I posted back in June '12 about my car having bad acceleration when warm. I never solved that one. Now my #2 piston has blown up for the second time. The car has always had a knock since I bought it at 62,000 miles for $300.

It threw a code 43 coming back from Madison, WI to Milwaukee Friday night. I drove it home without incident, and all day Saturday. In the evening I took it out to Auto Zone, where they attached the diagnostic reader. The code came back "random misfire" (sorry, don't know the exact P code - he didn't tell me). I figured that's OK, because the bore is nicked up from the last time the piston blew up - the wrist pin made some gouges that I smoothed out enough and it has burned oil in that cylinder since then. I had just replaced the plug earlier this week.

I ran my daughter back to Madison and was on my way back when the car blew up just past the halfway point. I checked the #2 spark plug. The entire core of it was missing in the bottom. I stuck a wire into the hole and it went to the oil pan - the piston blew up again.

My conclusion is that the knock is from piston slap and the bore is toast, and probably has been for 20,000 miles at least, which is probably the real reason I got it cheap - I was told by the mother she was selling it because her son had unpaid parking tickets.

So word to the wise - if you have an engine knock and you get a code 43 and it's a random misfire, SHUT IT DOWN NOW or at least don't drive far from home. I did and my hook home was $223.66. Sometimes a "misfire" is way more than a misfire.

 

neons are such a ****ty car. sorry to hear that


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Need to put a new piston in the proper way and find out what else is wrong causing it. To much clearance, bent rod, ring gap clearance, rod bearings, and so on. I would pull the motor and just do a fresh rebuild.

 

It wasn't a bend rod, because I replaced that along with the boneyard piston. I didn't have a bore gauge at the time, so I couldn't say if it was out-of-round. All I know is the thing has had a knock since I bought it, so I'm assuming the bore is bad. It certainly was anyway since the wristpin made gouges when it blew up the first time. Like I said, the thing would have to be bored and sleeved, and that's more money and trouble than I want right now. I already have one car engine torn down. I'm not doing a double feature. It'll be a boneyard motor (with new seals and water pump) if it's anything. That or I'll junk it. And when I replace it, I'll be looking for something with upward of 90,000 miles on it. I want a survivor.

 

Wait so you used a boneyard "junkyard?" piston and rod and you didn't even do any measurements when it was apart? There is your problem. How do you know the piston wasnt out of round or the rod was bent if you didn't measure? Pistons go out of round over time. Maybe the main bearing is out making crank walk who knows without measurements. Maybe the rod bearings were knocking, were those replaced with used also? Plus you put it back together with obvious blemishes on the cylinder wall, ouch. Yea I would stick with a used motor before you attempt another repair on that one.

 

Yes, I used a boneyard piston. It was all I had money for at the time. I was out of work on unemployment collecting the royal sum of $118 a week. This was my only car and I had to have it up and running ASAP in case a job came up. So yes, I did meatball surgery worthy of a M*A*S*H unit.