Timing Belt

If the timing belt happened to slip or jump a couple of teeth would it cause the engine not to catch? Or would it cause something else to happen?

You had people with good suggestions and instructions for your condition here. (http://www.automotiveforums.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=891074)

A timing belt, as it ages, can begin to lose it's teeth and throw off your valve timing. This can cause a no-start, backfiring, etc. which is why I think it is worth your while to properly investigate. If the timing belt skips one tooth you will most likely notice a difference in responsiveness but it wouldn't stop the car from starting or cause backfiring until a handful of teeth had been skipped, such as may happen when a t-belt begins to scrub off its teeth.

Set aside an hour and a half to remove your accessory belt(s), remove the crank pulley, remove the water pump pulley, remove the timing cover, line up the crank with the oil pump and look at the cam mark against the valve cover. If it's not your problem, then at least we can move on from there and start discussing catalytic coverters and camshaft position sensors.


-MechanicMatt

Flash, pull the top scews of the timing belt cover and pull it back a little, you should be able to see if its on the cam pulley. If you see the belt still on, do a compression test. A compression test is a good thing to do anway. Report you numbers back here. A compression tester can be found at walmart for about $25. It will only take you 20 minutes to do the test. Follow these instrctions: http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=24601

Flash, pull the top scews of the timing belt cover and pull it back a little, you should be able to see if its on the cam pulley. If you see the belt still on, do a compression test. A compression test is a good thing to do anway. Report you numbers back here. A compression tester can be found at walmart for about $25. It will only take you 20 minutes to do the test. Follow these instrctions: http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=24601

:1:

Funny, Ross, I seem to recall similar advice from a PREVIOUS post... maybe he didn't hear us the first time. :eek7:

-MechanicMatt

The belt is still on but it is missing more than half of its teeth. So my next item to do is to take that side of the car apart so that I can get in and change the belt.

Thanks caprice,

Flash, follow these instructions:

http://www.teamswift.net/viewtopic.php?t=26588

Make sure your timing marks are lined up.. Very important!!!