Ok, here goes, blew out the freeze plug on my 2000 stratus w/2.4L engine. Needless to say, The shop I brought it to said that the rings were shot. And basically the engine was shot as well. Does this sound right to you guys. I'm not a mechanic, but I just replaced the intake gasket and pushrods on my wifes' 1999 Buick, and everything is running great with that. My question..... Is the engine really shot, or is this something that can be conquered with a lot of patience and time. And would it be worth it money wise to do. The car has 151,000 miles on it, but the tranny was rebuilt last year, and has about 35,000 on it. All highway, I'm a commuter, and really hate taking the train everyday. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Robert

 

when you say "blew out" did it fly out of the motor or just start leaking? if it just started leaking, change out the freeze plugs and have the cooling system flushed out. if the car runs good i wouldn't worry about a rebuild, as long as you kept up on the oil and filter changes 150k is't a whole lot of miles.

the freeze plugs just press into the block. most people put a light coat of rtv on them first. it's not hard to do.

 

I wish it were that easy. No, the plug blew out, along with all the anti-freeze, then the engine quit on me. Right now the shop I took it to said I basically had very little compression. Thanks in advance. Robert