broke timing chain?

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Swampy
Posts: 1
Joined: Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:03 am
Location: south mississippi

broke timing chain?

Postby Swampy » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:42 am

Hi, y'all.
I'm in a bind. I bought a 1993 SE recently. Good shape, and pretty much everything works. It died on the way home the other day. No stumbling or grumbling, just "off" as clean as if I'd turned the key. It turns over fine, but doesn't even attempt to run. I have spark, and can hear the fuel pump run.
I pulled the distributor cap, and the rotor don't move when the engine tuns over, so I pulled the distributor entirely, and the drive gear at the bottom of the shaft appears to be fine.
I am totally unfamiliar with this engine. Am I looking at a broken timing chain?
Any insight is greatly appreciated.
If the timing chain is broke and the valves trashed, I will probably scrap the dang thang.


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smj999smj
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Location: Prospect, VA

Postby smj999smj » Mon Aug 12, 2013 9:21 pm

If the distributor rotor is not turning, there is a very good chance the timing belt (not "chain") has broken. It is an interference motor, but valve bending often depends on how fast the engine is turning. When the belt breaks during starting or at idle, you can sometimes luck out and not bend valves. If you were driving at the time, there is a pretty good chance that valves are bent. In these cases, I usually get a new belt, remove the front timing covers and old belt, time the cam and crank gears and install the new belt. Then I just install the belt guide, lower cover and crank pulley only and see if the engine starts and runs. If it starts and runs without misfiring, it's a pretty good sign that the valve didn't bend and I'll continue putting her back together.


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