Timing belt bent valves on my 95 Eagle Talon

[lshaffer]

Last month my car died. Took it to the garage and they said the timing belt slipped and bent the valves. Garage said that the car would need a new head, which they wanted $1200 to put on, but recommended I just change the whole engine, which they wanted $3500 to do. (Said a new head would "shred" the engine) These guys are full of it. Anyway, I had the car towed back to my house. I bought a used cylinder head with 80,000 miles on it for $66 yesterday and got a timing belt kit at Advanced for $125. Paying a guy from work to do the work. Just wondering what you guys think. Should I have to put a whole new engine in it? Or can I get by with what I have? I love my car and can't wait to get it back on the road. I'm driving a big, green piece of dodge intrepid crap right now that's chugging like a diesel engine and it's driving me crazy. I want my little red car back! But I want to do the right thing so it will stay on the road. What to do?

[theFREAKnasty82]

how many miles do you have on your engine? The old expression is, you get what you pay for, $66 for a cylinder is really cheap, so cheap that it scares me. From personal experience, I don't like using junkyard stuff b/c it has bitten me in the butt. Even though it may cost a little more, I'd rather buy a new cylinder head for around $500 than to spend $66 for a used one, only time I'd do that is if I didn't plan on keeping the car for a long time. Nine times out of ten, those guys at the junkyard have no idea what condition that cylinder head/motor was in when they pulled stuff apart. This new head could have broken valve guide seals where every time your take off from a green light, you'll have a nice trail of blue smoke. It could also have weak valve springs to where the valve doesn't close properly and it could get banged up every time the piston hits TDC. It could have been sitting for some time that the camshaft is almost seized, I could go on. I'm not trying to be the grim reaper here, but I'm just trying to give you the heads up when you buy from junkyards. Most junkyards don't give you a warranty, but if you bought a head from like Autozone or someone else, you would have a lifetime warranty and it if things should go wrong. Just some things to consider as you get your car fixed.