Dropped cyl. in 92 Tercel

Have any of you heard of a 1.5 liter engine losing a cylinder due to the connecting rod cap nuts backing off? The car does have 176K on it but it was running perfectly. After it happened I dropped the pan and found the two nuts that hold the lower cap to the crank were missing (had fallen into the pan!). The threads were not stripped. One cap bolt was straight, the other was bent, leading me to believe one side came off first and then the other. Unfortunately, the crank slammed the rod into the block below the cylinder wall and it broke into a water jacket ruining the engine. It just seemed odd to me, having never seen something like this just fall apart. The car never made a noise prior to this, it just let go. Any thoughts?

Since the engine was never rebuilt, it is one of those "Shit Happens" sort of things. Must be the assembler at the factory didn't tighten the bolts to exactly the right torque. Either that or the first bolt was defective and stretched after the engine was running. Too bad, but nothing is perfect. It must have made quite a racket while the rod was still attached, but the bolts were loose.

It must have made quite a racket while the rod was still attached, but the bolts were loose.

She said that it sounded like a guy with a sledge hammer under the hood!! I guess you're right. S**t happens. I just found a replacement engine with only 66k on it (rollover), so we'll be sticking it in this week. Thanks!