broken timing belt?

[mybluelaser]

i have a 1990 laser with a non-turbo 2 liter, the timing belt broke when i was driving, on this engine do the valve contact the pistons when the timing belt breaks or do i just need to replace the timing belt to get it running again?

 

[97GS-TSpyder]

take off hte head and asses the damage then go fromt here...i can pretty much guarantee with a broken belt that at least 2 or 3 valves are screwed....if your lucky they didnt damage the top of the piston. but id check ebfore i even turned the engine over wiht a belt on it. better safe than sorry

 

[steve]

Yes, the 4G63 is an interference engine. If your timing belt breaks your valves usually hit the pistons and bend. Sorry, time for a head rebuild.

Steve

 

[kristmen]

How fast were you driving? What was the RPM of the engine at the time it broke?

If you were stopped at a light or something there is a chance nothing was damaged. Interestingly I've seen more timing belts break well at a light then when moving under load.

The people who had these issues I know would be beating there cars and everything was fine and they stop at a light and snap.

Of the 3 people i know who have had this happen none of them got belt valves or damage to the pistons due to the low rpm levels at the time the belt went. If you were in the higher rpm ranges though you mostlikley do have belt valves or worse.

This info is only based on what I've seen personally and yes even at idle you can bend valves.

You still need to remove the head to check for damage though.