03/15/2021
Just wanted to post a little advice for those of you that are buying vehicles with your Stimulus Money.
I had a situation yesterday where I did a roadside tow for someone. They explained to me what had happened and then asked me to diagnose the problem. Initially, sight unseen, I assumed it was the fuel pump.
When I got to the vehicle I tried the key and cycled the pump. It worked. I then asked them to turn it over and instantly knew what the problem was.
The timing belt had broken.
To add salt to the wound, this was an INTERFERENCE ENGINE.
Now here is my reason for this post.
Some people have the means to finance a brand new vehicle, which in that case just about every new vehicle manufactured has this design, but if you're buying a used car, or have already purchased one, this information is very important.
Interference engines are a compact design that has been used to cut weight and space by car manufacturers in an effort to make them get better mileage.
Most U.S. vehicles didn't start using this until the late 2000s. Many imports have been this way since the mid-late 90s
When an INTERFERENCE timing system fails parts collide causing catastrophic damage to the head (the valves, in particular) and the pistons.
That is what happened in this case.
Another idiotic part of this design is that the water pump is in the timing cover and runs off of the timing belt. A LOT OF NEW VEHICLES also use this design.
When your water pump begins to fail it will compromise the timing belt and the tensioner and idler pulley system.
In your manual, if indeed it is an Interference Engine, it will have a service interval for the timing and water pump. It's usually 100,000 miles.
If you want to know if your vehicle is an Interference Engine all you have to do is Google the year, make, model, and engine size of your vehicle and ask, for example "Is a 2006 3.5 Chrysler Engine an Interference Engine?" Which it is in that case.
Hope this helps you.
