legacycentral bbs

My friend has a 91 legacy LSi automatic, Front Wheel Drive, it has 18x,000 miles, and until recently was fairly reliable. The owner is not making a ton of money, so repairs are falling behind.

Recently the fuel injectors on the the passenger side were leaking, then it became a spitting of gas. I replaced them with a low mileage set of injectors, and the leaking stopped, but the car runs like poo and lots of white smoke right after i changed them.
immediately after changing the injectors, i also swapped the plug wires as they were all distorted due to the previous leaking of gas from the old injectors.
upon starting the car, the engine appears to be seized (her battery is also bad and needs a jumpstart every time the car is started)
Anyways, as bad as the car was running, and sputtering, i figured the timing belt was not on the marks. So I just re-did the belt today, and after putting back together it still smokes white smoke, under powered, and runs like poo, with a miss. (anyone thinking head gasket)

What should I be looking at next.
BTW, the car also needs a replacement front axle, boot has been torn for more than a few months. also, the battery/alternator issue, and the muffler has fallen off.
I think it is done for. The girl owner really doesnt have money and she supports a child by her self. she bought it for 600, and hasn't really spent a whole lot on it, and i dont think she shouldd go dumping 300+ into it ...
advice please.

Dumb question: Does she keep up with oil and coolant? If there's white smoke, then it's probably loosing coolant, and the car may have overheated numerous times if she/you hasn't been on top of it. Definitely sounds like head gaskets.

If the car HAS been overheating, IMHO it's probably a lost cause. The on-block sensors, all the gaskets, a lot of the seals and bearings, and probably the internal oil passages could all need checked and R/R'ed. (which would be more expensive that getting a new engine installed)

If not, then it may be worth it to do the head gaskets and see where that leaves you. A new alternator, axle, and muffler aren't big deals at all, they're pretty much the norm on any car as old as these.

If she can't afford to keep up on repairs, then she's just gotta deal with the fact that they're gonna pile up and become a lot worse. You could try seeing what else you can get for $600 - $1500, but chances are it'll need at least some work done within the first 3 months anyway, and it's a toss-up weather or not it'll be any better or worse than what she has now. Not being able to afford repairs on a car is a loose-loose situation for everyone involved