Busted Piston Skirt - '92 XFi - how long will it run?

[SchlockRod]

After putting on a reman cylinder head to fix what I was sure was a bad lifter, the knocking continued, at which point I dropped the pan and found chunks of piston skirt. Looking up in there I find that #2 has lost part of the lower land for the bottom piston ring, along with the skirt below that. The missing part of the skirt does not go into the piston pin bore area, so I'm wondering how long this thing can hold together. I think I've already put 500 - 1,000 miles on it since the knocking started. I am thinking of making it my winter beater. I drive about 16 miles round trip to work & back. Any guesses on just how "terminal" this condition is?
Thanks.

[ksilvy]

Originally Posted by SchlockRod

After putting on a reman cylinder head to fix what I was sure was a bad lifter, the knocking continued, at which point I dropped the pan and found chunks of piston skirt. Looking up in there I find that #2 has lost part of the lower land for the bottom piston ring, along with the skirt below that. The missing part of the skirt does not go into the piston pin bore area, so I'm wondering how long this thing can hold together. I think I've already put 500 - 1,000 miles on it since the knocking started. I am thinking of making it my winter beater. I drive about 16 miles round trip to work & back. Any guesses on just how "terminal" this condition is?
Thanks.

I had the same problem with my 1.3 and when I pulled all the pistons found 2 more that had cracked but not quite broken yet. Replaced all pistons w/rings without removing engine from car and it runs great. I have put over 1000 miles on it since then.

[geozukigti]

Well, if you let it go, you're gonna have more problems than just a bad piston. If that piston pops, you'll need a completely new engine. It will be smoked. If you replace the piston now, you'll be ok. Most likely though, your cylinder walls are damaged from the skirt knocking, and you'll need to replace the engine, or bore out the block anyway.