On Tue, 8 Dec 2009 12:04:40 -0800 (PST), Larry Fishel
wrote:

On Dec 8, 2:42*pm, "JoeSpareBedroom"
wrote:
OK - so now that we've established that there's a broken spark plug
(assuming the mechanic's telling the truth), what are the various levels of
horror which could result from further diagnosis?

Worst case is something like:

The timing belt/chain is worn and skipped a tooth (just fixing this
could be a few hundred).
This caused the pistons to hit the valves, damaging the valves, a
spark plug, head, pistons and possibly even rods.
Broken bits of valve and/or spark plug gouged the cylinder walls.


How would slipped timing cause the piston to hit anything? Never heard
of such a thing.