river bluff
Hey everyone, I joined this server to get some feedback and advice. I bought a 3rd gen TL Type S off Marketplace during the summer of ’23 for around $4k. It was my first car and sort of a project car. I knew it needed some work—mainly body repairs, new brakes, and it had a small oil leak that I thought would be an easy fix (spoiler: it wasn’t).
A few months later, my friends and I tried replacing the valve cover gasket to stop the leak. While removing the valve cover, one of the bolts got stripped, and after a struggle, my friend managed to snap it, leaving part of it stuck inside. We kind of jerry-rigged a workaround and things were fine… until winter hit.
Once temperatures dropped into the negatives, the car wouldn’t start. After trying everything, my last resort was using starter fluid—which ended horribly. The head of the engine basically blew up, and now only two pistons move while the rest are stuck.
Fast forward to now—it’s been over a year since the engine blew, and I’m stuck deciding if it’s worth dropping around $4k for a replacement engine and labor, or if I should just scrap it and cut my losses. The interior is super clean compared to most TLs, and pretty much everything else is new (tires, brake pads, discs—all of which are now rusted). The car hasn’t moved since, and I really regret not covering it because rust has definitely set in. It is also all stock, no mods have been added.
If anyone has any advice or just wants to chat more, my DMs are open.
mighty adder
olive condor