proto love

[pumpboss]

Hello all, I have a 99 1.6 protege with 201.xxx miles. Love this car. But she has some issues. Right now she will not start. I chose this car in a divorce 3 years ago and it was the best thing the ex ever did for me. The car turns over, hits but will not continue to run. Took it to a shop, KT Automotive, in Columbus Ohio 3 days before Christmas. Was patient and gave them two weeks before I called about the machine. After two days of prodding, the issue according to Kavin Sturgill, Kevin with a A, the machine had "washed out cylinders" due to worn seals of the valve cover. He was letting oil sit in the cylinders and was going to keep working on the machine. Two days later he had an estimate. 879.00 would get the machine going. He stated that the leaking of oil was shorting out the plug wires and that it also need an idle air control "motor". Along with some other items, oil change, plug wires, pvc valve, air intake plenum, (I had duct taped this thing since 2006) and of course the valve cover seals, this would fix the protege. I allowed everything except the iac and intake plenum being skeptical to those items being needed to truly repair the machine and picked up the machine two days later 403 and change lighter. It did start and run. I was pleased. I drove the car all day and stopped several places. It continued to run. The next day I tried to start the car in the evening and it performed just like before I took it to him. It would hit but not run. I removed the plugs and they were oily. I removed the valve cover and examined the timing belt and it seemed loose, the original I might add. So to my questions, is this machine worth a timing belt exchange, with all the extras, water pump, tensioner and seals? Do the oily plugs mean a deeper problem? Will a total overhaul bring this dream machine back to the living? Thanks in advance......Chris

[FE3-323]

Welcome!

i believe it is time to consider another used engine. continuously fouled plugs is a sign of your oil control rings being all but gone. & a cracked head/etc