WHAT HAPPENED: My car just broke down on me one night with no warning. Restarted with a rough idle and clanking noise, then had no power and shut off when I gave it gas. After a couple attempts it quit starting all together. It did still turn over though...

WHAT I FOUND: Took off the small plate on the timing cover, timing belt looked fine. Oil was fine, battery and alternator were fine, I assumed it was fuel related but don't have the resources or experience to find the problem myself. So I had it towed to a shop...

INITIAL INFO FROM THE SHOP AFTER TESTING: First of all, the shop is very familiar with DSMs. The fuel pump and filter have been checked and I have good fuel pressure, ignition and spark are normal as well... apparently the timing belt skipped some teeth and at least one of my cams was pretty far off. Compression test yielded 50, 120, 150, and 40 psi in cyllinders 1-2-3-4 respectively. The guy said he worked on an eclipse recently that had its tensioner pulley wearing away to the point where the timing belt was too loose to function correctly and he's afraid mine might have the same problem.

LATEST NEWS FROM THE SHOP: It turns out that my belt slipped somehow and skipped some teeth, my pistons slammed into my intake valves on cyllinders 1 and 4, and I have metal shavings in my oil pan. That's all we know so far since I haven't authorized the shop to tear down the motor and find out exactly what has happened. They think I should just get a new motor since there may be extensive damage judging by these metal shavings with no known source. (If the belt slipped on the cam gears, could it have slipped on the oil pump as well and caused metal-metal contact damage?)...

ADVICE: I've found a used 420A locally from a 97 Eclipse GS with 91,000 miles for $550. Does this sound like a good deal if it's in good running condition? Or should I take a chance and aim to fix my motor by getting a new set of valves, a new timing kit, and hoping the metal shavings in the oil are just from the broken valves?

Thank you very much for any input or help you can give me!

I would suggest getting the $550 engine. Then pick up new rings and bearings, maybe new water and oil pumps, and have this shop tear it down and freshen it up for you. You never know what you're getting when it comes to a used engine, so unless you're taking care of some of the common-to-wear-out parts, it's really no better than rebuilding what you've got.

Originally posted by DR1665
I would suggest getting the $550 engine. Then pick up new rings and bearings, maybe new water and oil pumps, and have this shop tear it down and freshen it up for you. You never know what you're getting when it comes to a used engine, so unless you're taking care of some of the common-to-wear-out parts, it's really no better than rebuilding what you've got.

I'm in full agreement with Driggs here. $550 for the motor about $400-$500 in brand new parts (Oil and Water pumps, Rings, Bearings, Gaskets, Timing belt, Tensioner, and timing belt idler/tensioner pulleys). That's a pretty good deal for a basically new engine. We pay about 800-900 for high milage junkyard motors down here in GA.

-Kevin

Update on my situation: I called the place with that 97 motor and they sold it last week. My luck just sucks... If it weren't for my poor-college-student budget I'd get a brand new built motor right now, but that used motor + parts + labor was already a lot of money for me.

Thanks for the help so far, keep it coming.

Personally a new motor willbe the easiest for you but on a side note, never use that shop again. They are fucking you.

Timing belt skipping teeth will not cause any oil pump abnormalities. Metal shavings could be your motor going bad but it could also be the shop throwing brake rotor grindings into the pan so they can sell you a new motor. I have seen it personally.

Why would the shop inspect the oil pan to start with? Any mechanic of basic knowledge would just tell you it needs a head job. There is no reason to go draining oil and dropping the pan to inspect the bottom half. He either wants to sell you a motor or he is afraid to do a head job. Labor cost is what you need to find out. I dont have a lobor book with me to determine for sure if the R&R of a motor is more than the Head job labor cost. Off the top of my head, i would say it is becuase the labor numbers automatically give the mechanic time for swapping out all the accesories.

Terry

Originally posted by Star Turbo Talon
Personally a new motor willbe the easiest for you but on a side note, never use that shop again. They are fucking you. Timing belt skipping teeth will not cause any oil pump abnormalities. Metal shavings could be your motor going bad but it could also be the shop throwing brake rotor grindings into the pan so they can sell you a new motor. I have seen it personally. Why would the shop inspect the oil pan to start with? Any mechanic of basic knowledge would just tell you it needs a head job. There is no reason to go draining oil and dropping the pan to inspect the bottom half. He either wants to sell you a motor or he is afraid to do a head job. Labor cost is what you need to find out. I dont have a lobor book with me to determine for sure if the R&R of a motor is more than the Head job labor cost. Off the top of my head, i would say it is becuase the labor numbers automatically give the mechanic time for swapping out all the accesories. Terry

Quoted for truth.

I agree. Also another way to tell if they are telling the truth or throwing metal in the pan is to pull your oil filter and use a filter cutter (these don't make shavings kind of like a can opener) open your old filter up and see if there is shavings in there as well. Most hack shops are either too lazy to put metal in there as well or figure the average Joe Customer will just believe it when they show them metal in the pan.

-Kevin

Well I've decided to just go big. Buying my friend's Howell 2.2 built stroker motor. It's got 12k miles on it. Decent jump from the stock 420a huh? Now it just needs a turbo...

Bottom end:
- 2.2 L stroker long block, bored .02, honed, decked
- 3.540” stroker crankshaft
- Eagle forged rods
- JE (8.6) forged pistons
- Total Seal piston rings
- crankshaft and rotating assembly "race" balanced
- Clevite 77 main and rod bearings
- Mopar gaskets and seals
- Melling oil pump
- Carter water pump

Head:
- full "race" port and polish
- Crane cams
- AEM adjustable cam gears
- Crane valve springs
- stainless steel valves
- Eaton PTC rockers
- Eaton PTC lifters
- MLS head gasket
- all new gaskets and seals
- new timing belt

nice choice, congrats

Are you planning on installing the engine yourself? If so, post some pics of the progress. Good luck!