when it rains it pours-timing belt broke!

[GeoTalon91]

Ok so shortly after purchasing a 92 Eagle Talon for 1200 I gave it a run through. First I noticed that the past owner was running platinum plugs on it nono. I switched them out for some autolight coppers, i tried getting the NGK at Auto Zone and O Reileys, but they had to be special ordered.

Then some of the BC to wastegate hoses were all messed up. Got that all fixed up. The car was running pig rich and would stumble flat on its face at about 60MPH. (Almost like a very bad stuttering).

I thought the car might have some boost creep, the stock boost gauge read 14 PSI, I installed a proform boost gauge and it read 10 PSI. At what PSI does fuel cut come at? I moved the wastegate a bit to see if it was working and it was, looked very rusted but still functioning after I used the pliers to move it back and forth.

Then we took it out for a test drive after new plugs were installed and new vacuum lines were installed. I let my dad take it for a go and it was still suttering over 60 mph. All of a sudden the oil light came on and my dad shut the car off and clutched the engine. We came to a stop and checked the engine bay for oil leaks-none- Then we checked the oil on the block - it was full. We tried cranking it and the starter would not engage the flywheel it sounded like it was slipping.

Thinking that the engine had seized we took a spark plug out, put the car in 2nd gear and pushed it while my dad looked inside the cylinder. the pistons were moving up and down so the engine was not seized. Then we pulled an old school move and tried turning the engine on with the clutch and 2nd gear. It felt like it was still in neutral, no compression.

Finally I decided to check the timing belt and low and behold it had broke! ohdamnIt broke in half, it looked like it snapped. The belt looked like it was new though, but I'm wondering if they had installed it wrong, which is why the car was running pig rich and would stutter at 60 MPH due to timing being off?

What do you guys think?

Also at what PSI does fuel cut off take into effect?

And I know there is a very good chance that the valves bent. Should I put a new timing belt and check compression or take the head off?

What timing belt do you guys recommend?

What headgasket do you recommend?

Thanks to everyone in advance for the help

 

[Cdc1221]

How many miles are on the engine?

 

[assassin3117]

I can also ask how many miles. At that speed and the belt breaking good chances are you will have some piston damage. Also if it has a lot of miles on it your might be better off throwing a rebuilt in there, no sense in putting a fresh head on an old block. Good luck and hope it didn't mess anything up. I've had a few DSM's come in the shop and they were lucky but 98% of the ones that come in didn't stand a chance when that belt broke.

 

[GeoTalon91]

The mileage on the odometer reads 110,313

 

[Cdc1221]

Im in agreement with assassin. These emgines are interference engines which means if the timing jumps or stops altogether while the rotating assembly is still moving, any valves still open will hit the piston tops

 

[assassin3117]

Set your timing to TDC pull the valve cover and make sure nothing broke up top. If nothing broke you can chance it by throwing a new blet tensioners and all the fun stuff on it. Me personally I would pull the head and check the top of the pistons as well. From there I would make my decision.

 

[WES_393]

What do you guys think?

I think you should pull the head. There's really no way around it at this point.

Also at what PSI does fuel cut off take into effect?

Fule cut happens when the stock MAF is pulling in more air than the ECU is programmed to read. There is no set amount of boost or airflow, but at some point the MAF decides "Too much airflow, no more fuel". It's a safety measure and can be caused by many things. Here's a link to a good thread about fuel cut. It sounds to me like you might have had some boost leaks.

http://www.dsmtuners.com/forums/frequently-answered-dsm-questions/186971-what-fuel-cut.html

And I know there is a very good chance that the valves bent. Should I put a new timing belt and check compression or take the head off?

You could throw a new belt on and see how the compression looks. But I'm willing to put money on the fact that some, if not most, of valves are bent. I would pull the head just to save time and money.

What timing belt do you guys recommend?

OEM, Gates, or HKS. I would stay away from auto part store brands.

What headgasket do you recommend?

OEM Composite or Felpro Composite. Unless you plan to make over 450hp.

 

[GeoTalon91]

Should I change out the head bolts and put new ones in there as well?

 

[WES_393]

Should I change out the head bolts and put new ones in there as well?

6-bolt head bolts are very strong. Many people prefer the stock 6-bolt bolts over standard ARP head studs. L19's are a different story but those are overkill for most street driven DSM's. As long as the threads are in good shape and the bolt doesn't seem to have stretched (largers spaces between some threads), then I'd reuse them. If anything, find some new stock bolts and use those.

 

[92AWDHX40]

Get a felpro or oem hg, and throw some arps on there, and do all the timing components, and the tensioner and pulleys.

 

[Boomdeeze]

6-bolt head bolts are very strong. Many people prefer the stock 6-bolt bolts over standard ARP head studs. L19's are a different story but those are overkill for most street driven DSM's. As long as the threads are in good shape and the bolt doesn't seem to have stretched (largers spaces between some threads), then I'd reuse them. If anything, find some new stock bolts and use those.

Since when do people prefer stock 6 bolt head bolts over ARP head studs?

 

[JKsTSiAWD]

Sorry to hear the bad news. Looking on the positive side, this gives you a chance to go over the entire car very well and know for a fact that it's done right. I would pull the head and do an OEM composite headgasket and some ARP studs, and replace the whole timing assembly with some quality OEM components or good aftermarket, like mentioned above. With these cars you always have to look at the positive side, .

 

[clipto]

Since when do people prefer stock 6 bolt head bolts over ARP head studs?

The stock 6 bolt studs have proven very close to the standard arp ones and are oviously alot cheaper in price.

 

[WES_393]

Since when do people prefer stock 6 bolt head bolts over ARP head studs?

I know of quite a few people on the forums who would rather use the stockers than standard ARP's. The load distribution isn't the same since a stud distributes torque better, but 6-bolt stockers are supposedly just as strong if not stronger. And like Clipto said, they are much cheaper. In the OP's case, they are free.