Would have put this in For Sale/Wanted, but had a few questions, too.

I should start by mentioning that I'm a complete engine idiot. With all the exhaust and other easy stuff I've done, I've never had the skills to mess with the engine or time to learn about it. That said...

Got the 'ticking' sound about a week ago, and was hoping for the best, but got the worst news from Meineke today (good shop in town, really grown to trust them). I have a 99 GS w/ no custom internals or anything, and 2 days after fighting trying to diagnose this as something else, they told me spun bearing. Oil level was way down for some reason, so I suspect that could be a cause or at least part of the problem. I check it religiously, so I don't know what happened...

They told me I could just get a new bottom end, or a whole new motor, but that they suggested the later due to other internals possibly being damaged. They said a new crate 420a would run $4,800. I said you have to be kidding me...

My questions:

Does anyone know a cheaper way to get this fixed? Could just a new bottom end work?

If I need a new motor, does anyone know of a cheaper, fast way to get one here? I figured for $4,800, I could actually get something with some nicer internals, but I'm not really sure.

I really can't afford any more time or much money right now, so I know that puts me in a bind. I'm in a custody battle for my son, I work 55 hours a week, so as you can imagine, I just have no time or will to do any work on it myself right now, so I'm really at Meineke's mercy.

Anyways, I guess the real thing I'm looking for is advice here. All of 2GNT has helped me so much in the past, I thought it would be best to start here first. TIA for any advice you can give.

Feel free to email me at snuffy@snufalufagus.com, and I appreciate you guys...

Nicholas