Subaru Repair: diagnosing a broken timing belt or water pump in 98 impreza, blown head gasket, timing belt

Question
My girlfriend has a 98' impreza with the 2.2L engine. Before it broke down there was a rattling/knocking sound towards the front of the engine. When it broke down she was driving on the highway at 65 mph, she lost all power and the engine overheated. Now the engine will crank, but will not start. When I pulled the spark plugs there was a slight amount of rust, but they looked okay and I did not see any oil in the antifreeze. Do you think that the timing belt or the water pump went out, and if so what other problems are likely such as a blown head gasket, cracked cylinders etc? Also is this car worth fixing (if repairs are more than 700 she won't want to fix)?

Answer
Hey Mitch,

All of that is tough to answer.  Most likely the water pump seized?

It may have bent the valves.  All of this is speculation with out testing.

Putting $2500.00 into a used car will cost less than buying a $25,000 new one.


Really hard to say what you should do.