HOW DO YOU EVEN GET AN ENGINE THIS HOT!? 2015 Honda Fit L15 Blown Engine Teardown. ZERO COMPRESSION!

[@chrisfreemesser5707]

I know engines like this are probably not profitable for your business but I really enjoy watching you tear them down. These are the types of engines us mere mortals own and I find it interesting to see how they're put together

[@jpkatz1435]

And repaired!

[@Nobody-yr5sn]

Chris freemesser I agree on that

[@adamryd95]

Exactly👏👏

[@davidpaulcarlson8763]

Exactly!

[@kemarfong7782]

Sure thing 👍

[@philmeyer5876]

I have recently retired from my medical courier business where we routinely ran our Fits to 3-500000 miles without ever opening an engine except to change oil. These are extremely well built little engines and performed without flaw.

[@jpkatz1435]

Did you. do valve adjust or spark plugs? I had an aternator stop making current at approx 100,000 mi.

[@randymagnum143]

I know a guy who expedited with a 3500 chevy van. Made it 700,000 miles on one 5.7 vortec and 2 4l80e's.

[@jamesmedina2062]

I got 330k from a turbo 1.8 that ran low on oil for a week. Engines are made well the last 20 years. Oils are better too.

[@stephenw2992]

@@jpkatz1435 That would be about the mileage where the alternator brushes wear out. Easy and cheap to replace.

[@MattyEngland]

@@jamesmedina2062 Was that the VW Group 1.8t as found in the golf?

[@photodan24]

This engine was likely a victim of the "If I can just limp this home" syndrome. It's how my mom warped the heck out of both heads on our 89 Chevy Cavalier Z24. ( a long time ago)

[@SuperYellowsubmarin]

Just as if the car could get any better at home.

[@boardernut]

@@SuperYellowsubmarin lol

[@Flyinghook]

I'm betting it was an old person getting fish sandwiches on friday from burger king for them and their girlfriend. They knew the car was overheating because someone in the drivethru told them there was massive amounts of steam coming out of the car, but, Adam, I had to get the fish sandwiches home!! Anyway, I'm just saying, maybe this person was just being a good cathlick/boyfriend like the only other time I've seen an engine grenaded like this.

[@TheSleepingonit]

Getting it home makes sense to me because I have tools to fix it if I can get it there

[@Flyinghook]

@@TheSleepingonit yeah, you ain't gonna fix that one, whereas if this person and "unnamed elderly person" from my story had listened to the car, it could have

[@w1ndex]

I have a 2007 Honda Fit Sport with manual, rare beast, has 260k miles on it and still runs like new, but I also change my oil every 5k miles with full synthetic. Busted my oil pan about a mile from home and when we dropped the pan it looked brand new. Plan on doing maintainence and drive it til the wheels fall off and then put them back on and drive it some more.

[@scottyjones27]

Yes brother from another mommy ! I hav n drive daily 02 Mustang GT 5speed car got new in Feb o3 ive driven her to now wee bit over 400000.miles I've only used Mobil1 full syn 10w30 with Motocraft filters whole time just replaced pinion shaft bearing in the rear end over weekend FUN and FUN

[@dsloop3907]

@@scottyjones27 I'm going to drive my 250k mile 1993 F150 4.9 as long as possible too.(edited)

[@johnfox3845]

@@dsloop3907 I'm guessing you meant to say 4.9, as the 4.6 debuted in the F-series for the 1997 model year, with the introduction of the 10th generation F-150.

[@SkylineFTW97]

I have a 2006 6-6 Accord sedan with 230k on it. I do it every 3k since I'm more of a spirited driver. Also just picked up a 2015 Fit LX 6 speed. Always liked the Fits, but couldn't justify buying one until now.

[@dsloop3907]

@@johnfox3845 Durp... tyvm, I fixed that.

[@revnto7k]

My girlfriend has a 2013 Fit with the port injected version of this engine, it is exceptional. The car has been bulletproof with routine maintenance and we plan on keeping it a few more years.

[@northwestrailfanofficial]

Stick shift or automatic?

[@FB6K24Z7]

The 2013 has the SOHC L15A7 port injection this is a different engine with DOHC valvetrain and direct injection and 11 more hp then the L15A7

[@cxhatchboy520]

I've got a 2010 Fit with the same SOHC L15, they are indeed bulletproof. The SOHC port-injected L is simpler and more reliable overall than the DOHC direct-injected L15, at the expense of power but neither engine is really "powerful".

[@FB6K24Z7]

@@cxhatchboy520 the DOHC version which you see in the video has real 2lobe Vtec system on the intake cam and direct injection unlike the L15A7 which has no real Vtec L15B1with just a intake,catless test pipe with bigger diameter piping and aftermarket exhaust this engine can make around 155hp no problem its been proven by the tuners in Japan who have tuned them and this car with 155hp and a 6 speed MT is alot ov fun for what it is especially if you like to go fast around turns and corners

[@revnto7k]

@@northwestrailfanofficial Hers is auto. I couldn't convince her to get a manual sadly. The automatic is trucking along nicely though, it has no issues at around 120K miles.

[@AndrewPenner]

I'm a little surprised at how good the bearings and bottom end look, given how catastrophic the top end failed. This was a nice change from the typical "10 million mile oil change" teardowns. Very peculiar though - those bearings and crank looked incredible!

[@litz13]

It's all aluminum. With no coolant, the aluminum melted down before the bearings got damaged.

[@AndrewPenner]

@@litz13 of course. But still impressive to see the difference between the top end and the bottom end.

[@w1ndex]

The L15A7 is used by the SCCA for their Formula F series, bottom end is really good, the heads are the main problem, low flow from the L15 being designed for longevity and fuel economy.

[@gapratt4955]

Word of the day Eric is "Outgassing". The smell was from the fumes created by the various materials melting and burnt oil. They were trapped in the oil galleys and released when you unbolted the main caps. Almost as bad as pulling apart a jet engine that has been sitting for a few months after bird ingestion.

[@NemesisRTCW]

Never done that, but I'll hazard a guess it does not smell very good. I have however worked on machines in the meat industry, of companies that were no longer in business. (READ : Meat that's green)

[@liver.flush.maestro]

Thank you for the explanation, I was wondering what was happening since the beginning Eric hasn't been complaining about the smell, only when pulling out those main caps...

[@MattyEngland]

KFC for lunch?

[@davidmiller9485]

offgassing (which is the term used when discussing air quality) is usually gas that has been incorporated into a hydrocarbon under heat and pressure that begins to separate out. The smell will knock a buzzard off a shit wagon at 100 yards. Horrible.

[@Renville80]

Wonder how it compares to the smell of a failed capacitor on an electronic circuit board… even a tiny tantalum cap can do a pretty good job of clearing out an area.

[@matthewtaylor3308]

“We’re crowning!” Childbirth is a beautiful thing...

[@Backroad_Junkie]

Yeah, but he dropped two of the kids on the floor, lol...

[@reubensandwich9249]

The question is, if we buy parts off this engine, is the smell included at no additional cost?

[@TwentytenS4B8]

"Used crank, decent shape. But smells like farts"

[@IKnewMickey]

Yes. Smell included no charge.

[@stormlord55]

Only on whacky Wednesdays!

[@beezlebub3955]

Thank you person who sacrificed your Fit engine for the greater good of our Saturday evening entertainment

[@TheProjectHelpDesk]

Murphy's laws of vehicle repair. Any tool dropped will either A) Roll underneath to the exact center of the vehicle or B) fall into the nastiest container of liquid within a 5' radius.

[@mysock351C]

Its amazing what cars and ignorance can accomplish together. Reminds me of my old man's air-cooled 3.8L. Complained it had no heat all winter and I popped the radiator cap to see the bottom of the side tank looked like the Bonneville salt flats. Not even a little wisp of steam. Nothing. It survived that somehow, and even the 4T60-E in it still sort of worked despite being filled with heavy crude in place of its ATF.

[@ekscalybur]

Home made air-cooled conversion kit, NICE!

[@lm7bird680]

My brother did this with his 92 Silverado with a 5.7 TBI. Its southern California and he complains it keeps getting hot. I kinda ignored it because he'd complain his truck would get hot before and it was just his imagination. This time I look down the radiator and it's almost bone dry. Look a couple gallons to top it off and turns out it was a leaking coolant line fitting on the back of the engine that was cracked

[@JoeBob1955]

Seeing this reminded me of a story my dad told me when I was a kid. During WWII, he would buy cars that needed some help, fix and flip them. One such car was a 1937 Chevy, which had been driven from Chicago to L.A., while pulling a trailer. Somewhere around Death Valley, the Chevy lost its coolant. The driver kept going, pulling a trailer, until they got to their destination. By that time, the car was only running on a couple cylinders. When my dad pulled the head, he saw the exhaust valves. He said the valves looked like clover leaves. The valve seats were cracked. Running with no coolant really did a number on that head. But...it was salvageable. Dad pulled out the valves and peened the cracks closed. Then he got a set of exhaust valves from a junkyard and lapped them. Don't recall if he also threw a set of rings and bearings in that engine. But it ran well when he was done, so he promptly sold the car.

[@sergeantpeppers8858]

20:46 Don't try to blame that smell on that poor little engine block. We all know you cut one just before you started with the mains. It's cool. It's your shop. No judgment. If you can't fart in your own shop, where can you fart?

[@Townshipfarmer]

I’m really enjoying your videos. If ever you get a blown up 5.2, 5.9 magnum or a 12 valve I’d really enjoy seeing that.

[@brysonshires9742]

i second the 5.9/5.2. those durangos are cool

[@soldierski1669]

When I was reading this, I heard it in Fry's voice....

[@SurelyYewJest]

5.9 Magnum...now there's a recent V8 that kinda fell into obscurity. I third that one.

[@FerralVideo]

After helping someone with a breakdown on the side of the road, and nearly being IN a car that broke down on the side of the road, I learned that when you run out of coolant, you actually do not have a working temperature gauge. Because the temperature gauge indicates coolant temperature. And without coolant to measure the temperature of, you get no indication that you have a problem until you're left on the side of the road wondering why your car just quit. ... you were NOT kidding about how cheap these engines are, holy crap! I didn't know you could get a car engine that cheap! Now I kinda want a Honda Fit.

[@andys31337]

yeah but you're supposed to notice the steam billowing out

[@d.p.9567]

I have a 2015 Fit; theres no engine temp gauge just a light that comes on which is why I have an extra digital gauge to read actual temps

[@TempleOfNoMasters]

Just found your channel and I'm enjoying the hell out of it. It's a fun mystery and educational at the same time. Well done sir

[@isaacstonesguitarsandstuff2755]

same here

[@dougrobinson8602]

Back in the late '80's, we had an MD-80 that had repeat complaints of bad odors in flight. Turns out some cat had crawled into a preconditioned ground air hose and been blown up into the overhead air duct and died. Nothing in my life has even come close to the wretchedness of that stench. They never told us about that stuff in aircraft mechanic school.

[@krautworks]

One of my aunts used to have an early 2000's Jazz and *never* took any care of it. Ever. My pa once offered her an oil change, but when he actually went ahead to do it, he didn't have to change any oil - there was none left to change, same for the coolant by the way. What of the engine? Well, the cylinder head had to get resurfaced. That's it. She literally drove that car for thousands of kilometers with a goddamn dry engine, and it lived! Bulletproof engines.

[@richardsmith579]

My friend waits until a pretty red light comes on to tell her to check her oil. Always. Then she leaves it until the engine warning light comes on - that’s a lovely orange colour - then she takes it in. Brilliant video by the way.

[@AndrewDRoyappa]

As a Honda Fit owner of this gen, this was fun and informative! Glad to hear they are good engines

[@jimmyjohn731]

"It smells like a whole bunch of dead fish in a hot van,...that someone sprayed mustard all over...." My 12th grade Composition teacher would have given you an A+ on the descriptive writing my friend!! Keep up the good work!

[@texxasvikingcruzer644]

I run this engine in my plane. Luv the engine and loved watching you tear one down. Very educational. Thanks 😊

[@JuneNeko]

Cool!

[@Kennewickgeology]

How high do you rev the engine and for how long?

[@GaryL3803]

@@Kennewickgeology I think the the Viking conversions cruise at 4000 and max at 5200 for hours. The max is due to propeller rpm limits.

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

I presume you've seen the vid on the B29 scale plane, 2 seater, with 4 of these Fit engines?

[@petebach7221]

I’ve seen dozens of cooked engines, and all I can say is ‘wow’. I did see an ‘80s accord in which a piston was melted and splattered onto the bottom of the head but I’ve never seen such carnage from overheating. Geezuskrist, people; pull over.

[@chimei-tekinaneko8318]

probably ppl revving the shit out of their engines while standing (like ricers love to do), or someone planted a turbo on that poor engine to make it do 500bhp..

[@williampearce5932]

Thanks so much for the channel and your disassembles. They are great. On a side note a friend of mine has had 3 fits for his courier work and has gotten over 350K on each of them. He loves them, great milage and long lived.

[@Tealmoney8571]

My wife had a 93 civic d15b7. The thermostat stuck closed and she drove it about 10 miles smoking the head gasket. Then the radiator developed a leak and she drove it till it stopped smoking yet another head gasket. That was the TOUGHEST car I've ever seen!! I fixed it and drove it couple more years till our daughter was born.

[@Whateva67]

I’ve got a 92 civic Si hatch with the D16 engine,that thing took a shitkicking. I was driving it with low compression for about two years and up to 462 thousand kms until it just wouldn’t fire in 1 cylinder anymore. Had to drive it about 1300 kms home like that and it still worked fine,actually had one injector unclipped so it wouldn’t spray fuel and waste it. Still have it,deciding if I should fix er up or not. Such good little cars it would be a shame to scrap it. Hello from British Columbia

[@Elementaliti]

This is one of my new favorite channels. There is something so satisfying about watching you do what you do best. Please keep the great content coming.

[@hondafrk]

Was hoping to see one of these on your channel sometime. I’ve had 2 Fits and loved both, just got tired of the lack of torque. I ran both of mine very hard but also maintained them. The fit is a very fun car on curvy roads, both of mine saw a lot and surprised people.

[@ericthomas178]

I had a Honda FIT Sport with manual transmission. I loved it and regret ever selling it. It was one of the best cars I have ever owned.

[@frjoethesecond]

You might like the Honda CRZ. Same L series engine, but with a small electric motor that boosts the torque and adds another 10-20 horsepower depending on which year you get.

[@litz13]

The diagnosis of low/no compression was definitely right on point. Kudos to the Honda dealer ... ;-)

[@MurphyTheBandChild]

Come on, people! You gotta stop when your pistons reach a nice medium-rare.

[@ekscalybur]

Original owner was paranoid about e-coli.

[@logans3365]

Great video, I always like to watch teardown videos every time I get a new car. The Honda Fit seems incredibly easy to work on for such a small car, lots of space and simple design.

[@brianball720]

We have a '71 Charger with a 383 Magnum, Car was sold new and lived in Las Vegas. Car was built in Los Angeles which was known for serious quality issues. 383 must have had a plugged water jacket from factory as it must have been running hot all the time. Some one had done the best they can installing a flex drive fan to improve cooling but the car was junked in a desert junkyard around 1979 because #4 piston melted down and put a hole in the top, Someone took the head off, found the piston, threw the parts in the trunk and got rid of the car. Luckily the desert preserved the rest of car perfectly for it to be restored 30 years later. Engine shop was able to save the original numbers matching block with a .030" overbore! but they had a hell of a time getting the pistons out they said!

[@c_mac_o_fficial]

Anyone could learn so many valuable things about engines just by watching these videos. Great content man keep on keepin on

[@edwardness3836]

I love all your teardown videos. Thanks for keeping them coming. Unlike some others, it seems, I'm not necessarily excited by carnage videos and rather, I just like seeing how different manufacturers design engines. This video shows how Honda loves LONG connecting rods. Long rods help torque, and since this is a daily driver type engine, that makes sense. What I'd like more of is your commentary, personal opinion even, regarding durability and general function, of the various engines you see in your business. For example, which engines are the most durable, most likely to scatter, specific weaknesses, or strengths, for an engine. Stuff like that. We value your experience and would love to learn more.

[@raven4k998]

I wonder what the driver did to blow that poor little engine🤔

[@JohnSmith-pl2bk]

@@raven4k998 Eric told you in the first minute...

[@cliffweinan3907]

Rethought about this failure. The coolant was likely changed and the cooling system not bleed of air. Hondas must have cooling system air bleed, look up the procedure for Fit. The driver may not even known there was an overheat problem because the coolant sensor still had coolant around it. A coolant bubble would allow uneven head cooling resulting in warp head. Some cars have more than one coolant bleed screw to get all the air out. My Honda needed air bleeding whenever the coolant was changed. Direct injection engines can make a mess of crankcase oil by fuel dilution. 2017 - 2018 Honda CR-V with DI have had owner complaints about oil dilution.

[@jpkatz1435]

THANKS for the "air blead" info.

[@mattmalenda6585]

Weird. I have a 2001 civic that I changed the coolant and I suspect I have a coolant bubble but I’ve driven it for 20k miles and it’s been fine

[@davezorc]

This was an air bubble larger than the entire volume of the cylinder water jacket.

[@alessandroserrao9422]

improbable

[@brendanbuster]

Wow, it got that hot and the head looks almost usable! **2003-2008 Hemi valve seats have left the chat**

[@jaxfarias973]

Hey eric. Would love to see a 90’s saturn s series 4 cylinder tear down if you ever happen to get your hands on one. also looking forward a 6 liter powerstroke too. love the content man and keep at it.

[@SilasHumphreys]

I'm not sure I'd call a Honda engine low-stress. Honda's learned a LOT from their many years of building race engines, and one of those things is how to build an engine that'll run at 70% basically forever. The L-series is great when you're not abusing it, though. I have one in my daily driver '09 Fit, and while it's not got all that much power, it's not having to drag around much car either. Nice to know I wasn't wrong when I looked in the engine bay and thought "that's so tiny I bet I could just lift it out without needing an engine crane", too!

[@fritzhusselmann2023]

“Smells like a bunch of dead fish in a hot van that someone sprayed mustard all over” … that paints the picture, bravo 😆

[@andrewensign4481]

I worked on a race team that ran Suzuki GSXR1000 and we got mud on the radiator and the water temperature gauge also happened to stop working, we ran evens waterless coolant. We believe it we got it to 350 degrees water temperature. Motor never stopped running. After the race the motor sounded like a tea kettle for about twenty minutes. When the engine builder looked at the motor everything was a very nice blue color.

[@lokeshdeshwal5288]

Brooo Suzuki engines are bulletproof!! 💯

[@frankdesbaux]

The Honda Fit is an out of the box brilliant wee car. It's fast through the tight stuff and runs on the smell of an oily rag. An underrated well engineered safe vehicle.....that melts pistons.

[@reginaldbyrd8073]

I'm glad your explaining the causes and suspected causes and your taking the oil pump apart. That's like a sitcom you watch on TV.

[@jeffjohnson674]

I have watched many of your videos and I hear you saying something about chasing the engine around when you have to loosen the head bolts. Many years ago when I worked on engines I found a trick which prevents this from happening and it requires no extra tools or pieces. When the engine is mounted on a stand this will work. Stand at the back of the engine, now place one foot on the left engine support where the wheel is and your other foot on the other side, you should end up standing on the stand. Now when you apply torque to the bolts the engine will not move because you are not standing on engine stand not on the floor. I hope I explained this well enough, it has worked for me in the past.

[@anthonybertone2336]

It doesn’t matter if it’s a nasty engine big engine small engine tear down this is the best time I Internet watching Eric Tear one apart,

[@traviscapehart7590]

Three to five clicks from fully seated to chain tight is your desired chain span tensioner if the tensioner is used to pull chain tight. This mimics oil pressure in the tensioner. If you see more than five to seven teeth extended from the ratchet tooth then your chain is stretched and must be replaced.

[@gtpanoz]

I can imagine the Fit was looking like a smoker grill when the engine cooked itself. Poor thing was on its way becoming charcoal.

[@austincjett]

Thank you, for the new video. I was having withdraw systems.

[@screwdajuice]

I'm really glad I found this channel. Thanks for all the educational content, Sandler!

[@johnmoore8599]

That must have smelled really, REALLY BAD! Thanks for sacrificing your sense of smell for the video! Another good one!

[@greanstreak04]

Mechanic here, the two worst smelling jobs I have done were a Camaro with a burned up rear axle failure. Melted metal, and fried gear lube, retching even after putting the cover back on. The other one was a Honda Accord that a family of mice moved into the A/C housing. The owner started the car, heard a loud noise and shut it off and waited a week before towing to the shop. The whole family of mice got blended into a fine paste and slung around the housing. Then the car sat in the Florida summer heat with the windows closed...

[@rayshutsa6690]

Thank you Eric for another great teardown. I always enjoy them to see what went wrong. This one was an excellent one. 👍❤

[@Flies2FLL]

I'm not going to tell you that I'd love to see more 928 content because I'm sure you are sick of hearing it but.... I want to see more 928 content! I drove one [1985 S2 5 speed] for over 19 years and I miss that thing! GREAT video as always!

[@bizznackywhirle5437]

Eric: Today we're doing a 1.5L from a Honda Fit. Engine stand: gets drunk to celebrate its good fortune.

[@snakehead324]

These videos always make my Saturday night. Thanks and excited for more landcruiser content.

[@dawnpoint]

I have wondered for a long time about the state of the intake valves on the DI motors. Thank you for confirming that if I ever get one of these it'll be a 2009-13 with port injection.

[@Itwasntalieitwastrueinmymind]

Newer that 2013 don’t have port injection? What do they have?

[@dot_frost]

My dad's 2005 fit once ran for 6 months with NO oil. Still works

[@southstreetbarbecue7875]

I was waiting to see how you got that rounded hex out. I'll bet it would have been entertaining!

[@markae0]

Grind it off or drill it off. not entertaining in my opinion.

[@southstreetbarbecue7875]

@@markae0 We're talking about a guy who used a loader to unstick a crank bolt. He would have made it entertaining! :)

[@SurelyYewJest]

Well, as with many of these teardowns, congrats to whomever pulled this off on an engine in a quiet corner of the auto industry.

[@terencerucker3244]

This teardown reminds me of an engine I had to tear-down my first week of work. It smelled so bad that I gagged over and over. I will never forget that smell! It is indescribably bad. No wonder the boss gave me that job. This car was about 5 years old and it had seized. The boss asked the owner how long it had been since the last oil change. She replied "Change? Why? What's wrong with the oil that it came with?"

[@Me-zo8yc]

People are ingeniously stupid it has to be said.

[@niasnebraska]

I liked the praise you gave this engine. I have one and frequently travel from one end of Nebraska to another. It takes about 8 gallons of gas to accomplish. My question is, what RPM do you feel would be comfortable for this engine to do for 5 hours. At 75 MPH, I'm doing around 3500 and at 80 it's pushing 4K. It still has a lot of "go" over that but with 150K on it, I'm not sure what to give it anymore. I've never really been able to find an answer to this question but I love driving this thing.

[@sashasoule4585]

When companies test engines they test them at much higher rpm than the redline the car is supposed to have. Higher rpm keeps the engine nicely oiled and cool at the same time. Not to mention it blasts off carbon buildup from low rpm and idling. A good engine should be able to redline all day long without trouble. And this seems like one of those engines(granted the cooling system is in check).

[@brentbeardsley655]

Honda engines are tough as hell. They live in the higher revs anyway. Keep oil and coolant in it and that little engine will get another 100,000 or more. The reliability is in it's simplicity, less moving parts less to break. That and Hondas tendency to overbuild their engines.Those Fits are like little tanks, they just keep going.

[@Me-zo8yc]

It's a Honda - they thrive on revs. I had an old CR-V that I beat the shit out of for years (Changed the oil every 5000 miles though, THAT IS THE KEY) and it was running better when I gave it away than when I bought it. 😃

[@ciello___8307]

3500 is perfectly fine for a small motor like that going 80mph. just make sure you do your maintenance and oil

[@lordgoofus2364]

I've got a MY07 Jazz/Fit, and find it actually runs better after a thorough thrashing. It seems these engines love a good ferrari tune. If only it had more power & torque...

[@jeffryblackmon4846]

Try spraying air freshener on the engine, see if it can cover the smell. I'd like to know if it works! Thanks for another fine video.

[@kwakas4ever]

That was different!!! Loved it - the seemingly boring ones are often the best.

[@whalley6044]

I enjoy all your teardown videos, don't know why I like seeing engine carnage but I do. If you've never used one, get an impact universal with the ball & crosspin, you'll never go back to the link type you were using on the fuelpump. Mine are 70's Craftsman but HF sells them also.

[@chrisleggett685]

I used to work at a radiator shop. We often got cars in with cooked engines. But we didn't do engine repair. Most engines blow the head gasket around 250 f. Hottest I ever recorded with my temperature gun was 358F on a 351W....and it lived.

[@ChiefLink]

The L15! I have the L15A7 in my 2012 Fit, but very little has changed on these engines since they debuted because they're so darn reliable. Minus a few engines with quality issues (oops, porous aluminum), these engines are hard to break. I've seen very few with major issues and most of the owners of a Fit take good care of them! My own Fit actually has a slightly bent rear axle/beam assembly, but it's such a light car that I don't notice any tire wear or problems driving straight. Easily the most dependable car I've ever owned. Also, if you can find a Ford Vulcan V6, that would be an extremely easy and amusing teardown. Most Ford Ranger engines are very abused and I think it would be fun!

[@randymagnum143]

I once had a 2.3 "powered" ranger, for about a month. Couple hundred thousand miles on it, and when you dropped from 4th to overdrive, it it just slowed down until you had to shift back to direct. Bought it after the owner hit a deer. Straightened it up a little, drove it till I couldn't stand it anymore, and sold it for 4x what I paid for it. Can't complain, but sometimes I still do

[@bobbeazley2502]

I agree with you! After being a Chevy/Buick tech for 32yrs. Tearing apart a engine is ok. UNTIL you break loose those main cap bolts. Damn! Same when someone in the shop is tearing apart a burned up auto trans or read axle. 😢

[@colemanbonner]

Makes me want to get an older port-injected one of these, and a 5-speed, and build some kind of mid-engined buggy

[@jpkatz1435]

YES, GO FOR IT. Love to see the build, per "Super Fast Mat".

[@Kennewickgeology]

Like the L15a7?

[@davidbeaumont4455]

This, like the J Series Honda, is of particular interest, since I own one of each. It’s good to hear that they are “low demand” because they are reliable. Mine 2015 Fit 6M has only 40k, but since it has the “VTC rattle” I always worry it’s gonna blow up. I’ve overheated a few engines, one even blew a head gasket, but never where it wasn’t repairable. And that was an engine with only a temperature gage! I don’t get some car owners lack of attention! Especially knowing the cost of repairs today! Also the smell of boiling coolant seems to alway find its way into the cabin and should make the average person at least look at the gages!

[@oceanbytez847]

I'm not entirely sure it had one. A co-worker got a 2022 honda that was a hybrid and it really didn't have many gauges at all. I personally prefer extended gauge clusters, but i've seen a few vehicles that barely had what i would consider a minimum requirement for safe operation.

[@gregoryburzy468]

Thanks for these videos, you're a great entertainer and I think it's great that you've managed to take something you find interesting about your day job and share it for everyone. These videos are always entertaining, and perhaps even a bit educational. Please keep doing what you're doing, and if you come across a GM Atlas motor, even the four, would you please do a teardown? I drive one of these every day it's not in the shop and would love to know where they store the gremlins in the valvetrain. Thanks!

[@dougmedeiros8862]

I was thinking the same thing I been seeing some huge horsepower out of the later 4.2’s

[@dougmedeiros8862]

Another hit, I like my mechanical gauges

[@sn4rl277]

Best quote "That's probably why I own so many BMW's....so I can experience all of their issues" Classic, and got a sub for that one.

[@kennethross786]

"I don't think if you add water it turns into a piston again" 😂😂😂

[@paulschommer5094]

I had a 4 stroke dirt bike that ran out of coolant, but it never got that bad. What does happen is that the piston starts to expand and deform from the excessive heat but the cylinder does not. Once it cools back down there is a smaller piston rattling around in a stock bore thus little to no compression. I was really impressed with the minimal damage on the rest of the motor. Many of the other motors that you have down, would have toasted most of the motor. Great job Honda.

[@burgertowngarage]

Have you done a 2.0l TFSI Audi/VW engine? I wanna see what that timing failure really looks like :D Great video! for some reason, it seems as if the smaller engines fail more spectacularly.

[@diablocls55]

I want to see what idler gear failure looks like on an early Mercedes M272 or M273 engine. Hoping he’ll eventually get one (preferably the 273 V8) to tear down

[@trentryan27]

Did u see the 454 he did where 1 cylinder looks like it literally exploded?

[@burgertowngarage]

@@trentryan27 yes I love that one!

[@LansdowneMotorsport]

I just tore down two Audi 2.0 TFSI engines, one of them dropped a valve far worse than I've seen on any other engine. The piston looked like mashed potatoes

[@Jason.cbr1000rr]

Whats tfsi stand for?

[@ouch1011]

Many years ago when working at a shop, we had someone from Las Vegas driving through our area (NW Oregon) that hit an animal, ripped the bottom of their radiator and condenser off on their Escape and continued driving. They drove it until it stopped, then towed it into the shop. It had no compression. None. If you put your ear to the radiator filler neck while someone cranked the engine, you could hear the movement of air from horrifically blown head gaskets in the cooling system. Quoted them a replacement engine, their insurance paid for a brand new Motorcraft long block. Literal crate engine. Several years later, I had another customer at a different shop do the same thing in a Cobalt SS Supercharged. They said they hit a rabbit. It looked more like they hit a deer. Folded their radiator, condenser and radiator for the intercooler into a V shape. It was a kid who was driving and the parents’ insurance paid for the repair. Car reeked of weed, you could smell it from across the parking lot. Needless to say, they weren’t happy.

[@haroldbenton979]

You would have loved the set that came out of the big cam 4 I melted down in 97. The carnage came to 1 and 4 had cracked cylinder 2 literally had a hole in it from the injector tip blowing off and 3 had swallowed an exhaust valve and hammered it into the piston. But it was still running just sounded like a bucket of bolts in a washing machine. The reason why my mother had a heart attack and for 4 hours my foot had been planted to the floorboard and I had pushed the pryometer temperature over 1400 degrees. She slagged the turbocharger and continued to pull for all she had.

[@JimmyMakingitwork]

I'm sure you've seen way more than me, but I've seen similarly overheated engines that melted the motor mounts. it's not like the old days when fuel would boil and cause a stall. Now that high pressure fuel system keeps it running unless the software puts it in failsafe or turns it off.

[@jameswag8473]

A friend of mine has a Honda Fit with the same engine with almost 500,000 miles on it. I keep wondering how far they can go.

[@TestECull]

As long as they never abuse or neglect it probably until the unibody rusts out around it. Honda engines are pretty good about that. They will NOT Suffer abuse and neglect like an old smallblock Chevy will, but if cared for, they tend to last just about as long.

[@Cynsham]

it's a honda, as long as you take care of it with regular maintenance it will probably last forever

[@TwentytenS4B8]

They go pretty far. As long as you keep coolant in the cooling system.

[@jamesmedina2062]

my friend put 600k on his Civic. Its most Hondas, not just this one

[@oceanbytez847]

@@TestECull yes they will. Inherited my mom's 99 accord with 5 unrepaired serious accidents, blown head gasket, original trans fluid, at least 100+ no oil miles, 300k+ miles, and more. This car served me in college for almost 2 years with all the above. I did do some work on it when i could afford it. The thing that killed the car for good was wiring harness failure that caused the anti-theft to lock up. I spent a couple weeks trying to hotwire it to no avail before just calling it quits.

[@OtherWorldExplorers]

By far your best one yet. From you saying crowning to me thinking of you as an obstetrician, perish the thought. To the description of the smell left me laughing out loud.

[@Gypseyfudge]

“This tear down might take like 6 minutes, I don’t know that crank bolt could be pretty tight” had me rolling 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@markr.1984]

I have a 2015 fit with the same engine and a 6 sp. manual. The engine purrs like a kitten. It's one of the smoothest running engines I've ever had. Even compared to 6 and 8 cylinder engines!! They do an excellent balancing on these engines.

[@localresident996]

While I was disappointed in the lack of stripper dust in this engine, the distorted bores and cooked pistons were nice.

[@gr8pony727]

Came here for an engine tear down & Got the best life advice FREE. ALWAYS GO FRONT TO BACK

[@ebutuoyebutouy]

Honda FIT does not come w a temperature gauge. I own one. Thanks for sharing.

[@brysonshires9742]

a red light will shine when it gets hot. just like the blue one when its warming up

[@christopherweise438]

That may be so.....but to get this hot, the steam venting, and coolant spraying would've been the "temperature gauge" if you know what i mean.

[@brysonshires9742]

@@christopherweise438 had a 2.2 s10 and the heater core line blew without any notice, going up a mountain. completely cooked that engine

[@christopherweise438]

@@brysonshires9742 - I bet. It wasn't like you could just stop and park it on a steep grade like that. She was already working hard by the time you lost all the coolant. Doesn't take long to finish roasting it.

[@anomamos9095]

I bought a ratchet that has a solid drive pall that extends out the back of the head and the direction control in the middle of the handle from a maker called something like Starville a German brand. The purpose of this is the ability to hit it with a hammer while applying pressure to break loose tight Allen and torqex fasteners. Works well and apart from having to weld the change button back on after the rivet wore out its lasted more than twenty years.

[@ImGolden]

I love carnage. Thanks for another video!

[@larrymitchell3502]

Entertainment does not equal displacement. Your commentary is up to par and I'm glad for no Smell-O-Vision.

[@andrewless4067]

I'm really curious to find out what you are going to do with all your timing chains. You always say you will 'save that for later' when you remove them. Great video as always :)

[@trentryan27]

He makes necklaces out of them

[@mikefoehr235]

Bracelets

[@TheSleepingonit]

Think he sells them

[@johnmarten4184]

Club bling.

[@bradhaines3142]

@@johnmarten4184 if it was cleaned up good, that might not look bad actually

[@MultiMightyQuinn]

Another fun teardown, those must be fun in mopeds... Always enjoy these, thanks for sharing!

[@prevost8686]

150K so far on my K-Series with no chain stretch. You can thank low-ZDDP oils for the chain wear in modern engines. Modern oils have about 700-800ppm of ZDDP which is insufficient for long term wear protection in many modern engines. SL rated oils had roughly 1600ppm of ZDDP which was ideal for engines.

[@Shane-zx4ps]

A chain is meant to be for the life of the car once properly serviced, so your car is no big deal.

[@prevost8686]

@@Shane-zx4ps If you were a technician for a living you’d know that it IS a big deal. GM, Ford, Honda, and Nissan are all experiencing premature chain failures because of low ZDDP oils and extended intervals. I’ve seen numerous engines that were clean as new inside but had worn out chains before 100K miles. Even Royal Purple issued a statement two years ago stating that the modern “emissions friendly “ oils didn’t have enough ZDDP to prevent chain wear in many engines. We technicians use the terminology “chain stretch “ but that’s really inaccurate. It’s chain wear sure to the lack of sufficient sacrificial ZDDP in the oils. ZDDP sacrifice’s itself anywhere in an engine that heat and friction are present. The boron and synergetic esters that manufacturers are using to try to replace the higher ZDDP levels still are not as effective as ZDDP. The only thing that’s driving the oil manufacturers to keep reducing ZDDP is because the car manufacturers don’t want to pay warranty claims on catalytic converters that could possibly have shorter lifespans from ZDDP contamination.

[@damianlindsey6177]

@@Shane-zx4ps you have bought too much into manufacturers bullshit on that one. Guessing you also think that a car that idles in traffic all day but has less miles is better than a car that's been driven highway miles and has more mileage as well.

[@robby844]

@@prevost8686 if they built engines with proper tolerances then ZDDP wouldn't be any issue whatsoever.... the problem is they build engines to be throw away with very loose tolerances.

[@prevost8686]

@@robby844 Not so. At least not for all manufacturers. The Honda K24, Toyota 4.8, Chevy LS, and Ford 6.2, are just three examples of engines that I’ve serviced with over 400K miles on them that still ran great . The dumbest move that Toyota, Honda, and Nissan made was moving away from timing belts to chains. A timing belt is a much better design from an engineering standpoint.

[@kenmanatt3112]

Awesome! Very similar to my little CR-Z 6sp hybrid engine. Love seeing all the different engines, yet this one was close to home for me.

[@robertwest3093]

It's pretty impressive when someone neglects an engine to the point of zero compression. It becomes darn near witchcraft when someone does that kind of damage to a HONDA, a company with an impressive durability track record.

[@chrisscott4607]

In my area they do this all the time to honda engines, but that’s because if the compound turbo setups lol expected with 30 lbs of boost , not so much on an na engine

[@mysock351C]

Considering how good Honda lawnmower engines usually are, I'm not surprised that its quite reliable. They know how to make tiny engines that last.

[@MattyEngland]

I had a Honda for my first car. Ragged it around non stop for 70,000 miles, (taking total mileage over 150k) it never broke down once and the engine was still strong when the car was scrapped due to rust.

[@Oddman1980]

*Sees a valve cover not coming off, expecting Eric to say "Oh blue!"* *Eric comes back with a perfectly reasonable small screwdriver to remove the valve cover.* Aww 😞 The thing that strikes me about this engine is how simple it is. Which is probably why they don't die. Also, am I stoned or do those rods look really long?

[@link18953]

Rods are very long. The longer you make the stroke, the more torque you get from the engine, but no free lunch, moving mass has to reduce as acceleration and deceleration forces climb massively the longer the rods get. So smaller bore. It’s how the v8 f1 cars 15 years ago got to 20,000rpm.

[@malcolmpetty1718]

Rod length has nothing to do with the stroke. Rod length means more or less side thrust on the wrist pin.

[@Oddman1980]

@@Francis..... I saw a Driving 4 Answers video about rod length, and that's what made me notice it about this engine.

[@wills.5762]

@@Francis..... Probably d4a

[@abel321123]

Have you considered trying to make a tv show out of this? On spike, speed or some other car related channel? Your stuff is different. Instead of building something crazy or reviewing it, you show how they were engineered and how they failed which is the best part. Your sense of humor is pretty good too. You're right, I'm not sure what alot of water pump areas in the block resembled. I think one of those engines had 2 of those parts. Don't have a clue how you would shop that. Maybe get an agent? I don't know. Just throwing it out there for your consideration. Love your videos and think a lot of other people would too if they could find it.

[@jeffreykielwasser3637]

For a 4 banger, that oil filter is huge

[@kudo417]

Pretty sure Honda uses the exact same oil filter on every engine other than the S2000 engine.

[@bradhaines3142]

@@kudo417 most companies stick to 2 or 3 different sizes usually to scale with the engine.

[@meade4573]

It's actually pretty small, about the size of a lawnmower oil filter.

[@Markomyt1]

I had a work acquaintance whose girlfriend drove an old Chevette. The only time she would put oil in it is when the oil light came on. One day, the light comes on, she pulls into the 7-11, puts in the quart of oil... Right away, the oil light comes on again. In her brain she reasoned that she just put oil in and it was fine. About a mile down the road the engine blows. It had been so long since the oil was changed that a hole had rusted through the oil filter and it pumped all of the new oil right back out... He went out and bought her another Chevette! It is amazing how much abuse some engines can take! I would like to see a Ford 5.4L extended oil change teardown.

[@StephenJohnson-jb7xe]

I imagine that it must have been making a hell of a racket as it was getting hot enough to melt the pistons, my guess is the person who kept driving it didn't give a damn about harming the car.

[@jpkatz1435]

Or had NO IDEA what was going on. "Oh, MAYBE something is going on, no AAA tow, KEEP driving babe, we'll get this sucker home!"

[@JimexJimex]

As another commenter pointed out, I don't think the little overheat red light on the dashboard was what the driver was worrying about, coz he probably has 10+ flashing red and blue light and blaring sirens behind his car when he did this.

[@sharedknowledge6640]

The L15B1 is very different than the L15B7 turbo. Honda says only the bore spacing is the same. And the intake and exhaust sides along with the accessories are flipped. The B7 has VVT on both cams and no VTEC as Honda determined with forced induction VTEC added little. And despite the issues with fuel dilution in certain climates driving short trips, there are hundreds of thousands B7 turbo motors with zero problems some with 150K+ on them. Honda revised it for 2019 and again for 2022. Supposedly the few issues the 2016-2018 had have been addressed. The stock B7 bottom end is strong enough for 400 HP in a daily driver and will make 300+ HP wheel with just a tune and a couple bolt ons with the stock turbo and internals. It’s not a K series but it is a well engineered stout engine that outperforms similar small turbo engines from other manufacturers.

[@rick_fortune]

Whoever was responsible for that deserves to be up for wilful murder of an engine... :(

[@12345.......]

Throw a spare video in mid week if they are ready to upload. Don't dump them all at once. You must continue to tease us Eric