Engine died while driving what now?

[breaksr]

It's a 1996 Maxima GLE and the motor died while driving down the road. There was some engine clanking just before it died, no idiot lights, just completely shut down. When I checked the cooling system it did not appear to have any water in the radiator so I think it may have over heated. When the mechanic checked it out he claimed there was some problem at the top of the motor (did not get all the details) and that it needed an engine swap. Now the plot thickens. When I went to the junk yard to get another motor the yard claims there are two different motors that go in that car and the one in mine is a double over-head cam with the silver valve covers. As far as I know there was only one engine that went in the Maxima from 1995-1998 (I think I have the years correct). So my question is can this motor over heat without any idiot lights coming on? Is it possible for this engine to jump timing? And is there only one motor that was put in the Maxima in 1996?

[MinisterofDOOM]

The junkyard is confused. The previous generation Maxima is the one with two options (one being the silver valve cover DOHC and the other a red valvecover SOHC). From '95 on there's only been one engine option at a time for the Max. You need a VQ30DE from a 1995-1999 Maxima.

I'm guessing the problem was a headgasket failure. Since the VQ is all aluminum, overheating warps the block and the heads which means they no longer seal. Once warped the repair costs (if repair is even possible) far exceed those of replacing the motor...especially as easy as used VQs are to find. Moderator maxhopper97 did a motor swap in his '97. Search for his posts and you should find some useful info.

[breaksr]

Yes you are correct. It was the red valve covers that were found on the junk yard engine which is the wrong year. So the 1995-1999 have the same engines. And yes it probably was the heads warping when the engine overheated. Thanks for the help. I checked car-part.com and found plenty of engines for less then $500. Is there another source out there that is cheaper? The car is in Charlotte, NC area.

[MinisterofDOOM]

Car-part.com is the way to go from what I've heard.

[NutriaforBreakfast]

You could try to check the compression on the car firstIt seems like if the head was warped or the head gasket was blown out you could just replace those?. If the block is bad though, you would need a new motor. Maybe tear it down and do nothing for a day butmicrometering

[breaksr]

Well the last time I tried cranking it (several months ago) all I was getting was the clicking noise from the starter so I think it may have seized the motor. Car-part.com has several engines in the area that are under $500 which is not that bad so I think I will go that route.