Questions and Answers

Honda Passport: To Fix Or Not? Q. Vincent Ciulla, Hi, my name is Savoeun. I want to ask you a question about my car engine. I have a 1996 Honda Passport V-6 with 50,000 miles on it. When I took the car on a road trip the crankshaft broke while driving. My warranty was expired a year ago.

I was wondering if it is better and cheaper for me to send it to a shop and have them replace the engine or is it possible if I do it at home with the help of a few friends and a Honda repair manual? I really don't want to replace a new engine and I really don't have the money to get it repair because I am still attending college.

Is there a lot of intensive work that needs to be done on the car if I decide to fix it? Could there be other problems with the engine? If it is better for me to work on the car is there any other book besides the Chiltons auto repair manual that will help and what special tools do I need to replace the crankshaft?

A. Unless you are a fairly advanced DIY, I would not suggest you replace the crankshaft. In your place the best option is to get a short block (Includes: block, pistons, rings, rods, bearings and crankshaft) and transfer the parts from the old engine to the short block. A chiltons manual will suffice for this kind of job. Make sure you mark and label all the connections and vacuum lines so you can put it back together exactly as it was. This will cost you about $6500.00 from the dealer.

The way I would go is to get a used engine and put it in. You can get a low milage engine for a lot less than the cost of a short block. Basically you would take out the old one and install the new one. You can rent an engine hoist from a rental place and that is about all the special tools you will need.