Car stopped all of a sudden while driving

[Labonte18]

Even if it were an interference engine.. It wouldn't 'lock up' from a timing belt breaking. The valves could be bent all to hell.. MAYBE one drops into the cylinder and I guess if it lodged in just the right place.. But that seems a stretch

I'm assuming 'locked up' is colloquial for 'don't run'.

[darkblue]

Comments from the mechanic:


We have come to a point that the engine cannot be salvaged. When turning the crank it will not make a full rotation.At this point engine would need to be replaced.

[amdkt7]

I suspect that when the engine locked up suddenly the timing belt also broke. It the belt was old and the crankshaft suddenly stopped, but the cam was still turning it might have stressed the belt enough to break it. I wonder though, was the timing belt ever actually proven to be broken?

I'd be concerned that the shop did not want you taking the car to a different shop, and could be lying to you. I would hate to be uneducated about cars and have to rely on mechanics to tell the truth.

I would want them to demonstrate that the engine can not turn a full rotation. Even then, it is possible that a cylinder is full of water, due to a cracked head or blown head gasket. That would stop it from turning. Water does not compress. Sounds expensive, whatever is actually going on.