Merry christmas to all,
Heres my situation:
Yesterday I picked up a 83 TD wagon. No rust except a small piece on rear hatch near glass seal and small dent on drivers door. 212K on the clock. No 3rd seat but beutiful tan interior and dark blue exterior, sunroof,roof rack etc.
Engine: The girl said it had an oil leak and she thought she was staying on top of it. Going down hwy ,motor got louder than a bang and puff of smoke. Car was towed home. The tranny was shifting fine though prior but fluid is brown.

Diagnosis: Pulled lower oil pan. Pieces of plastic are in bottom. It appears that part of the chain tensioner broke and thats what I'm seeing. The engine will rotate but only one revolution in either direction then it locks up. It is difficult to see back to #'s 345 connecting rod but I think I am seeing something hammered looking in the rear. Not sure though. The cam looks perfect. No oil bluing etc. also when rotating, the torque convertor moves so I know no broken crank

Assumptions: Did the chain jump and now a valve hitting a piston.
Did a connecting rod let go and thats the lock up.

Suggestions: Pull motor and dissasemble lower half of crank case to inspect damage. Just put another salvage motor in? Fix this one? Would the lack of oil done any other serious damage?
What I need to pick your brains on is what have you found to be the weakest link in these motors? I am a mechanic so rebuilding is not an issue. Incidently , I paid $100 for the car with 4 brand new tires and a full tank of fuel!!!!! yuk,yuk,yuk