Dropped a valve in 5th gear highway driving???

[noid]

Im looking to buy a 1g to rebuild. The description on this laser is that he Dropped a valve in 5th gear highway driving. I do not know fully what this means and would like to know the best and worst case scenerio for repairs. Thank you for any help offered.

 

[BogusSVO]

dropped valve is never a good thing...

at best it has bet valves in the head at worst the valve fell out of the guide and popped a hole in the piston, then jammed the valve back up in the head and just did all sorts of damage... up to and including busting thu the cylinder bore....

omly way to find out is pull the head and look....

time belt break at Highway speed?

 

[talontsi1225]

+1 on pulling the head. Do a leak down test and compression test and see how those turn out.

 

[90moneypit]

Expect a bent valve at the least so budget a new or rebuilt head minimum. A quick way to check the pistons is to use a light and small (very small) mirror to look into the spark plug holes to see major damage while turning the engine with a 1/2" ratchet raising each piston from BDC to TDC. It's not 100% but you'll probably notice things like a valve embedded or a piston in 3-4 pieces! You'll also know the head is trashed if your sparkplugs look like someone took a hacksaw to them. Hopefully you'll have the opportunity to pull the spark plugs before you buy it (at a minimum), otherwise I'd say pass on it unless it's so cheap you can afford to completely replace the engine.

Another thing to consider about a car that doesn't run, is that you can't tell if there are other problems like electrical gremlins or drivetrain issues. Be careful is the best advice I can give you!

 

[Damills]

This also depends on price you are paying for it and how much work you want to put into it. Worst case scenario be prepared to drop some $$ and time. But if you are getting it for a deal and like to take on projects GO FOR IT! Care to share how much you are looking to pay for it and more details?

 

[noid]

its a laser .This is the description.

New timing belt, tensor, new headgaskets and gaskets all around, water pump, 255walbro, front mount, bov, turbo timer, boost controller, hks bov gauge. 2 1/2 inch from turbo back exhaust, repainted flat red.

and the dropped a valve in 5th gear thing.

i have not got a chance to go out and see it. He wants 700 would prob pay like 500. i'll check the plugs out when i go to see it. pulling the head is not an option. idk i really cant afford to replace the engine. thank you for the advice.

 

[gusu]

If money is an issue at all, owning a DSM shouldn't be an option.... just sayin.

 

[90moneypit]

There are 2 things in that description that don't work together. New timing belt and dropped valve. It sounds like the person MAY have broken the timing belt and then replaced it. Now that it's running like (waste byproduct) he wants to sell it to someone else. I had someone try and sell my a car in that condition and it made my stabber's elbow act up... I have to second gusu on this one, if you're worried about spending money on a car, then a DSM really isn't for you. Especially if it's not in tip top shape to begin with. DSM's are more fickle than a rich feline with perpetual PMS. They are not for the faint of heart at all!

 

[dooblea]

They may not be for the faint of heart but that in-between weekend garage wrenching sessions sure is fun! If your not wanting to spend too much money is it out of the question to rebuild your motor?

 

[noid]

Thats actually what i want is something that i can rebuild. I can do the work its the cost that concerns me. So snapped timing belt worst case would be replacing the head? I'm going to take a look at this some time this week hopefully its not too bad.

 

[steve]

So snapped timing belt worst case would be replacing the head?

No, worst case is new engine. Typical case is new/rebuild head.

 

[90moneypit]

No, worst case is new engine. Typical case is new/rebuild head.

Well, worst case would be new engine, torn up transmission and a host of electrical problems that you can't find out about because you can't test drive a car with a bad engine but... Yeah, normal worst case with a snapped timing belt is the valve dropped, embedded itself in the piston (cracking it in 3-4 pieces) edge ways and then smashed repeatedly into the cylinder head destroying not just the piston but the block and head as well. Sounds extreme but I've seen it first hand, very depressing to say the least. That was while decelerating from 60 to about 35 with the car in neutral using mechanical braking, not engine braking. Faulty valve keepers suck, lesson learned was don't skimp on the small stuff.