Rep Power: 0

My car has 217,000 mi on it, but half of the engine has been rebuilt in the past two years. I will try to be as technical as possible, but I do not know much about cars so bear with me. I have had this car for about 7 months. Up until it died today, I had numerous problems that I had to overlook due to a lack of money to get it checked out and fixed. I was planning on getting it looked at soon but it died before I had the money. when I first got the car, a friend suggested a possible exhaust manifold leak because it would make a ticking sound when driving. Not sure if this could be related. For a while it seemed like my timing was off. It started when the oil light would flicker off and on while driving and I experienced a loss of power and sometimes the car would go into limp mode after stopping and re-accellerating (push on the gas pedal, car doesn't move, then RPMs go wayyy up and car revs very loud and takes off almost uncontrollably). Checked oil consistently and it was fine, even changed it. Then it became hard to start and would kind of screech when it would crank when I turned the key before finally starting. It also had a rough idle with a rattling noise that became much louder when AC was turned on (timing belt, ac belt?). Before it died, when it would start the "maintenance required light would flash off and on then stop. I have gotten a few check engine lights here and there and had to replace the camshaft position sensor and the intake air temperature sensor.

Probably unrelated: another strange issue that came up was occasionally, liquid, presumably coolant, would pour out onto the ground while the car was off or on. I checked the coolant reservoir and it was empty but radiator was still full and car did not overheat. This would go away and coolant level in the reservoir would rise back up again on its own.

All these problems are so weird and difficult to connect to one culprit. Anyone know a cause that has these symptoms in common?

 
Rep Power: 518

Is the engine locked up now or will it still run?

Oil light has been flickering, horrible knocking noises....You're probably gonna need to replace the engine. See if you can get one that comes with the exhaust manifold (cat) still attached, if yours is cracked and noisy (they do this so don't hold your breath)

Any used engine is a crapshoot, you never know what you are getting.....it's a good idea to go ahead and prep it for longevity before it gets installed. Timing belt, tensioner, water pump, and head gasket, and any rubber gaskets. Maybe rings if you're really ambitious.
Then see what else it needs, like a compressor pulley&clutch kit.

Now you need to decide.....Is a car with 215k on it worth this expense?
I just looked at a 03 CRV AWD that needs an engine at only 105k....the owner is sending it to the junkyard, can't justify the expense (K engines aren't cheap).