Coolant or in your case water that you kept adding can actually fill a cylinder or two preventing the engine from turning over. Then as it sits there it will seize the engine as it did. In reading all this when things started to happen what was the temp guage doing? That should have been your first clue. If, and it sounds like it was, pegged on the hot side you could have saved yourself much of this grief, by telling that part. It seemed that important info was omitted right up front. :nonono:
In recapping the events, it sounds like you blew the head gasket. As the car overheated it lost power, and finally as they do in that case quit. Not always does one lock up the engine at that point. The issue that was the coupe de gras was letting the car sit with water in the cylinders. If you had pulled the plugs and cranked the engine as suggested you would have seen water squirt out. I didn't read that you had actually tried that, but instead went right to changing the timing belt.
Good luck with the new engine and please pay attention to the guages and idiot lights.
BTW welcome, sorry it was under such sad circumstances you found this place, but that is not uncommon..... we drive Tours so we know pain....:laugh:
