OK guys I am stumped... I have a 98 dodge neon r/t and yesterday I was driving and it just cut off. I got it towed to the shop and they told me the engine was blown... They said it was knocking because it was making a loud tapping noise... But the thing is it was making that noise for a couple of days... Today I took the valve cover off and checked the rocker arms.. All are snug except the cylinder 1 intakes, so I turn the engine over once and all are still snug except cylinder one intakes... Just before it cut off it threw a code that read random cylinder misfire cylinder one... SO is the engine blown or is it just a problem with cylinder one? and why wouldnt it run just on three cylinders? What could be the problem and how could I fix it?

 

depending on where the rapping is coming from it could be anything from valve train to a broken connecting rod on the bottom end. All the rockers are tight but did you do a compression test on it to see if there is any compression on the #1 any the other cylinders. depending on where and what is making the noise it may be cheaper to put a good engine it it rather then spend huge amounts of cash to fix it. when the tapping noise started it was time to get it looked at. most times that is bad news and will only get worse.

 

Zero compression in cylinder one.. All the rest are fine

 

sounds like a great possibility that you broke a connecting rod for the #1 piston. I would see what kind of estimate they give you to fix it then look around and see what used engines and rebuilts are going for. good chance it will be cheaper to replace.