[kindlethespirit]

I stopped at the shop this morning and there are a few updates.

First, they have the transmission out now and when the heads were exposed they saw that the plastic holder for the O2 sensor, which is attached to the left head, was melted. Somebody ran this motor very hot.

They still haven't gotten the motor out of the car so the heads are still on the car hence no viewing of the internals yet. The working theory is that the motor got so hot that the valve seat dropped out and the valve stuck open which caused the piston to smash the valve. Again, just a working theory until the heads are off and they can see the true damage.

They paid 11 thousand for the Boxster so even if they have to put a used motor in, they'll break even or only lose a small amount. Overall, an unfortunate purchase for them.