My car broke down 8miles from where I live. I got all the valuables out and now Im forced to make a decision.
I THINK its something wrong with the engine itself (piston, seat valve or blown head).

and if thats the case, the question now is, call a tow truck and get it to a mechanic for what looks to be some expensive repairs or just buy a new used car?


details on my car and problem:
Ford Escort 2002 2.0L SOHC 4 cylinder.

So what happen was this
I turn my engine on and literally 2 seconds later it would die. It would stutter until it the engine shuts off. However during the time the engine was on, I can hear like a rough clanking sound that seems to be coming from the left side of my engine block (passenger side of the car). I checked my spark plugs and I noticed on one of the cylinders the gap is smaller, bented/pushed in as oppose to the rest of the spark plugs.

So i walked to autozone and got some motorcraft spark plugs, changed all 4 and started the engine again.

This time, the engine didnt die so quickly and infact it stayed on until I turned it off. So I drove the car for about 4min to park it on some small street. However, that rattling noise is still there and VERY loud. I also checked the engine dipstick for signs of water/coolant and didnt find any. prior to all this, my car WAS NOT overheating.

Another thing I noticed when I was running the engine, it seems that the more I press down on the accelerator the faster the rattling sound becomes. and I saw that im leaking A LOT of radiator fluid, i looked underneath the car and its shows a trail of coolant / water following my path on when I drove the car.
Before my car broken down, this leak WAS NOT here.The reservoir however still has lots of coolant.
also this is the sound its making:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=78_Mo-pFnWg

I checked all the new spark plugs after the short drive and noticed none of the new spark plugs had any damage on it. the gap on the plugs wasnt smashed in or anything like the old one was.
so i dont know if that means anything?


So right now im just trying to find the most economical way to get a car and I dont know if thats fixing this one or just getting a new used car.
On top of that if I wanna get the car checked out by a mechanic and get an estimate I would have get it towed there.. and i dont even know if I wanna do the repairs depending on the cost / problem
What should I do?

 

that thing sounds TOAST!! if the car is otherwise in exellent shape you may consider a used engine, likely $1400-$2000 installed, repairing that one, same range, or go shopping!!! wish i had a better answer.....

 

Have you ever thought about fixing the problem yourself? Here is a great website full of information that has helped me fix my truck a few times on my own. (and I'm a girl lol) I started using this forum hoping to get some more specific Ford knowledge.

 

Well. knock, coolant leak, rough idle. WOW thats loud. from this end of the computer sound like you have spun a rod bearing my friend. you could repair this yourself, pending that the rod journels on the crank are not cut,scored,scraped and still are with in manufacture specs. Best case scenario fixing it yourself. rod bearing, oil, filter. $50-$100. But you must have like a 2-3" micrometer to check tolerance on the crank after removing oil pan. just fixed my wifes concorde that way. depends on the value of the car, value of the car to YOU, and your budget. Good luck