blown engine?

[flrseclipse17]

i had a piece of ceramics off of a spark plug fall into the top of the piston i managed to get it out but not till after i had tried to start the car ( didnt know it was in there till then) now after making sure nothing else is in there the car turns over but just kinda sputters. did i blow my engine? any ideas on what i can do to determine as to whether the valves are blown or what i might need to do to fix it? thanks

 

[slowoldman]

How did the plug get broken?
Was it in the car and you pulled it out and it was already broken?

 

[flrseclipse17]

How did the plug get broken?
Was it in the car and you pulled it out and it was already broken?

the wires that i got from auto zone ripped off on the plug so i used a pair of pliers to get the innerds off the plug and im guessing the ceramics chipped somehow but when i pulled it out it was all cracked up but i assumed that nothing fell into the engine i was wrong though the piece that came out was about the size of a bean.

 

[slowoldman]

Check the Plug wire and make sure it didn't get messed up when you pulled it off.

If that looks OK. Pull that plug out again and see if you see additional any signs of damage on it.
If there is then you will need to pull the head to see how bad the damage is.
If you don't see any additional damage then do a compression check.

If that cylinder is low on compression then pull the head and check.

 

[flrseclipse17]

Check the Plug wire and make sure it didn't get messed up when you pulled it off.

If that looks OK. Pull that plug out again and see if you see additional any signs of damage on it.
If there is then you will need to pull the head to see how bad the damage is.
If you don't see any additional damage then do a compression check.

If that cylinder is low on compression then pull the head and check.

thanks for the suggestion, how would i go about doin a compression check. i went into the search engine but didnt really find anything of help. if theres any other suggestions you might have id be more then appriciative.

 

[slowoldman]

You could buy a tester at autozone.
www.autozone.com and do a search for "compression tester kit"
They have it for 24.99.

It is easy to use.

1. Pull all the plugs. Either pull the wires from the coil or make sure they are clear so you won't get blasted.
2. Put tester in #1 hole.
3. Crank 4-5 revolutions. (You'll be able to here each compression stroke)
4. Note results
5. Repeat 2, 3, 4 for each cylinder.

Results should be within about 10%