Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Well the title says it all. I was driving back to Maryland from Indiana to look at a house when all of a sudden I heard and felt a slight pop, like a big rubber band breaking. I look down at my gauges and the speedo and tach plummeted to zero. I pulled off to the side of the road, fearing the worst. I tried to crank it over but all I got was a weak sounding attempt at a turnover.
I got it towed to a shop, which was about 250 miles from home. I picked the car up on my way back to Indy with a U-haul trailer because I didn't have the money to have it fixed at the time. So today I decide to take a look at it since the house is pretty much settled in.
Here's where I got confused... I was pretty sure it was the timing belt because the valves wouldn't move when I tried to turn it over. I removed the timing belt cover only to find the timing belt in good condition and it still has tension on it. So now I'm kinda at a loss as to what went wrong without pulling a bunch of stuff apart in my driveway. Any ideas would be appreciated, thanks!

Evoryder

iTrader: (55)

Any fault codes? Sounds similar to my car when my crank position sensor died.

Tsurugi-san

iTrader: (37)

Broken camshaft? That would accomplish the same thing as the timing belt breaking.

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Not sure, I don't have an OBDII scanner anymore...

On a side note, I had my GF try to start it while I was looking under the hood. The cam gear is turning, but ever so slightly.

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Well if it's a broken cam it's one hell of an excuse to get the RRM cam

boosted2x2

iTrader: (7)

Timing belt could be stripped not broken. Same damage but belt still keeps tension.

Raikiri

iTrader: (21)

this. when my belt stripped that meant that my valves were not moving and when i tried cranking it over the valves were getting smashed by my pistons. if your valves are gone its a good excuse to get the RRM P/P Head

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Argh... I hope that's not the case. The teeth look good from what I can see, but without pulling everything else off it's hard to tell. I'd love to get the P&P head but it would mean having my car out of commission for a few months saving up for it...

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Here's a couple pics of the belt from what I can see with the shroud off:

kaoscage

iTrader: (4)

Check the cam, belt looks good from what I can see.

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Well I don't think it's the cam either... I pulled the valve cover off and it looked fine from what I could see. Not that I could really see too much without pulling the rockers off though. Here's a quick video clip of the car trying to start. The cam gear moves about a half inch or so then moves back when the cranking stops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xHskJKDrHi8

Raikiri

iTrader: (21)

from what i can hear it does sound like you're having metal on metal contact. i'd be worried about the valves but im just not sure what would cause the cam to keep from moving unless you do have a broken cam shaft... if thats your only problem than i'd definitely say upgrade to the RRM cam =]

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Here's the pics I took of the cam, at least what I could see of it...

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

One other side note... The crank doesn't seem to be rotating either because the serpentine belt doesn't move when I attempt to turn it over. I'm hoping the engine didn't seize up...

Arxylis

iTrader: (4)

Wait... I just went out and verified, the crank is turning when I try to start it. It's just the timing belt that isn't moving more than a half inch.