Timing belt has been shredded. yeah yeah yeah.. im stupid

[chuckler]

i recently purchased a 90' plymouth laser rs turbo. totally new to me.. i have been driving a 91' gmc jimmy with 240,000 miles on it for the last four years. i had heard that there were problems with the timing belts and a couple others. well.. the belt is shredded. now i have some money to shell out to get it running again. is there any way to "maintain" a timing belt on these cars. and what is with the temp gauge? it's hot 2 minutes after startup but it doesn't go past half way on the gauge. are there any good outlets for parts on these cars and how do i keep this car running for my trips to college (212 miles). any help would be much appreciated. call me a newb.. i deserve it.
ps. any info would be amazing. im looking for anything. i have gone through that "must read" post at the top of the forum.. very informative.. i hate those damn wings, when they are useless.

 

[turboholic]

-IF the timing belt is shredded, do a leak-down test to narrow down the damage, most likely will have to pull the head for bend valves. Timing belt should be replaced every 60k miles or so provide that there's not oil leaking on to the belt, that will shorten the life of the belt dramaticly.

http://www.vfaq.com/FAQlocator-index.html

 

[chuckler]

i haven't started breaking down then engine yet.. need a paycheck first. friday begins the the repair work. i took the upper timing belt cover off. looked like grease on the inside of the cover. what exactly is a leak-down test. i have limited knowledge of these cars and repair work in general. are the steps for the test in the 1000 FAQ or is there somewhere i can find info on how to do it. as i said before... total newb.. working on gathering info and hopefully keeping this car running as my college driver. thanks to any and everyone for help and advice.

 

[temfate]

http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/leakdown.htm

That's a link from the vfaq website listed above. you really should read everything there, it's got everything you ever wanted or will want to know about our cars...