Hi,
I live in Melbourne, Australia, I own a (dead) 2002 Astra SRi with a z22se engine. About a year ago iI heard some strange sounds from the engine and found that I had ran it dry of oil (yes, I am The Worst Car Owner). I topped the oil up and drove it to work the next morning. At the end of my drive down the highway, I put the car in neutral to pull up to a red light. The engine fell all the way down down past idle range and died.
I had it towed around the corner, and the tow truck driver tried to turn it over a few times, to no avail 🙁 (probably doing more damage in the process?). I then had it towed to my mum's house, where it's been sitting since.
My question is, if I had the inclination, would/should I try to diagnose and possibly fix the problem myself? Would it even be possible to attempt while the engine is still in the bay?
Is there any hope for me and my poor engine? I'm at my witts end 🙁
Tomorrow I'll be at my mum's house for a few hours, is there anything I can do to begin to diagnose?
The reason I ask is this: I have a daily driver that I've been using since my Astra died. It has developed some problems and I'm very short on funds. My mechanic offered me a few hundred bucks for the Astra, which I can trade for repairs on the car I use to get to work. I would be taking a huge loss considering what I paid for the car...but maybe I should just cut my losses now? Or could I possibly come out on top if I worked my ass off with help from this forum, and get my beloved little rocket back on the road?