Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?

its a 94 integra ls. stock 4 cyl. engine. I was going 30-40 mph and the engine died. Ive confirmed that the timing belt broke. Did I fry the pistons and cylinders? I paid 3 grand for the car 2 yrs. ago and it will cost me nearly 2 grand to fix it. How do I know if it needs a complete overhaul or just a new timing belt. Any advise would help.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?According to Gates belt company you, unfortunately, have an interference engine. Meaning that valves will interfere with the pistons if the belt breaks or timing is badly off. There's absolutely no way to guess what might have happenned inside your engine by the speed you were going, etc. Yes, it is a good sign that you didn't hear any gruesome rapping sound when it occurred; but that doesn't tell you everything.



There's two ways to determine the extent of the damage: 1. Pull the head and have a looksee. Compress the valves to see how they fit in their guides and seats. Make sure there is no sharp scoring on the top of the pistons.

2. Install a new timing belt, set-up the sprockets for the proper timing and rotate the engine manually. Assuming you can freely turn it with no grinding noises, you can now cross your fingers and start the motor for its final inspection.



I have to caution you: #2 is really a stupid way to do things. Setting up the sprockets and everything doesn't take much less time than also pulling the head. And if you do start the engine you risk damaging it further.



Take heart: There still is a chance that you didn't hurt much. It could be as little as nothing to maybe just a bent valve to as bad as a hole in your piston. But you probably needed an overhaul anyway.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?it depends on the motor some motors have whats called zero tolerance meaning that when the piston is at the top of the stroke there is no clearance between the head and the piston and it will bend the valves if the timing belt breaks ,in any case because of the yr vehicle and the miles on it doing the timing belt alone will not fix it chances are you have bent valves ,you would be better off looking in to a re-manufactured engine and replacing the one that's in there now ,the reason is if you put a new head and timing belt on the motor the bottom end of the motor will go out soon after or the piston rings will for sureBroke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?Honda/Acura engines are interference type. Timing belt breaks and parts start banging together.



If your lucky, maybe a bent vavle or two.



Worst case is bent valves, holed pistons, broken connecting rods, bent crankshaft, cracked block at main bearing mounts. Worst case your looking at a new engine.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?It shouldn't cost 2K to fix unless the motor was running at a high RPM and damaged the pistons, connecting rods and head. Most likely you will have to have the valves replaced as well as the timing belt.

They can tell if there is more damage was done when the head is removed to do the valves.

If there is about 200K on the car then you may want to get a lower mileage used motor that has had the timing belt replaced. Unless the rest of the car is in perfect shape, its age doesn't justify a new or rebuilt motor.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?if i made any weird noises you might need some valve work but if not i dont see why you cant just reajust the timing and put on a new belt.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?Most likely an entire overhaul. Honda (Acura) engines are %26quot;collision%26quot; type. This means that the valves come down further than the piston goes up. Works when in time. When the timing belt breaks, your camshafts spin out of synchronization of your crankshaft, causing the valves to collide with your pistons, either bending the valves, or your pistons' connecting rods.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?If there is any damage to the engine it will most likely be in the form of a bent valve. Worst case scenario is new or rebuilt cylinder head should be less than 2 gs.Broke my acura integra timing belt while driving. do I need an engine overhaul?no, but the slow speed may have helped, the biggest problem with breaking a timing belt while running is that the timing belt turns the cam that opens and closes the valves while the pistons are in the proper position, in some cars the valves are so close to the pistons that when the belt breaks it bends the valves or tears up a piston, if you didn't hear a loud clattering sound you probably just need a belt.