Quote:
Originally Posted by Jim-Bob
Why not just try to source a replacement engine? There's no sense in getting rid of an otherwise good car for a simple days worth of engine changing.
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That was my first thought. But many of these HX engines have the same issue(s). If the money is about the same and this engine's bottom end is OK I'd rather get the top end rebuilt. But wifey says to ditch the car. We'll see what my mechanic friend says after he looks inside with a camera that goes in through the spark plug hole.
IMHO a major source of trouble for the HX engine is the oil pan that only holds 3 qt. About 20 oil changes have proven that to me. Every shop manual says it holds more, so most of these are overfilled regularly. Not good for it.
But I think what got this one was that the head's oil drain holes plugged up, and so the pressure-fed top end components likely were oil starved. Bottom end maybe got enough pressure - I didn't ever see an oil light except just at startup, as one should.