Hey, my civic wont start.

It used to start well, then the next day it idled slow and unsteadily. Day after that it died when I started it up. Now it just makes a high pitched whezing/whining noise.

I took it in for repairs and they said the timing belt was loose and had skipped, and that the piston could have possibly hit the valve.

How can this be? How does the piston rod get longer by the timing coming off so it can hit the top?

What other damage could have this caused, and would this be the reason for it to not start?

Thanks in advance for helping.

 

I'll chalk this up to n00bness and explain. The rod doesn't get longer, the valves are open at a different time, so that when the piston comes to Top Dead Center (TDC), the valves are still open. Most honda motors are known as "interference engines", meaning that the valves and the piston occupy the same space at different times. That happy relationship depends on the timing being correct. When the timing is off, the valves are still open when the piston comes up, and then you open your wallet. This can result in bent valves, bad valve seats, and if you're really lucky, broken valves, ruined heads and holes in pistons. It doesn't start because the pistons cannot create enough compression to cause combustion. Get the shop to tear it down and see what it needs.

 

So the timing skipped teeth causing it to run shitty and eventually not run, it's being replaced...

Would I have heard if the valve hit the cylinder?

 

It would be mixed in with all the other noises, it doesn't take much, just a little tick.