but they say it was run out of oil. I blew a hole in an oil cooler one time in my airplane. Oil pressure went to zero and I still flew it for 38 miles under reduced power to land it. We bypassed the oil cooler on the spot, filled it up with oil, and flew it several hundred miles home. That same engine is still running today many years later with just a new oil cooler installed.

I think it is time for a second opinion. Fill it with oil, start it up and find the leak. Then decide if the engine is really toast. I'm sorry but I do not trust dealerships.

In another case we had a owner on a different forum (chevy) that was told that the crankshaft thrust bearing was worn and the engine was bad. The owner was told that the thrust bearing was .025". Looking at the GM engine specs we found that the GM manual states anything between .003" and .044" was acceptable. We got the vehicle out of there and found that the problem was a bad bearing in the fan clutch. That was a $75.00 part and about 1/2 hour labor,

Get a second independent opinion.

Kelly, what happens if they put oil in it and try it? Never know it may be OK.

Good luck with getting this sort out.

I wish he/she would come back and tell us the current situation. If it did loose oil, I would like to know how that happened.

Now everyone is on the right page......

Looks like I need to be on this forum more often, looks like I missed a golden chance to get ride of the motor that has been sitting in my garage for 3-4 years :(

I had the same problem with my fit
 

So I work 60 miles from my house in San Pedro. My work is in San clamente. Driving back with my coworker I noticed my check engine light came on but didnt think too much ive had problems with the fuel injectors causing misfires and figured that was it, I whent to pass someone on the left and stepped on the gas a bit, the car jumped to 5k rpms and pretty much did nothing. I quickly moved to the slow lane. When I got to my coworkers house we checked my oil, it was practically bone dry, my coworker ran me to a near by pepboys in his car. After putting oil in the car seemed to run better but as I was entering the freeway, around 4k rpm (speeding up to match the flow of traffic) the car started shaking, I slowed down and let my car gradually gain speed. I was able to go 80 mph (just testing it a bit) as long as I kept the rpms at 3500 or less. I haven't pushed it past since getting on the freeway. I have an appointment at a Honda dealership on Saturday at 830 am. I'll try and let you all know what they find out. (I'm really hoping I don't need a new engine or I'm really fucked)

What grade/type of oil was in the engine? Who and when did the last oil change? What is the current oil life indicator?
Notes:
-if engine known for piston slap it will be using oil (sooner or later)
-low cold viscosity synthetic oils such as 0W-#@$ will burn out really fast
-Fit is a city ca ; I would not be driving a car with 1.5 engine on high speeds for long time :) it's not a Supra or MBZ, sorry
It looks like v-tec system was starving for oil but can be something else

haha yeah I do drive it like a racecar sometimes.
the place I get my oil change at is really good I usually buy 5w20 synthetic.
When I drove it this morning I got it up to 4k rpm with no shuttering. I'm going to take it kind of easy for now. I'll let you guys know what the dealership says about it on saturday when I get my car back.

Most likely the v-tec had an air in oil (valves were not operating correctly)
Things to do next:
-Drain the oil and check for fine black traces in the oil (survivable) or metal flakes (worse condition)
-install pressure gage and check the oil pressure at idle hot (will provide specks later)
-switch to conventional (high mileage?) oil; maybe use 3 cans of 5W20 and one of 5W30
-pop the valve cover and look for metal contamination in oil (from aluminum cam followers (rollers))

thanks, I will definately do that. I appreciate all of the help I'm getting.

Any updates?
(no updates = problem solved??) :wavey: