88' Corolla FX- Engine Died :(

1st, a bit of history: 3 months ago, my toyota (1988 corolla fx) was bucking and hesitating a bit while driving. I took it in and, among other things, had a major tune up, and fuel line fixed. Since then, running fine!

I don't know if this is related but: Fast forward to last night. I'm driving out of the parking lot, onto the street, probably going about 20 or so mph, and all of a sudden my car just dies on me. :( I dont know what it feels like to run out of gas but I imagine it would feel like that. Just no longer running. I pulled over, tried to restart it. Nothing. I got it towed home and have to wait a few days to take it to the mechanic down the street. Meanwhile am worried sick so that's why I am here. Hoping maybe someone here can help me figure out what it may possibly be. The tow truck guy said it sounded like my timing chain broke. I hope not! Mostly because I worry that I did damage to my engine. I don't know if my car's engine has the type of clearance where it wouldnt do damage if the belt/chain broke. Anyone here know? I hope it's ok! I didnt hear ANY noise. Just stopped running. Does it have to mean the timing chain/belt? Arent there other things that it could be? And, my other question would be: wouldnt it have made some kind of noise if my timing chain/belt broke and damaged any engine parts? Wouldnt I hear knocking or some kind of odd sounds?

Thanks for any insight you can lend me. Also, I have a 4A-C engine. (in case that helps any).

Assuming it is the timing belt that made my engine stall and not starting up now...

I found something online, about my particular make and model of Toyota that is a relief:

this is from: http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/toyotafaq.txt

"SECTION 4.0: ENGINE AND RELATED SYSTEMS

4.1: Timing belt / chain maintenance

4.11: What if your belt or chain breaks?

At the time of this writing, all timing BELT driven gasoline Toyota
engines are freewheeling or non-interference. This means that if your
timing belt were to break, your engine would not suffer damage. When it
breaks, you WILL be stranded and have to have the car towed to a repair
shop. Most Toyota diesel engines and chain-driven engines are
"interference". When your chain breaks, the valves will bend and you
will be looking at a huge repair bill."

I looked up some parts online and was relieved to find my year and model uses a timing belt and not a chain. So, it's definitely a "belt-driven" engine, and not chain-driven. I know it'll still be expensive to replace the belt but it had to be anyway at some point, and is better than thinking my engine is fried!

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Assuming it is the timing belt that made my engine stall and not starting up now...

I found something online, about my particular make and model of Toyota that is a relief:

this is from: http://www.mr2.com/TEXT/toyotafaq.txt

"SECTION 4.0: ENGINE AND RELATED SYSTEMS

4.1: Timing belt / chain maintenance

4.11: What if your belt or chain breaks?

At the time of this writing, all timing BELT driven gasoline Toyota
engines are freewheeling or non-interference. This means that if your
timing belt were to break, your engine would not suffer damage. When it
breaks, you WILL be stranded and have to have the car towed to a repair
shop. Most Toyota diesel engines and chain-driven engines are
"interference". When your chain breaks, the valves will bend and you
will be looking at a huge repair bill."

I looked up some parts online and was relieved to find my year and model uses a timing belt and not a chain. So, it's definitely a "belt-driven" engine, and not chain-driven. I know it'll still be expensive to replace the belt but it had to be anyway at some point, and is better than thinking my engine is fried!


Rule of thumb is that the timing belt is to be replaced every 80,000 miles. Depending on your mileage, you might want to just go with a full timing set which also includes the tensioners.

Good luck with the car...

Definitely sounds like timing belt. I had this problem on my 92 Corolla and replaced mine with help of a manual.

i have an 88 toyota corolla fx also....it could be the alternator. My alternator was bad before and it would just shut down while i was driving.

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