timing belt broke HELP!!

[thundertank]

Hey my timing belt just broke getting off the freeway today. I heard a crazy ass noise and it died. I took it out of gear immediatly and coasted off of the road. I got out and looked under the hood and saw a piece of the belt sticking out of cover. what do i need to do to fix this shit i know its an interferance engine. does anyone know what has to be done to the head to get it fixed or is it fucked or what? any help would be great.

thanks in advance

[shepherd79]

well, first of all, you may want to pull the old belt out.
it should be easy to replace it.
Most likely you bent a valve, but i hear some people are lucky.
get the belt istalled, and check the compression.

[NXRacer]

I wouldnt even try to start the motor until you take the head off and look at the valves and stuff. You may do a LOT more damage if you just replace the timing belt and try running it again. Only after you pull the head and have a good look at it (or have a mechanic look at it) should you try running the motor again.

[jlaccord89lxi]

NXRacer: weren't we just talking about this??? i better get mine done soon so that doesn't happen to me.

[NXRacer]

lol yeah i think so. thats the way most threads are around here. just copies of something thats been discussed MANY MANY times before.......

[thundertank]

Yeah and you know whats funny about a week ago i was thinking to myself damn its about time to replace my timing belt. damn it. well time to break out the credit card. does anyone know where i can get a new head? or do you think mine is fixable? i was also thinking since i have it off to take it to a machine shop and see about getting it ported and polished if thats possible with our cars. thanks for the info guys

[Sean]

for the last fucking time the a20a is not an interfernce engine. i dont know when where or how it got around that it was but the bullshit stops here. put a belt on it youll be fine

[thundertank]

Really!!! that sounds a hell of a lot better are you sure about that SEAN? everyone ive talked to keeps telling me im gonna be fucked and have to replace the head and shit but if its not an interferance engine that would be SIC thanks for the info sean.

[bobafett]

"cuase there 650 thousandths of clearance vavles top piston and 435 thou of lift"

-sean

[87accordlxph]

Hey I'd say put a new timing belt on it and try it out.
If it doesn't start then your ...

-Mike from Sarnia!

[BITESIZE]

..........fucked, shit out of luck!!!!!!!

[thundertank]

hey thanks for the useless info guys. ive already had about ten people tell me that! LOL! well we'll find out tommorow im going to put a new belt on and see how it runs. if seans right then everything should be fine. but ill see.

[bobafett]

well sean does know his shit. but hes the only person i have ever heard claiming that they are NOT interference engines

[1988starter]

If sean says their not I believe him.

[myaccord7]

if you dont know a lot about engines dont do it. you have to find Top Dead Center, TDC. find the mark on your cam gear. i would check your head, vaules... i would take it somewhere. dont worry everything is fixable.


zach

[thundertank]

yeah i know im not giving up on my car just trying to find out how much its gonna cost me. thanks for the info guys. yeah sean seems like he knows his shit.
well see tommorow

[hondamanlxi]

if a moderator say your ok, then your ok!

when my car was still owned by mantis, his belt snapped! and its still running 10s!

[NXRacer]

10's in the 1/8th maybe

[Justin86]

Yea that sounds about right. You should be ok with the valves but if would be safe to do a compression test when you get it running. Also you have to set the timeing again. It most likely was changed.

[thundertank]

well i finally got the belt on and went to start it and it seems like the timing is off i think i may have bumped the belt like a tooth off or something im going to pull it apart again tonight and reset the belt.

[Sean]

make sure when the slack is pulled out of the long side of the belt. IE the side without the tensioner thats the marks are still lined up if not the engine will end up big time out of time everytime. its best to pull the slack out and reset the marks sometimes you have to play with it for a bit to line it all up in the happy place.

[thundertank]

yeah thats what i think happened because there was alot of slack in the long side of the belt and it may have moved a tooth when got the tensioner on. im going to pull it off again tonight and set it again. i also turned the cam gear all the way around and it felt like there was no binding or anything like that, so i think my valves are just fine. i think your right sean. also the mark on the flywheel is just a line across it right? thanks for the help man.

[thundertank]

well i finally got the timing belt on and everything put back together and my timing is on under the light but the car wraps out before i even get to 5500 rpms. im pissed. i was talking to my mechanic today and found out you have to get the cam even with the marks on the back of the gear even with the head. i put it 12 o clock not realizing the head sits at an angle. so thats why my car is sssllllllooooowwww im pulling it apart tonight and getting it right. sean is right it is not an interference engine. there is no damage to my head or my valves. thank god. well i hope this helps some people out if they ever have problems with there timing belt.

james

[Sean]

ha

[thundertank]

Hey sean is the "ha" sort of like an "I told you so" ? lol thats funny thanks for the info man i appreciate it. Im still trying to find that "happy" mark though. lol thanks man.

[Sean]

the mark on the cam timing gear aligns with the vavlve cover stud for cylinder #4. theres also a fiant mark on the front main seal adapter that is the 12 o clocl that lines up as well.as stated before make sure the marks are lined up once the tensioner is tight. it helps to have a buddy while doing this btw.

[accordlxi2.0]

yea according to my instructor at school our's isn't an interference engine but the 90's and ^ are.

[thundertank]

well i finally got it back together and it runs good. the timing mark is a little off but it runs great. i can only see one mark on there that even looks like the mark i dont know maybe the other ones are just faded or something. but yeah our cars are not interferance engines. so if it breaks dont worry about it.!! well i hope this helps some people. thanks for the info sean. much appreciated man.


james

[DBMaster]

Yes, hearing that they are not interference engines ends 14 years of misinformation in my mind. Obviously, you don't want the thing to break on you and leave you stranded, but it keeps me from stressing about possible oil on the belt that I might be unaware of.

Anyway, not only are there two marks on the perimeter of the cam sprocket (which you line up with the valve cover mating surface on the head) there is also the word "UP" stamped into the gear itself. You make sure that is up (as opposed to down).

I have found that it works best to line up the cam sprocket before pulling the belt. After the belt is off, turn the crank to line up the timing mark right on TDC and you are good to put the new belt on. No problem.

Now, if I could just keep the damn tensioner pulley from falling off that stupid peg while trying to put the cover back on!

[thundertank]

as far as the tensionor pully falling off i just kept mine on and disconnected the spring.it worked pretty godd then you just hook the spring and put the cover back on. oh by the way what mark are you supposed to go by to set the timing. i could only see one on the flywheel.

i kept it where it was at before i did the belt and it runs decent. it does get a little rough when it gets really hot. (remember im in az).

[DBMaster]

Does the tensioner still end up providing adequate pressure with the spring removed? I know that once the bolt is tightened down the spring doesn't do anything, anyway.

Thanks.

[thundertank]

well i put the spring back on after i got the belt routed. i didnt take the pulley all the way out i just unhooked the spring routed the belt then hooked it back up and tightned down the tensioner bolt then put the cover back on. i hope that makes sense.