I was going to work today, and my car just died. well after my friend towed me home (luckily I was just a mile away this time) I started to investigate. Turns out my timing belt broke. 2 questions. 1.) I don’t have the time to take the head off and check my valves, pistons, etc. I have heard that honda engines tend to F&*@ themselves up if the belt lets loose. So, what are the odds that my engine is ok. 2.) didn’t finish putting the belt in, its cool, I will just miss class tomorrow. problem is that I can not get the intake and exhaust sprockets to line up. engine is at TDC, the exhaust up arrow is up, but the intake arrow is between the 12-1 o’clock positioin. is this normal? if not does anyone know what the problem might be/how to fix it. I am going to check back here in the morning before I work on the car. Please, if you have any advice, reply. I appreciate it everyone! (this has been a bad week. broken down twice in less than a week. she’s old, I just need her to hold)
Sorry to burst your bubble man, but you are in some serious trouble. You most definately bent valves if your foot was on the accelerator during the time the timing belt broke. Also, if you were above 1500 RPM’s NO Matter What, you either bent your valves and/or dinged your pistons. Trust me, you should take a closer look at it before you change the timing belt and sigh relief.
And both marks need to be at TDC FYI. Good luck…
thanks
Thanks, I appreciate it. I guess I will pull the engine appart tomorrow. Bummer. I guess I will see what I see. Either way, I really appreciate the advice.
hey wassup man here’s my story. anyway i just got done watching a movie, wanted to go eat and hopped on the express way to go to downtown. i was doing 70mph and all of a sudden boom! my timing belt snapped! i pulled over. then i towed the car back to my house. my mechanic came over next day and put in a new timing belt, and… good as new!! i dont know if i got lucky or what… but if i did cool. anyway the car is good as new with no problems whatsoever. by the way i didnt even try and start the car, because i heard its really bad for the motor with no timing belt. just some adivce. i hope your lucky too, and good luck bro.
Hey, I have a question for you. When your timing belt broke, did you have any idea it was your timing belt, and did it make any noise??? I’ve seen situations like yours with a 96 honda accord, on the freeway and the timing belt snaps. Puts a new timing belt on and it’s just liike normal. So der is a good chance your engine is messed up, but you never know. Always better to be safe than sorry.
If it’s not a GSR then you have a 9.2:1 compression ratio. Thats pretty damn low compared with some honda engines. Maybe that little bit of extra room helps? Probably not the reason tho. Just thinking out loud. Wierd.
Maybe you guys have bent valves and just don’t realize it? Have you done compression tests after the belt snap? I don’t get it.
the details
I was actually between gears when it happened. between 2nd and 3rd. just finished coming around a corner and shifted to 2nd, then when I was shifting to 3rd…the car died. I did not know it was the timing belt. No noise, just instant car death. so I coast into this subdivision. now here is the bad news. tried to start the car twice before declaring it dead at the scene…what I might do is put the new belt in, and before I zip it up, run a compression test. this way, I won’ t have to un nessesarily tear the engine apart. Thanks mos for the idea. Same thing happened to my sister on the freeway in her civic. That one came out ok, but we checked everything. It was not a fun experience. Thanks again guys, I really really appreciate it.
Aren’t Honda engines non-interference engines? Meaning the valves couldnt touch the pistons even if the valves are open all the time and the piston goes up and down. I thought I read that somewhere but I could be wrong. If this is the case your motor is fine and just needs a new timing belt.
Ben
well, as for me… when i was driving all of a sudden the belt snapped. i heard a really loud snap come from the engine compartment, and my tach, and speedo went all the way down fast. ummm i dont know if i was lucky or if honda makes good engines, all i know is the mechanic checked it out, and everything was fine. all this happened like 4 or 5 months ago, and the car is still like new. pulling harder than ever, and smoother, now that everythings fixed. i guess i was lucky or something:D
a few years ago my distributor jus LOCKED and wouldnt move… well it streched the belt and allowed the exh. cam to slip 23degrees. the tech told me i was lucky i dint bend any of the valves cause then i would be looking at a $2,000+ bill. im gonna check and see if that "non interferance thing is correct. we cant ALL be this lucky ya know.
bet im the only guy who had to next day air a distributor from a dealer in west virginia cause the entire west coast was out of stock… $680.00 total ! add that with the $1,700 i spent on camping gear for that weekend near daygo, and i still say it was a fun weekend lol…
~Andee…