How long can I drive my car with one cylinder only having 20% compression?

15

Asked by bdieter May 03, 2015 at 11:11 PM about the 1995 Honda Civic EX

Question type: General

About a week ago I was driving up a steep hill and my car couldn't handle it. We took
it to the shop and they told me that one of the cylinders only has 20% compression.
They told me that I could drive it up to a year and it'd be fine. When I idle, the whole
car shakes and jumps because the cylinder isn't firing with the others. How long can I
continue driving the car in this condition? A year seems a long time, and I'm worried
that all the shaking will just break something else in the engine. Thanks

9 Answers

23,430

Diagnose it and find the failed part, dont pump fuel into the catalyst, sheesh! Get a used replacement for the head or the engine. They have yards that are specialists in getting the right one and delivering it, then help with smart instructions to protect your warranty. for the used covered items.

23,430

Those cars are supposed to be soooooooo frickin great, lets see how long you can keep it running and passing emissions. it's only 20 or so. My benz is 30 and wants to retire early.

23,430

My chevy is 43 and can spin circles around both of them.

2 people found this helpful.
15

I'm tight on money right now, so I was wondering how long I could take to find a new car. I'd love to fix it up, but they also said the body was rusting away.

15

It also has an oil leak somewhere and they claim they can't identify where it is..so I have been replacing the oil every few weeks for the past 2 years.

1 people found this helpful.
23,430

agree jim, and the cause of misfire or loss of compression can be simpler since we havent heard the failed part. a leaking injector causing compression loss eventually can then lead to more danger in the catalyst. burn the carpet and start grass fires this time of year. This person can remove their plugs, add oil to the plug holes in very small amounts and crank the engine. when the mess subsides, they can measure compression again and again to look for a rise..................They can also do a leakdown to see if they need a used head instead.

2 people found this helpful.
23,430

or even just a valve, parts permitting. they arent always available and when they see that the suppliers raise prices above that of a used head. A low mile replacement engine could save the car or avail it for resale. Depends what the owners aptitude is. Or, how hard they look for a shop to help.

23,430

But why did they need someone to tell them the cars body was rusted? Must be not in sight? Or the battery area? I dont need to guess, it's zero maintenance, meaning sneakers has a valid point. They may have nicer cars at the u-pull-it yard.

1 people found this helpful.
23,430

The oil leak story is kinda common, if you use a sheet of cardboard and find the general area, you have to consistently park in the same place, or carry the cardboard. If you maintain the belt and waterpump, you have new cam and crank seals, if you maintain the valves, you have a good cover gasket and a fresh pcv. Giving the benefit of the doubt, that leaves rear main, a 20 minute diagnosis at the most. I would get a builder car from the yard if I planned to treat it like that. Just kept driving without any repair. And had no care. Fix it up and go till it wont go. Claim ignorance, and go do it again.

Your Answer:

Civic

Looking for a Used Civic in your area?

CarGurus has 4,208 nationwide Civic listings starting at $2,916.

Postal Code:

CarGurus Experts

  • #1
    ColdinMA
    Reputation
    2,350
  • #2
    Guru9CNGV
    Reputation
    2,110
  • #3
    GuruDMD1V
    Reputation
    2,080
View All

Find great deals from top-rated dealers

Search

Related Models For Sale

Used Honda Accord
59 Great Deals out of 1,026 listings starting at $2,995
Used Toyota Corolla
137 Great Deals out of 2,258 listings starting at $3,495
Used Toyota Camry
44 Great Deals out of 1,140 listings starting at $3,900
Used Honda Civic Coupe
10 Great Deals out of 282 listings starting at $3,290
Used Honda CR-V
157 Great Deals out of 4,953 listings starting at $440
Used Hyundai Elantra
143 Great Deals out of 3,056 listings starting at $3,300
Used Nissan Altima
32 Great Deals out of 714 listings starting at $654
Used Toyota RAV4
111 Great Deals out of 2,857 listings starting at $2,949
Used Ford Mustang
61 Great Deals out of 1,603 listings starting at $6,500
Used Toyota Tacoma
43 Great Deals out of 684 listings starting at $9,975
Used Acura Integra
62 listings starting at $34,985

Content submitted by Users is not endorsed by CarGurus, does not express the opinions of CarGurus, and should not be considered reviewed, screened, or approved by CarGurus. Please refer to CarGurus Terms of Use. Content will be removed if CarGurus becomes aware that it violates our policies.