Ooook so I have a 2002 Honda Civic LX Sedan. I bought it new and it was doing fine for a long time but then it would start idling really rough and shaking for a while first driving it. Check engine light was on too. I bought a fancy tester from O’Reilly’s and it gave a P0303 error. So cylinder 3 problem right?

This pic:
http://0.tqn.com/d/autorepair/1/0/T/f/92851753.gif

shows that the cylinders go from 4 3 2 1 if looking at it from the front of the car.

My friend helped me change the spark plugs and when we took them out they were all dry except number 3 – the plug, the on-plug distributer coil, and tube they were in were covered in oil. So we cleaned it off and replaced all the plugs. We also swapped the distributer coil or ‘boot’ as I think they’re called.

Then a few weeks later the problems weren’t going away so we bought a valve cover kit, new seals for spark plugs and a cam shaft cover and we replaced all those. Things were going well for a couple of months until a couple weeks ago when the engine light came on, engine shaking and the P0303 code came back. It went away though after that but then yesterday when I started it and all throughout me driving it somewhere (it was a mandatory appointment so I had to drive it) it shook really bad, like worse than before. Shook when I drove it back too.

Today I had my friend come over and cylinder 3 was oily again. We did a compression test and we got as the readings 110 – 110 – 110 – 140. Each one held those readings for a few minutes until removing the tester. We also tested the coils/boots by using a spark tester and they were fine. After putting everything back though the car ran fine. I don’t want to risk it though so I really need advice.

It’s likely an internal engine problem right, something with a piston? Should I try and get a local mechanic to fix it which would be expensive? I know replacing the engine would be very expensive so I can’t afford that (it would probably be better just to get a new car at that point). The guy at Oreillys said it would be $3000 just for the engine + money to put it in from a mechanic.

Thanks so much for any advice and input!

 

welcome to the forum. have you checked the fuel injectors for condition. If you decide to look for an engine, ebay has salvage yards that sell engines for 650.00 used with low milage. also ship them to a business address. and find a mech that will r & r the engine for about 500.00.