engine problems?

[dellaj86]

I have a 88 honda accord lx with 286,000 m on it. I have had it for the past 5 years with reg tune ups ect.
This morning it sounded more "rattly" than usual but i drove it on the freeway and it drove fine.Then I started it and it made very loud rattling sound (to me sounded like engine) and didnt really want to go over 25. Basically sounds like the engine is going to fall out.
The oil and water are great, there is no air conditioning system. I am not sure the last time the timing belt was replaced all I know is the last time I got a tune-up and wanted it replaced the mechanic said "it looks fine". (Maybe he was just being lazy??) Nonetheless I have been told by my most realibale source this is most likely the problem BUT the car didnt die.I am scared to drive it becuase if the belt snaps all the way that would spell much bigger problems.
Does this sound like a timing belt problem? Is it worth spending the money on for such an old car?

[jeffcoslacker]

Impossible to tell.

Yeah it could have slipped a cog and gone off time slightly, resulting in the initial change in sound. Most times when a timing belt of chain slips big time, it will do so on shut-down...the yank as the crankshaft comes to a stop and then rocks back against compression puts snap motion on the camshaft that is carried through the chain or belt...if the sprockets are stripped (chain) or the cogs are peeling off the belt, this sudden jerk will rip a few off.

Then you try to restart it, and find your engine has jumped time so badly it either won't start or runs very weakly...

If it went off time while running, chances are you have valve damage. Problem is you can't tell until you put a belt on it and retime it, then do a compression check, or just run it...if it has no power or dead misfires, the head is toast, you've got some bent valves.

I'd pull the upper cover off the timing belt, rotate the engine and look for missing belt cogs. If there's several in the same place, that's probably your answer...

could be a ton of other things too though...oil pump may have failed, broke a valve spring and ate a valve, holed a piston...etc...

Or it could be something minor that a trained eye could spot quickly. I drove a Pontiac Monatana the other day sounded like the engine was coming apart, knocking badly, and it finally died and wouldn't restart.

Looked under the hood and the crank pulley had sheared off, taking the serp belt and crank position sensor with it. Easy fix...