TIMING BELT SNAP, now car wont return to normality.

[H.Rivera]

so my timing belt snapped after just being changed 4 months earlier. fine...

so a new one was put in and it was off time.. now after being "put on time" 5 times it still wont return to normality..

problems.. not always consistent.. come out when they want to.

1. if the car starts.. the rpm's play going above and under 1.. and then dip down to low and the car turns off.

2. wehn pushed over 3000 rpms it starts to sputter.. no pattern just sputters.

3. it will randomly turn off when reversing or at a red light..



would appreciate any ideas of what else could have been damaged when the belt snapped.

tested the presure of the pistons.. mechanic (with a puzzled look on his face) said that they were great.. so we can say the valves are fine.

[Manny1337]

did you do this yourself or did you have the shop do the timing belt?

[Larzzzz]

I don't know if this is an interference motor design. If it is, when the belt snapped, pistons and valves probably kissed.......muckled valves and pistons. Not a pretty picture Do a compression test. If it was running fine before the belt snapped, low compression readings would probably suggest bent valves or a cracked piston. Sorry dude

Best of luck,
Larzzzz

[ghettosled]

question to anyone reading this - isnt there a crank position sensor that is near the crank pulley? maybe that was damaged from the broken timing belt being flung about.

at first it just sounds like the timing belt wasnt installed in the proper position, but incorrect after 5 times seems strange. unless the mechanic was lining up the crank and cam to the incorrect marks?

[Manny1337]

it is a non interference belt larz

[ASG14]

Try cleaning the MAF and IAC. those are often the causes of a bad idle.

[500KCamry]

Originally Posted by Manny1337

it is a non interference belt larz

Like he says, both the I4 and V6 are non-interference, a broken belt won't hurt the engine.

Is yours a 4 or 6?

In both cases, putting the belt in with the timing set properly, the engine will run as it did before the belt break.

Timing in the 6 is harder to set than the four, as the two cam sprockets must both be set on the timing marks.

I'm not sure, but on the later I4, 1996 or 97, the timing belt gear on the crank has fingers that are sensed to determine crank angle, were any of these fingers broken off when the timing belts was changed?

Not sure if the V6 uses the same type of sensing, but it seems logical that it might.

Also the I4 uses a spring/lock nut to set the belt tension, the V6 uses an automatic tensioner. On the I4, once the timing is set, you can leave the tensioner nut loose, start or crank the engine so the belt situates itself properly on all pulleys, then stop the engine and tighten the tensioner. This removes any slack in the belt.

[jmborchers]

I would suspect that if something were wrong with the sensor the check engine light would be on and there would be a code.

Likely the mechanic didn't put something back together right. A spark plug damaged, installed incorrectly, plug wire damaged? You don't really need to remove these to do the timing job but the book recommends (it does make it easier to turn over to set timing without compression).

If it were the camshaft or crankshaft sensor I would expect the problem to be a constant and not variable. Since the complaint is sometimes this happens it must be caused by some other variable changing.

[H.Rivera]

thank you guys. the problem was actually in a sensor.. right in front of the distributor there are 3 sensors. the one that controls the fans ( to the far left) was the one that had broken and making contact with the block.
how that affects the hole system.. not completly sure but i believeit now that i have seen it.

so sensor is being put in right now. but two other problems still exist. the car is abit accelerated and when driving when first starting to accelerate is sounds like if you were shaking a spray paint can very fast.

any ideas on the two remaining problems. ?

[Mike Gerber]

"when driving when first starting to accelerate is sounds like if you were shaking a spray paint can very fast."

It sounds like you are describing "pinging". Are you familiar with what pinging sounds like? Pining can be caused by incorrect ignition timing, carbon build-up in the engine, too lean of a fuel mixture, a carboned up EGR valve, or not enough octane in the fuel.

Mike

[flyeri]

It does sound like pinging caused by ignition timing set too high. Assuming all valve timing is correct (cam and crank aligned properly), ignition timing will need to be set using timing light. You are hearing the ping under initial acceleration and the knock sensor is kicking thetiming back to correct and prevent damage. Easy to fix.