Does anyone have a diagram of a civic engine for a 96 ex? A part in my engine is broken and I don't know what it is. The broken piece is below the dist. cap and I think it might be either the alternator or the starter.

When ever I try to start the car, I just hear a high pitched noise (kinda like vtec). I think my car might be hydrolocked and I can't crank the car because of the broken piece. I think it broke off from the engine block but I'm not sure. Please help!

 

the part just below the distributor is the starter - why do you think the motor is locked? to check if you have water in the cylinders, remove all spark plugs, put a socket on the front crank pulley nut and turn the motor by hand - if you have water, it will come out the spark plug holes - sounds to me like the starter has come loose and is not engaging the flywheel.

 

The alternator is on the other side of the engine, so it's not that. The starter is toward the backside of the tranny and looks like this:

Usually, when the starter is dead or dying, it'll make a clicking sound when you try to start the car because it's trying to engage the flywheel, but the teeth aren't catching. If that's the case, you can sometimes get it to catch by hitting it with something blunt.

If your car is hydrolocked, and you're trying to crank it, you have a good chance of bending some valves and snapping some rods. Take your plugs out, and see if there's any water in the cylinders. disconnect your PGM/FI fuse and crank it with the spark plugs out with the throttle held open. Alternate 10 sec cranking, 10 sec resting and see if the water comes out. Once the water is out, you can put the plugs back in and replace the FI fuse and try starting it again.