JoeSpareBedroom wrote:
....
Update: She had a nearby mechanic (not the usual one) take a look at the
car. He pulled the plugs and in fact, one WAS broken. That's as far as it
went. He said "No way to determine damage without major teardown - $1500 or
so." Our usual mechanic says "More like $2500 - not worth it for a car with
book value of $3000-ish". The latter guy is probably being cautious and
preparing her for worst case scenario.

What a mess.

A plug "broken"??? How? What broke? In 50 years w/ all personal
automobiles and light trucks plus tractors and other farm equipment BD
(before diesel) I've never seen a broken plug other than breaking the
insulation or somesuch external damage.

Unless something like the other doofus-caused damage this seems more
than peculiar it was the plug. I, like another poster, don't know the
engine but if caused mechanical damage to a plug the timing or a rod or
somesuch sound more proximate causes than a plug. The plug may be a
symptom...

I swapped a rebuilt engine into an old Honda CRX years ago for not a lot
of money...back then there was an abundant supply from Japan owing to a
change in their emission requirements iiuc. Don't know what options
would be at the moment for that one. Generally, if a vehicle is still
otherwise in good shape one can still repair pretty major for less than
what would spend on the replacement (unless one is extremely fortunate
or disciplined in the process anyway).

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