Reasons for a blown engine

[Reinner]

Out of curiosity (and the need to learn), I was wondering:

What would be some reasons an engine would blow, what parts would be damaged, and would there be any hope in the world left in the car?

Curiosity...

[navysnail]

overheating, over-reving, oil starvationusually messes the entire engine up pretty nicelyyes, you can put a new engine in it

make sure its really blown, and some person doesnt just use "blown engine" as a catch all term for any engine that doesnt run.

[spider_slayer]

also even if its blown you can save some of the components out of the blown engine and build a new one

[TheOne]

detonation:)(on boosted applications), it'll burn up the piston, make dents, holes on it, could also make a hole on the side of your block cause a connecting rod snaps and makes it.(overreving does it also)

[benemorius]

Depending on who you are, all the hope in the world could be left in the car. If you don't mind rebuilding the engine, pick it up for $800, fix it up for $500-$1000, and you've got a great car that you would otherwise have paid perhaps $4000 for.

Probably the most common "blown engine" is a blown headgasket and possibly a warped head / deck. Spun bearings are up there, too. Fewer DIY'ers can tackle that, but if you can that's a great car at a dirt cheap price for you.

[Hijacker]

A lot of blown motors need machining because the walls of the cylinders have been gouged (and sometimes they can't be machined because they'll exceed tollerances and even an oversized piston won't fit the bore).