OK folks I have question but need some reasonable insight. My wife brought in our 97 SE for the alternator recall. They suggested they replace the accessory belt cause it was cracked, so I said alright. She picks up the car and as she gets 1/8 mile away the engine revs to top end. She could not get it to come back down. It was pinned! She crawled through the busy intersection with brakes and clutch and barely made it through as a big truck came by and almost clipped her. The engine still flying at WOT, she limps toward a gas station and the guy filling the tanker tells her to shut off the engine. She does and then the guy looks inside the TB and finds a 12mm swivel socket (snap-on).

Now I called the service place and he said he was VERY sorry and I said that I most likely need a new clutch and all wheel brakes as my wife smelled "something burning". Tomorrow I am going there to have them look at the brakes and everything else but will demand a new clutch and brakes. My questions are:

1) What else "realistically" should be considered as a wear item that just received a huge reduction in lifetime due to this?
2) Does the 97 SE have a rev-limiter and where does it stop the engine at? I never tried to over-rev it to find out.

Peace: e3 - spamman

 

i would tell them you want a new engine or that they should service it for free whenever it breaks.

 

Document it...

Even though the engine has a rev limiter... it isn't supposed to "pinned" for any extended time... Get the guys name at the gas station as a possible witness if it comes to that sometime in the future...

I'm sure the clutch was what was smoking.