Why is my bottom end failing after my head gasket was rebuilt? I was told this is common after a hg job. It's a 05 Honda Civic?

Why is my bottom end failing after my head gasket was rebuilt? I was told this is common after a hg job. It's a 05 Honda Civic?

I would ask a mechanic to look at it

The two jobs are unconnected. In the rare instances where they are connected it's due to running with almost no oil and that would cause the bottom end to fail very noisily long before you became aware of a head gasket problem. Oil starvation would also usually cause the camshaft to become very noisy: a sort of machine-gun noise as it revolves twice as fast as the crankshaft.

Bottom ends on Honda engines usually long outlast the car. It suggests that you've either been very unlucky with a severely premature failure, or that you or a previous owner allowed the oil level to run too low or failed to change the oil at the correct schedules on more than a few occasions, and/or used too thin a grade of oil.

The job will be expensive, and unless you go the extra mile to get the entire engine stripped down to check for excessive wear elsewhere there's a high chance of further failures.

It will be cheaper to fit a complete salvaged engine although that's also not without risk of a dud.

Whoever told you that was talking out of his a r s e. As already said the two issues are totally unconnected. Big end and main bearing failure is usually due to lack of oil. Either the oil pump has given up or the oil level has dropped considerably. Lack of regular oil changes can also cause this damage. At least the engine does not have to come out to replace the bearings. Phone around for quotations. At least three different garages/shops.

The crank and connecting rod bearings may have been damaged by running in contaminated oil. Make darned sure this really is going on in your car; Rod or bearing knock can indicate it. If the engine is quiet as ever, the mechanic may be upselling you on fear. I have never had a bad head gasket cause bottom end failure. I have seen bottom end failure result from lack of oil.

Head gasket failure can cause bottom end damage. Wouldn't call it common. Coolant in the oil will ruin bearings. Leaving coolant on top of pistons will leak past rings, possibly get them stuck and then end up in oil pan. Trying to run engine with coolant in combustion chamber will hydraulic the engine, that can bend a rod and is obviously stressful on piston and bearings.

Experience has taught me to not attempt repair on an engine someone tried and tried to drive while broken. Experience has also taught me to not repair a blown head gasket if the car was allowed to sit after it broke down. I've removed the pistons and seen the damage, can't leave the coolant where it doesn't belong.

Driving along, blew the gasket, pulled over and called tow truck should have no fear of a bottom end issue.

Evidently you either have more then 160,000 miles on the motor and haven't been changing the oil every 3,000 miles or else the head gasket leaked coolant into the oil and wore the bearings out.

I feel for you. Have you considered a low mileage JDM engine swap? I would've recommended that before replacing the headgasket. The people who worked on your car didn't fully inspect the engine or this would've been discovered.