Shady mechanic aftermath NIGHTMARE!

[YTMNDVC]

So guys, I took my car to a shady mechanic, friend of a friend, had a slight tick a little after I bought my car. He Said it had no oil after I just put 4 quarts in, thats a lie because I didnt have 4 quarts of Royal Purple 10w 40 in my driveway where it sat. Towed it to him. 420a in a 99 auto eclipse, long story short the tick turned into a full -coffee can with a bat- rattle, which graduates with throttle. Running on 3 cylinders now, 3rd cylinder is the problem apparently. Which leads me to believe:
Rods bent, knock
Valves bent, knock
Spark plug something (maybe he cracked them? blew piston ring/headgasket with compression test?)
spark plug cable/distributor cap

Please help me diagnose this problem, this car is all I have for transportation to finally get me to work and make money with, and its already going to be a nightmare to find a trustworthy mechanic in the middle of Florida with no help in sight.

ever since I bought the car ive:

replaced spark plugs with NGK
Replaced cracked manifold with stainless steel headers
Renewed K&N intake filter with kit
New 10w40 Royal Purple oil
Replaced intake manifold gasket and throttle body gasket with felpros
Purolator fuel filter
(no point to list but- full strut bar kit)
Cleaned out intake manifold that caused car to stall when I bought it, not stalling anymore.

 

[shadow001dsm]

its hard to diagnos a problem without all the info. we need details, any sounds outs of it, what are they. have you started the car since you got it back? or did he tell you there was something wrong with cylinder 3?

 

[YTMNDVC]

Apparently theres no compression in cylinder 3, I have yet to check the distributor and wires but the loud knocking gradually increases with throttle response, which makes me think rocker arms or valves or something in that area. had to drive it out of his house today to get it out of there before he could mess any more up. Running on 3 cylinders for sure. Thank you again for all and anyones help on this!

 

[phunny]

Not sure how mechanically inclined you are but remove the valve cover and get us some pictures. It's very easy to do and can really go far in diagnosing whats wrong.

 

[YTMNDVC]

The sad part is I took it too this guy because ive hit a really rough patch, and I had no tools to do simple bolt ons such as headers and strut bars. I will try and get a picture of my inner head, which looks intact, but other than that I have no way of taking apart the engine. Im just trying to diagnose before I start looking for parts and installation.

 

[phunny]

Have you manually turned it over to see if you noticed anything that looks suspicious? And you can go to Advanced Auto or Autozone and borrow a compression tester and check for yourself very easily.

 

[YTMNDVC]

We we're just on the verge of me renting out a compression tester and getting down to what the problem could be, but then thats when everything hit the fan

 

[phunny]

Hopefully it's just a bent valve or something that can be taken care of fairly easily.

 

[YTMNDVC]

That's what I was assuming, the knock had me cringing the whole way I was driving it back home, making sure I didnt hear a snap or different horrific sound other than the rabid squirrel in a can under my hood, windows down I could hear the knocking off the passing houses, and it died out on me in the middle of four lanes of traffic. What would be the best brand valves and arm kit if that was the case? I usually buy off of rockauto, but they dont have any upper engine rebuild kit. I plan on buying whatever it needs and having someone put it in since im out of luck on the tools and somewhat experience under the hood. Sold a 92 camaro that didnt have any problems, but had to get rid of since it guzzled gas. Bought this for $1500, and now im having to pay for it, since I cant part with it. Gran Turismo sticker in the window just for the reminder that this is the car I loved besides the Castrol TOM'S Supra back in my childhood.

 

[phunny]

If you got lucky and just bent a valve you could do that yourself with a couple tools from the auto store. Or just take the head to a machine shop and have them look over it and tell you if the valves need fixed. They can also machine it if needed(probably will) and reassemble the head for you very cheaply. Throw a new HG on and get her back on the road.

This assumes that piston and cylinder walls are fine. Caution though, if it is a best valve it's just a matter of time before it snaps off and really does some damage, I would not start it at all.

 

[YTMNDVC]

Yeah I already planned on not moving it until this gets looked at immediately, didn't want to drive it the twelve or so miles I did, but I had to get it away from this wannabe mechanic that was charging ridiculous hours for such simple tasks. I know for a fact he re-used the gaskets and head bolts, and thus didn't have any knowledge of them stretching or needing to be replaced, so I intend to get a whole new headgasket set and felpro head bolts as well for when I can take it in to be replaced, as well as replace the Neverstart brand battery I got with it.

 

[dsm8883]

Check for a loose or dropped rocker arm. Could have lost a rod bearing allowing the piston to strike a valve.

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Can I ask a little more about why it was only $1500? I realize it's an NA but it's also a 99 eclipse. I don't want to be "that guy" but do you think maybe you bought the car with a preexisting issue? What was the oil like when you drained it for RP? Was it oddly thick?

 

[YTMNDVC]

Oil was fine, tranny fluid was abit burnt but shifted fine, engine had no smoke of any kind, or any serious mechanichal problems. Its idle was bad, used to stall out until I cleaned the throttle body, idled fine then, but then I took it to this shoddy mechanic and now my lifes pretty much on the line without any transportation :/

 

[starfish]

I would pull down the oil pan and check fo shavings in the oil,and check all the rods and make sure they are all tight.Might be a bad bearing.I definately would not drive it like it is though!If it is a spun bearing you're jus gonna score everything up alot more and end up doing a complete rebuild if you dont catch the problem in time.Also it looks pretty dry in your head.How was your oil pressure?Was the light on when you were at Idle?

 

[GlazedDSM]

How many miles are on it? It sounds like a bearing

 

[PieEyedPiper]

Oil was fine, tranny fluid was abit burnt but shifted fine, engine had no smoke of any kind, or any serious mechanichal problems. Its idle was bad, used to stall out until I cleaned the throttle body, idled fine then, but then I took it to this shoddy mechanic and now my lifes pretty much on the line without any transportation :/

So, then, why was the car $1500? Because it didn't idle perfectly?
Any car that can pass a safety inspection is worth $1000. The tick was, afterall, a preexisting condition that you thought was bad enough to merit a visit to a mechanic. And now you're all up in arms because the tick turned out to be something bad.

At least, that's how it sounds. If this is not the case could you explain in further detail?

Either way, you're at least going to have to check the bottom end. Sorry about your luck. On the bright side, even if the engine is irreparable, you can sell the car and get your $1500 back.

 

[bullettdsm]

I would pull down the oil pan and check fo shavings in the oil,and check all the rods and make sure they are all tight.Might be a bad bearing.I definately would not drive it like it is though!If it is a spun bearing you're jus gonna score everything up alot more and end up doing a complete rebuild if you dont catch the problem in time.Also it looks pretty dry in your head.How was your oil pressure?Was the light on when you were at Idle?

With the information that we have, I would also start here. There is no cost in popping the oil pan, but it can quickly tell you if there is a major problem (which if oil was a problem at any time, then bearings would be the thing to look at). I would also unbolt the rod caps and check the rod bearings. That could be telling.

MB