What happens when a timing belt fails?

What happens when a timing belt fails?

What happens if the timing belt breaks? If a timing belt breaks, the engine will no longer work. This may result in a heavy damage to the engine with broken or bent valves, damaged pistons and, possibly, destroyed cylinder head and block.

Can I drive if my timing belt needs to be replaced?

You can’t exactly ignore this problem if your car won’t start then you can’t drive it. However, if the timing belt breaks while you are driving you will definitely notice and there will almost certainly be additional damage to your engine.

What can cause a timing belt to break?

The tensioner that keeps the belt taut is pressurized by the engine oil. If the tensioner has no oil pressure, the belt will become loose and possibly disengage from the pulleys and/or break. If the camshafts don’t have enough oil pressure to operate properly, they will also lock up, causing the timing belt to break.

What happens if you don’t replace the timing belt?

The belt keeps the piston and valves in “time” during operation. In the worst case, the engine assembly will need to be replaced. Failure to replace the timing belt at the recommended interval may lead to belt fatigue and breakage, which can result in costly engine repairs.

How long can you drive a car with a broken timing belt?

Gently driving may goes to the 100K miles. If the engine is switched off inmediately after the collapse of the timing belt it may produce little damage in the engine but the damage can only be evaluated by a specialist mechanics. Sometimes the damage can be severe that may require the engine change all together.

What happens when a timing belt breaks on an Outlander?

I just broke a belt on my Outlander (it’s a so-called interference-type engine) and am wondering what level of drive train and/or lower end damage to expect. The time belt coordinate the movement of cylinder’s pistons and gas combustion . Usually timing belt fails after 60K miles in cars with abusive driving.

What does the timing belt do?

The engine’s timing belt drives the camshaft (s) (“top end”) from the rotation of the crankshaft (“bottom end”). The belt keeps the piston and valves in “time” during operation. Serious internal engine damage can occur when the piston and valves come into contact with each other “out-of-time” caused by a damaged belt etc.