I was driving and heard a whining noise, pulled over and the car shut down on its own. I tried to restart twice, then looked under the hood to see the timing belt had melted the plastic cover and cut through it.

Are the valves always bent? Should I try to replace the timing belt, tensioner and idler pulley myself? Will I need any special tools?

I've replaced the timing belt, etc on my 300zx no problem, but the belt was on when I started those.
How can I test to see if the valves were damaged, I'm hoping for the best since I wasn't driving when it actually shut down.
The car had just turned 89k and I had just looked in the book to see 115k recommended interval on timing belt a week ago.
Wish I had seen tech'stiming belt post earlier.
Any help appreciated.

 

Put on a new belt and do a compression test on each cylinder.

 

stevo77

Was there any sign of problem before the timing belt torn apart? I've a s80 at 87k. Not sure whether I should wait to change at the recommended interval

 

Change your timing belt, tensioner and idler pulley. I changed all of that on my 2000 S80 and it only has 67,000 miles on it. I would rather spend the $800 than have what happened to lw1668 happen to me.

Everything I've heard about the belt and other associated gear is that you must take into consideration the years on the belt also, not just the mileage. Our 2000 S80's came off the line 8 years ago, that's a good lifespan for a belt but it's asking for trouble if you don't replace it prior to it giving out.

Good luck lw1668 it's too bad that this had to happen like this! [:@] Tech is a wealth of knowlege regarding these cars so I'd wait to see what he has to say regarding your whole scenario.

 

master-pre

Did yu change the belt yourself or at a repair shop or a dealer shop?

 

Lab_Rodent,

unless I hear otherwise by the weekend, I'll get the idler pulley, timing belt and tensioner and give it a try.
But I'll check back in case tech or others have any helpful suggestions.

 

lw1668,

Don't wait!
To answer your question, there was only the whining noise for 1/2 a block and luckily I could pull off the road close enough, so I wasn't on the gas when it happened, but we'll have to wait and see on the damage.

also to answer your other question for master_pre, I assume at $800a shop did his timing belt.

thanks in advance for any helpful hints on this job coming up.

 

I had the dealership do the work for me. The total came out to around $870 when it was all said and done. Doing the timing belt is a very labor intensive job, there's no way around it. That $870 also included a new thermostat which was easily accessible due to the timing belt removal (saved me money on laber ). But the way I figure I'm now good for another 7 years or 70,000 miles. By then this car will be someone elses! hahah

I've spent about $1400 on preventative maintenance over thepast month just to make sure the car is running premium. I don't mind so much as if you pay up front for this kind of stuff it's usually cheaper than fixing stuff that breaks due to neglegence. I'm probably a dealerships dream!

 

All

Any recommendation to which dealership in the NY tristate area to do the work. They ie dealership are so varied in workshipman and competency. Had lousy experience with dealership in the area dealing with american cars. Not only you spent so much more money, you got frustration associated with it

 

If you take some times it really isn't all that bad.
You just have to take your time and pay attention to what you are doing.

 

Ok,

The belt is very loose and probably not lined up with the correct grooves anymore.
I was about to attempt this myself but my friend cautioned me about, possibly bending valves with the new belt if not lined up correctly.
What do I need to do besides get the notches lined up on the cams; I kind ofremember something about TDC (top dead center)from another job about 8 years ago.What else can I do to verify correct placement?
Can I line all marks up and then check placement of the distributor and verify the piston in the number one cylinder is at the top (forgive me it's been a while)?

Thanks for any info.

 

Really to do it right you need to lock the back side of the cams and line up all 3 timing marks.