Chrysler Repair: Engine ran dry of water.

Question
98 Chrysler lebaron. My sone ran it completely out of water to the point it died.  It will not start again it does crank but no signs of life beyond that. Is the engine toast.

Answer
I am not sure which year/engine you have there because I believe the LeBaron was last built in 1995. If the engine were damaged it would probably show by doing a compression reading of each of the cylinders: remove the spark plug of each and insert a compression gauge in its place then crank the engine over and determine the reading of each. Then try to refill the cooling system and see whether it hold water or does water get blown out of any to the spark plug holes when you crank it over which would be a sign of damage to the engine's head/block/head gasket. Then do a fault code readout using the ingnition key to see if any codes are recorded. Turn the "on-off-on-off on and leave on". Then watch the check engine light to see it begin to flash pause flash, etc. Count the flashes before each pause then repeat to verify the flash counts, then tell me the counts in order of appearance.
Replacing the engine with a rebuilt would be in the range of $6k. I had to do that with my '89 Lebaron 2.5L last year. I love the car and it is worth it to me.
Please read the PS below and respond to it.
Roland