i need your opinion...

tfoti · #1 08-30-2004, 05:21 PM

i looked at a 90 talon tsi AWD the other day, and i basically fell in love with it. the lady who owns it told me it "slipped time" while backing out of her driveway and ever since it hasn't started. she told me yesterday that it needs a new tensioner. now, correct me if im wrong, but that engine IS an interference engine. so some valves may be bent depending on how bad the timing went off. short of a compression test, what would your opinion be? would there be bent valves even if it was at low idle? (she claims to have been just rolling back in neutral down her driveway) its probly a stupid question but i would just like to clarify.
i also looked at the odometer and it said 145k miles, but the engine was rebuilt and now only has 300 miles on it.
thanks for even reading all this!

96TSi · #2 08-30-2004, 05:40 PM

if it only has 300 miles on the engine, it should be under warranty so the engine problem is free

tfoti · #3 08-30-2004, 05:48 PM

i never thought of that, i'll have to ask her about it then...

96TSi · #4 08-30-2004, 06:32 PM

but there might be a date cap on the warranty. like 3 months/3000miles or some dumb shit like that. you said the car has been sitting a while so the best bet would ask her as much as she knows and ask her too see a receipt for the rebuild

MrZ · #5 08-30-2004, 06:43 PM

tfoti;
My first timing belt on my Talon did the same thing you describe. I was backing out of my garage (it was super cold that day), and as I started to back out the engine just stalled, and would not restart. The belt had jumped time.

No damage was done, but maybe I was lucky. You can't check the compression if the belt has jumped time, as that throws the valve timing out of wack so you aren't going to get good reading regardless.

Sounds like the best thing to do would be to bring it back to the shop that rebuilt the engine. If it is under warranty, and damage has been done internally, they should be liable for whatever it costs. If no engine damage occured, you'll at least get the belt tensioner taken care of. If you go in there first, and attempt to repair it yourself, I'm sure it will void the warranty.

Mark

tfoti · #6 08-30-2004, 07:46 PM

thanks for the replies!! im sure i'll get to the bottom of this...i just hope that it was a machine shop that did it and not someone like her husband, then there isnt any warranty. i'll have to check on that. its the only tsi awd around here that hasnt been beat up by a teenager. i'll keep you posted.

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