Broke down escort, no compression

Well, my car broke down yesterday on my way to work. Once I got it home We did a compression test, and guess what? Now there is no compression. You know what that means, The head gets to come off, yaaay! I pulled out the spark plug and the metal part was bent and the white ceramic part was completely busted off, so I think the timing belt jumped a tooth or somthing, a valve hit the piston, bent, then hit the spark plug. This really sucks considering I had the head off only a year or so ago to get a valve job done at only 122k miles.

my brotha,my brotha. i feel your pain:newburn: . good luck on the new project. keep us informed. later bro

It's got a 2.0 SPI in it, right? Those are supposed to be non-interferance engines, so if you throw a timing belt the engine shouldn't (note the word) break anything internal. Do all of your cylinders have no compression, or just one?

Just one, I pulled off the belt cover and the tensioner was bad, so the belt was loose and probobly jumped a tooth or 2. Are you sure they are suppose to be non interference engines?

Yeah, they are non-interference for SPI's from 1997-2002. The 2.0 liter DOHC in the Zx2 is also non-interference for 1998 to present. The 1991 to 1996 1.9 liters are non-interference, too. The only scorts that I know of that are interference are the 1st generation from 1981 to 1990.

hmmmmmm, interesting, what could it be? Do you know why else the spark plug would have broken and I would have lost compression?

You are going to have to pull the head any way.
You need to make sure there was no major scoring of the cylinder wall from debri caused by the broken spark plug.
Have you pulled the valve cover? Did one of the valves drop?

Which cylinder is it? Has it ever overheated? The valve seats on the #4 cylinder are famous for dropping down onto the piston once the engine has overheated. There's just no way the plug could have hit something unless something came apart in that cylinder. I'm also thinking a dropped valve. Pull the head and let us know. You'll get her fixed. Maybe get a used head from the boneyard for $50.00.

The '81 to '83 1.6 Liter 1st Gen engines were interference. After that they had reliefs in the pistons. And some '83 engines actually were interference...they were also the first ones to come with the stretchable head bolts from the factory. I drive a '90 with an '88 head on it, and aftermarket .040" over pistons, and they look just as the stock ones do...with two valve cutouts, and a spot for the spark plug. As for the '97 SPI, it's got pop-top pistons with cutouts. The combustion chambers are D shaped, just as the CFI 1st Gens, and all 2nd Gen 1.9's.

Well I pulled the head off and I was greeted with a pile of shrapnel on top of the piston. One of the intake valve seat shattered, which is apparently common on escorts when they over heat (mine didn't). The head was gouged up really bad and the piston was banged up. I took the head to a machine shop, Ill try and hone the cylinder wall, one the new valve seats are back on I'm gonna put it back together and hopfully it will run ok. Then it hits the auto trader. (buyer beware, of course)

Same thing just happened to my 95 LX, piece of s*it