Shit…

"PowderHound" (PowderHound) 12/21/2015 at 13:43 • Filed to: None

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Well… pretty sure my timing belt snapped this morning coming to work. Car doesn’t want to turn over. I was driving 30 mph and the CEL and everything came on and power died. Radio and electrics still worked. Got a tow to the local shop and they are going to do some diagnostics and get back to me. Probably with all sorts of busted stuff. Basically my options would be:

Get a new to me car.

Have the shop fix it

Get the car towed to my house and try to fix it all myself

None of these things are something I can really afford right now but hey, that’s how cars work. Here it is next to a nice datsun

nerd_racing > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 13:47

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I want that datsun!

OPPOsaurus WRX > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 13:49

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MonkeePuzzle > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 13:54

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yurg! at least when my water pump seized and melted my timing belt it was on a far older EJ18 non-interference.

you list of options is hard to pick from until we know the damage.

I’d be voting for tow to house and fix yourself, unless there is head and valve damage. Then its new engine time.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 14:00

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If you bent valves and such, you aren’t going to want to take on that kind of repair without having another car to use in the meantime.

So either go find another Subaru flat four for it, or cash it in and get something else.

EL_ULY > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 14:01

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it could of been just a cam position or crank position sensor. If the t-belt snapped you would of also heard a big BOOM and CLATTER from the engine.

PowderHound > MonkeePuzzle 12/21/2015 at 14:05

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Yeah, I’m really waiting for that call. Head and valve damage would be a whole new engine? Or replace heads and valves? I’ve never done any engine out work but it’s can’t be much different than anything else. It’s all just turning wrenches

PowderHound > EL_ULY 12/21/2015 at 14:08

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I didn’t hear too much noise. It all happened pretty quick and I was kind of in shock so I’m not remembering the details very well

PowderHound > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 12/21/2015 at 14:11

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It will be hard to tell until I get the call back from the shop. I’m not worried about another car, I can just take the bus if I need to. Engine swap might be the easiest way. Then I have a second engine to dick around with. I’ve never actually had something like this happen to a car, where would I need to go to “cash it in” a junkyard?

Sneaky Pete > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 14:12

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How many miles were on the belt? Did it die instantly or did it die out slowly?

MonkeePuzzle > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 14:14

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well, you are right, usually it would take just heads and valves, but then there might eb mystery issues you didnt notice (bits of valves fallen into pistons etc). I only say replacement engine because of how popular the car is, you can get a whole running engine for so cheap.

were it a different car, it might be worth chasing just the head replacement and such.

what I did, was buy a replacement engine, tear it down and do new head gaskets and timing equipment, then swap it in. Then once the old engine was out I tore it down and did the same and sold it.

PowderHound > MonkeePuzzle 12/21/2015 at 14:23

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Genius. This might be the way I go.

PowderHound > Sneaky Pete 12/21/2015 at 14:24

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On the belt? I’m not actually sure. I bought the car with about 140k miles and at 185k now. I was ordering parts to do the timing belt after the winter…

It died pretty instantly. Once the lights came on I pulled over and it didn’t restart

EL_ULY > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 14:25

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fingers crossed it’s a sensor or alternator (anything not engine related)

PowderHound > EL_ULY 12/21/2015 at 14:33

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Dear god I hope so. The tow truck driver seemed pretty convinced that it was the timing belt when he got there based on the sound of trying to start the car

Sneaky Pete > PowderHound 12/21/2015 at 14:44

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That’s a tough break, no pun intended. If only it’d held on for a couple more months...

His Stigness > MonkeePuzzle 01/07/2016 at 23:52

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Getting a working used engine and rebuilding it is such a good idea! I’m working on a 2.5 E30 engine right now because I didn’t want to put it in the car before I at least did a head gasket and valve job. Originally we weren’t going to but then the customer wanted to rice it out and bought a cam, and just told my boss nope. I’m not putting a cam in it. I said I’d take the head off and give it to the machine shop. Who the fuck puts a cam in a used engine but doesn’t want to do a valve job.

I also checked out the bottom end but ended up not doing it. My boss kept asking me what I’d do and I got so pissed at him since it didn’t matter. I yelled at him and told if it were me I’d rebuild every single piece of the engine. But, I’m a technician and can get parts at cost, so of fucking course I’m going to rebuild it. I recently did a valve job on my Mercedes because I had a tiny coolant leak from the rear. I replaced every part imaginable, and the only reason I didn’t do a whole timing chain and oil pump was because I didn’t have time to take the engine out.