*Deep Breath*

Hi, my name is Eric and I'm an engine killer. I'd like to think it was an accident, but my engine was a victim of my own hubris and arrogance.

My story begins with a 944t that I recently purchased for my wife. (Side note: I'm going to be very happy to get her out of the tin-can Protege she's in now.) It's a 1993, blue over tan, 121k, lots of maintenance records. When I took it out for a test drive it felt good and strong, no smoke from the turbo, the tranny wouldn't go into OD, the temp gauge was flakey at the start then dead at the end, it braked straight, but needed pads if not rotors as well. The interior was in decent shape, needing only a bit of saddle soap or Lexol and some elbow grease. The price was right, so I picked it up.

I took a look at the OD, the relay checked out fine as did the solenoid. There was a fair amount of metal in the pan, so I was thinking that it could actually be a case of the OD getting ground to shreds. Oh well, I can get another AW71 and drop it in. In the meantime, I can use it for shorter trips around the metro area without worrying about it too much.

Considering how everything else looked, felt, and sounded, I wasn't too worried about the temp gauge. I'd fix it soon, but not right now.

So, on the fateful day, I was running around town a bit and coming home by way of I494 for about 6 miles. About 2 miles in, I heard a rattling noise. It sounded kind of exhaustish, like the sheild that always rattles on a 240. Not giving it much thought, I even felt a bit smug when the "Check Engine" light went on. Ah, maybe something around the O2 sensor has come off and caused an error code. The noise was getting a bit louder, but I wasn't too worried because my exit was right ahead. As I came around the curve, the engine revs slowly dropped, and just kept going until it stopped cold. I was a bit surprised by this, but even more shocked when I popped the hood, and found steam and coolant billowing from the cracked plastic of my radiator. I looked at the overflow tank, and it still had coolant in it. I still wasn't all that concerned. I figured that the coolant got onto something that shorted out, and cut out the engine. Oh well, no big deal. Time to pull out the cell phone and call the autoclub.

It wasn't until I was home, taking a closer look at what happened that I realized what I had done. The red paint on the block near cylinder 1 was gone. Melted off, burned off, whatever, just gone. The plastic of the water pump seal had melted out and around the water pump. The plastic of the timing belt cover also had some heat damage. And the kicker, it really sounds sick when I turn the key.

So, for those of you who have made it this far:

LESSON: Don't ever drive a vehicle without a functional temp gauge; especially one new to you.

QUESTION: Am I going to have to pull the head to get a good idea of all of the damage I caused, and is it even worth the effort or should I just hunt down a "new" B230FT?

-Eric
'89 765t, 185k, clean injectors are wonderful things
'93 944t, 121k, not going anywhere for awhile

PS. And the downright WORST part: I will never ever ever be able to say anything about my wife mistreating her car. *Sigh*

Thanks for listening!