Sluggish 1995 3.0 Litre V6 & timing belt

[Teddie]

1995 Plymouth Voyager with the 3.0 Litre V6. About 155K Miles.

With these engines is it true that if the timing belt fails the engine is not damaged at all? Should the belt fail what would be the signs of its death? Does $300 or so sound about right for replacing the belt?

Van feels a bit sluggish and I am going to throw a few things out first. Not sticking brakes, the mechanic just figured that out. Oil changed two months ago and van has not racked up 3K since then. Tranny is firmly in place and previous topics will probably answer your questions. Air filter is fine and I am hauling around an extra 50 Lbs or so. Plan on dumping in fuel injector cleaner and gas tank stabilizer on Monday. Besides bad spark plug I am out of ideas. I got low 20s MPG in the warmer months, but have to idle the van a bit when col outside so the mileage is 17/18MPG.

[kpa2004]

Not true! Who ever told you that is misinformed. That engine (3.0) is a zero tolerance engine. Depending on when timing belt goes, driving, idling will depend on how much damage is done. I just had to junk a 96 with a 3.0 engine because of this very issue. Better to get that belt changed out asap, along with the water pump to put your mind at ease. trust me, I was 1 week away from getting the belt and water pump replaced when it slipped and destroyed itself.

[Davescort97]

$250-$300 is the going rate for a timing belt change. Get it changed as soon as possible because your engine will be toast if it breaks while you are running down the road. Seems the valves go through the pistons. $2000 damage!

[Teddie]

The water pump went and died mid 2008 so I got a brand spanking new one. Thanks y'all for the speedy and helpful though somewhat spooky responses. If you scroll down someone working on a Dodge D50 mentions the zero interference engine.
http://www.allpar.com/mopar/3.html
Got the belt changed about 75K miles ago and plan on replacing the belt in June. Once college gets out for the summer and the weather warms up I am going to be doing some other work and probably have a few more questions.

[Teddie]

Must have been a bad batch of gas. Filled it up and the problem went away.

[jayson454]

i am a chrysler tech the 3.0l is a free wheeling engine it wont bend valve apon timing belt failure but you should replace belt waterpump and front crank seal and cam seals every 100k a few more questions does the van smoke when idleing more than 20 min this would cause the catalatic convertor to become clogged

[kpa2004]

Jason454!


"If any binding is felt when adjusting the timing belt tension by turning the crankshaft, STOP turning the engine, because the pistons may be hitting the valves."

This quote is right out of the 3.0 engine manual, also I had a 20yr chrysler tech tell me that the engine was toast,,,....so...I dont know what to tell you. Best not to test either theory and just replace belt ect..

[jayson454]

i have replaced timing belts on 3.0l for at least 15 years many came in broke never had one with bent valves from belt breakage but did have one with bent valves from inproper belt timing if the belt breaks valve spring pressure puts engine in a non contact postion but if you were to time it wrong you can put the valve into a piston if this wasnt the case anytime a 3.0l came in with a no start every tech would run thinking while diagnosing a no start you may accidently bend all valves this just is not the case

[Teddie]

Mechanic said $400-$500 dollars to replace the timing belt due to six hours needed to take apart the front of the engine. Anyway to check the belt without removing the front of the engine? The water pump was replaced 6/08, but I do not know about the timing belt. I have been told the 10% Ethanol gasoline makes the van sluggish.

[kpa2004]

Why didnt they change the belt when the water pump was changed? That belt turns the waterpump,...Dont make any sense to not do it when its right there anyway. You should make sure that it WAS'NT changed first, before digging back into it. Most mechanics already have that built into the cost when they do a waterpump, they go ahead and put a new belt in it while they are in there.

[Teddie]

The mechanic that did the work is semi-retired and his son does most of the work now. They have worked on dozens of cars since then and do not recall. Both thinks it was probably done, but they do not know for sure and better safe than sorry. Mama is going to look for the receipt since I am at college right now. Going to look in the owner's manual to see how often to change the timing belt. I automatically assume 60K miles.

[Teddie]

Probably have found out why the van was acting sluggish and I will mention parts replaced. New spark plugs, some wires, distributor, and distributor rotor. There was also a tune up done.

Now it turns out some (maybe all) of this is my fault. I disable the van when in an unfamiliar area by yanking a wire, but I did not plug the wire back in correctly. This caused arching and melting, and bad contact. This morning the van would crank, but not fire up just like if I had disabled it. I am going to learn a safer way to disable the van so I do not do this again. I was wondering when the distributor, spark plugs, and a turn up were needed. Now I know and I hope the van behaves normally with gas mileage returning to the low 20s.

If I was not so busy with college I would take a vehicle repair class so I could learn some repair skills and keep my expenses down. I am hesitant about changing my own oil since I do not want to screw up and kill my van.