Herb

So I bought a car two days ago with 122k miles on it and test drove it hard and now it has a blown head gasket and overheats.

So West Chester/Ardmore Acura qoute me $1500-$1900 for the gasket change in 4 or 5 weeks, so I'd much rather do a Type I JDM engine swap and do it right. I got screwed on buying the car, so I want to just go all and have it be perfect now.

I can get the engine, I can get the necessary parts, I need a good mechanic.

I live in Havertown, area code 19083, suburb of philly. Does anyone know of a good mechanic within 50 miles that can do an engine swap for me?

Thanks,

Aaron

 

RAP

Seems like you should have three days to change your mind??? about keeping this car. Take it back to whoever you bought it from and ask for a refund.


Did your hard driving damage the head gasket or do you think it did? I tend to think that this car was already in poor condition when you started on your Acura trip to hell. .

RAP

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Acurite

Herb

I don't know. I knew a little bit about the overheating problems so before I bought the car, I let it sit for 10 minutes in the parking lot running and I did not see the temperature guage fluctuate at all. I then drove it in a variety of conditions... I drove it out onto the interstate. I thought that driving a car hard would be a telltale sign of whether it was good or not, so I redlined the car in third and took it to 110mph in 4th. It pulled great no problems. I then drove it in stop and go traffic and sat at many stoplights and I never saw the temp guage rise.

It was that night when I was sitting in it for 15 minutes that I noticed the temp guage go up. And now its barely driveable because of the overheating issue.

I have the name and number of the previous owner. He last had the car serviced on 1/04 at Ardmore Acura. He sold it on 3/31/04 to the guy i bought it from. HE said he paid $4500 for the car so he could go no lower. So I am going to call the previous owner and ask him if he had an overheating problem and what he sold the car for. That will give me alot to go on. If he says, oh yeah, the car was ****ed and I sold it for $1500, then I am paying the guy i bought it from a very personal visit.

Here's the car:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...agename=WDVWNd i

I bought it off of ebay though.

Herb

Just a side note, the reason I fell for this car in the first place was that I have been driving my dads 1991 legend ls for the last several months, and that car had a head gasket job at 90k, and it has 130 on it right now. He was driving out of the dealer lot after an oil change when the engine exploded. He got extremely lucky because he blamed it on the dealer and got the job done for free. However, I never thought that legends had any sort of problems because for the entire time I have been driving it it has been flawless and NOW i know why it had a headgasket job!

Chauffeur First

If you need a motor, I have a JDM type 1 for sale.. get at me if you are interested

Jason
chauffeur1st@yahoo.com

craigerd2

Check your local laws. If he is a licensed dealer, he may not be able to sell the car AS-IS no matter what he writes in an ad. Sometimes there are implied warranties when buying from a dealer.

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AIM: craigerd2

RAP

Well you do have the potential of having a nice car and it's not the end of the world to have to change the head gaskets or the motor if you decide to go that route.

However this car is not a Ford Escort and really not a poor man's car. But if you can handle the financials the Legend is very satisfiying to own and drive.
A couple of thousand bucks or so is not much money really, when you consider what new cars sell for. I could do your engine swap but I'm too far,plus I've got several Nissans that are waiting their turn under my wrenches. You should also invest in the Helms service manual even if you don't care about doing mechanic work or even the Haynes, at about 20 bucks, would be useful for a source of general knowledge.

Good luck. RAP

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Acurite

Herb

At this point and time I have a large income stream from several eBay businesses. I was planning to buy the Legend and keep it for two months, an interim car towards a Lexus GS400/GS430. I have stated in another thread that I really don't care if its a BHG -- i just want to get it fixed and fast. It seems the JDM engine is the quickest route. Acura dealers around here are booked full and I would not take it to a mechanic other than at the dealer to have the headgasket replaced. (12,000 mile warranty on headgasket repair)

I figure if I throw another 4-5k at the car in the next month to get it *right*, then in 2-3 months maybe somebody around here will really appreciate how right the car is when they are looking for a new car.

I don't want to screw around with thermostat, hoses, blah, etc. because it all seems to end up in BHG. And I'll pay $1500 to not have to look at the damn temperature guage every second for the next two months.

I'll try going back to the guy and trying to get a refund, but the thing is..the car is nice, its got new brakes and calipers, new water pump, new radiator, its got all options for the model year, nice spoiler, nice 6 cd, new head unit, heated seats, beige leather, the seats dont have any cracks, it just needs some work.

RAP

Seems to me if you are in business you would know that your car is only worth what someone will be willing to pay. Four to five thousand is really pushing the limit for a '92 Legend and it would have to be tops IMO. We are soon to be in 2005 and this will make the car 13 years old. You must have bought this car for a song?

But then again one never knows. From reading these boards I see that people buy these cars and really can't afford them, so...

RAP

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Acurite

PSA

If you really want to fix it give us a call. 610-923-9670 Headgaskets $1200 plus head work if it needs it. Engine swap $900 plus misc hoses etc if you bring or have the engine delivered. Might be 60-70 miles to Easton PA but probably worth the trip.

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PSA

Herb

Well i bought the car for $4700 thinking it was in tip top shape. It seemed to have all the right service, I got all the service records, there was money being thrown at the car right and left and no skimping. However, I got burned probably because I thought Legends were so trouble free. Based it on personal experience and didnt do my homework. Thanks PSA for the head gasket price of $1200. How soon could you do it?

Thanks,

Aaron

PSA

Soon as you can get it here. Figure 4 days at least.

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PSA

Mike Diaz

I can vouch for PSA (Peter) he's been around here for a long time and definitely knows his stuff.

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3.5L DIY | Crank-No Start Diagnosis | How I built My Legend

Herb

PSA i just sent you a PM. Thanks.