Timing belt failure at 57k
Feb 1, 2011, 11:15 AM
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Timing belt failure at 57k
Well, this kinda stinks. Heading to work this morning going about 55. Traffic slows down a bit to around 35-40 so I downshift from 6 to 4 and am greeted by a symphony of rapid pops and a light show of flame from my tailpipe followed by the engine cutting off.
Pull over to the side of the road and attempt to start only to hear the starter whine away without the sound of compression. Sigh. The belt didn't snap and doesn't look damaged, but after getting it towed to a shop the owner believes the teeth on the belt ripped off and the crank is spinning a bare belt when trying to start it.
I'm a little stunned that it quit at 57k. Although i didn't plan to wait beyond 60k there are plenty of stories of timing belts lasting substantially longer than the service interval.
The last mod i had was a cam install 2 years ago. Everything since then has been fluid changes/maintenance. The only suspicion was that the tensioner may have not been set properly during that cam install.
Other than that I can't think of anything other than bad luck that would cause the belt to crap the bed. Never spilled oil on it, no debris/tools that I can tell ever dropped down there while I worked on it.
Oh well, time to start looking at shiny new parts...
Pull over to the side of the road and attempt to start only to hear the starter whine away without the sound of compression. Sigh. The belt didn't snap and doesn't look damaged, but after getting it towed to a shop the owner believes the teeth on the belt ripped off and the crank is spinning a bare belt when trying to start it.
I'm a little stunned that it quit at 57k. Although i didn't plan to wait beyond 60k there are plenty of stories of timing belts lasting substantially longer than the service interval.
The last mod i had was a cam install 2 years ago. Everything since then has been fluid changes/maintenance. The only suspicion was that the tensioner may have not been set properly during that cam install.
Other than that I can't think of anything other than bad luck that would cause the belt to crap the bed. Never spilled oil on it, no debris/tools that I can tell ever dropped down there while I worked on it.
Oh well, time to start looking at shiny new parts...
Feb 1, 2011, 11:21 AM
#2
Did you pull the upper cover to confirm this? It's only 4 10mm bolts to pull the upper cover then you can manually turn the crank and see for sure if there's oil on it. Did you ever check after the cam install? Cam seals have a habit of being put in crooked and causing minor oil leaks but leaks never the less and causing issues. Unfortunately it's some work to realign everything but depending on how bad it is you may not need anything shiny at all.
I'd start with the belt, then compression test to be sure and go from there. There are alot of stories of people having bad things happen like this only to find out that the motor was still in great shape
I'd start with the belt, then compression test to be sure and go from there. There are alot of stories of people having bad things happen like this only to find out that the motor was still in great shape
Feb 1, 2011, 11:36 AM
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I sure have my hopes, blue. I visually inspected the belt without the cover (looked spotless and dry and was tight) and cranked the starter to see if it moved the cam gears. Accessory belt spun but cam gears didn't. Didn't manually move the cam gears.
Feb 1, 2011, 11:43 AM
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your car should still be under warranty ....its worth a shot
technically the belts are suppose to last to 100-120k given that the manual says its only recommended at 60k
technically the belts are suppose to last to 100-120k given that the manual says its only recommended at 60k
Feb 1, 2011, 11:47 AM
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sorry to hear about it man stuff happens i guess... they only thing is if that the tensioner was set wrong it would not have lasted 2 years best of luck to you man hopefully you did not do any damage to the pistons then all you will need is new valves and guides if you smashed any. where are you located btw
Feb 1, 2011, 11:57 AM
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sorry to hear about it man stuff happens i guess... they only thing is if that the tensioner was set wrong it would not have lasted 2 years best of luck to you man hopefully you did not do any damage to the pistons then all you will need is new valves and guides if you smashed any. where are you located btw
I'm in Baltimore. I had it towed to La Scuola. I've heard nothing but good things about them and Lonnie seemed like a straight shooter. Fingers crossed.
Feb 1, 2011, 04:53 PM
#7
Mitsubishi should have made our motors non interference to keep this from happening, hell the dodge neon srt4 is non interference and ya I called it a neon cuz it still is so wat lol. If ur luck is good it only jumped a couple of teeth or something and didn't damage anything. However the flames out of the exhaust and popping sounds doesn sound to good. Good luck tho sucks this happened to u.
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Feb 1, 2011, 08:22 PM
#8
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If it wasn't a interference engine I think Mitsu would recommend 120K for the belt. But since it is, they chose a figure they thought would insure this would (almost) never happen.
Feb 1, 2011, 09:55 PM
#10
I usually go by time more than miles. Age of rubber is more applicable that is why there is a 60K or 60 month recomendation. I also got a kevlar belt to avoid this issue. Hopefully it didnt damage a lot.
Feb 2, 2011, 11:47 AM
#12
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OP suggests, at cam time, the tensioner may not have been adjusted correctly. If that is the case the tensioner pulley could have run out of travel.
Feb 2, 2011, 12:18 PM
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Mitsubishi should have made our motors non interference to keep this from happening, hell the dodge neon srt4 is non interference and ya I called it a neon cuz it still is so wat lol. If ur luck is good it only jumped a couple of teeth or something and didn't damage anything. However the flames out of the exhaust and popping sounds doesn sound to good. Good luck tho sucks this happened to u.
Sep 15, 2013, 06:01 PM
#14
Well, this kinda stinks. Heading to work this morning going about 55. Traffic slows down a bit to around 35-40 so I downshift from 6 to 4 and am greeted by a symphony of rapid pops and a light show of flame from my tailpipe followed by the engine cutting off.
Pull over to the side of the road and attempt to start only to hear the starter whine away without the sound of compression. Sigh. The belt didn't snap and doesn't look damaged, but after getting it towed to a shop the owner believes the teeth on the belt ripped off and the crank is spinning a bare belt when trying to start it.
I'm a little stunned that it quit at 57k. Although i didn't plan to wait beyond 60k there are plenty of stories of timing belts lasting substantially longer than the service interval.
The last mod i had was a cam install 2 years ago. Everything since then has been fluid changes/maintenance. The only suspicion was that the tensioner may have not been set properly during that cam install.
Other than that I can't think of anything other than bad luck that would cause the belt to crap the bed. Never spilled oil on it, no debris/tools that I can tell ever dropped down there while I worked on it.
Oh well, time to start looking at shiny new parts...
Pull over to the side of the road and attempt to start only to hear the starter whine away without the sound of compression. Sigh. The belt didn't snap and doesn't look damaged, but after getting it towed to a shop the owner believes the teeth on the belt ripped off and the crank is spinning a bare belt when trying to start it.
I'm a little stunned that it quit at 57k. Although i didn't plan to wait beyond 60k there are plenty of stories of timing belts lasting substantially longer than the service interval.
The last mod i had was a cam install 2 years ago. Everything since then has been fluid changes/maintenance. The only suspicion was that the tensioner may have not been set properly during that cam install.
Other than that I can't think of anything other than bad luck that would cause the belt to crap the bed. Never spilled oil on it, no debris/tools that I can tell ever dropped down there while I worked on it.
Oh well, time to start looking at shiny new parts...
