So I started my car after it cooled down after already driving about 100 miles that day. I started moving, got about 50 feet and about 3,000 RPMs and then BOOM. The engine stalls and will NOT start back up. I did not hear any heavy clunking noises or a snap or anything at all. There was no build up to this. It just stalled and will not restart. I have gas, and when I try to crank the engine to turn over you can smell gasoline, so I'm guessing it's not my fuel pump. It'll crank all day long, but it will not turn over. Could it be the timing belt? How can I check to be sure? I need my baby for work so if anyone could help me at all, I'd reaaaaally appreciate it.

'94 Integra LS
all stock

 

Dude, sorry to hear that....but you were driving for a while with your car today.. did you make sure that your car has oil. If anything you might have fried your rings if you didnt?

 

yeah check you oil.... its low or none at all then you froze your engine and it no more good.. i really hope that is not the case .. im real sorry man

 

Remove the oil filler cap, look at the rocker arms and camshaft and have a buddy crank the motor, if nothing is moving then your timing belt is gonzo. If you cant see clearly, pop the distributor cap and see if the rotor spins when the engine is cranking.

Does the motor sound normal when you turn it over? Or does it sound like its cranking faster - another sign of a broken t-belt.

 

Um, is that a literal BOOM or a figurative BOOM? Did you actually here a loud BOOM?

I don't think it is safe to crank the engine if the belt is snapped. Your pistons will be going up and down because the starter turns the crank, but nothing will be opening and closing the corresponding valves. I would pull the valve cover and look at the belt. And if it is still intact, pull the plugs and turn the crank over counterclockwise with a socket on the crank pully bolt. You might be able to feel if something major happened to the internals.

Line up your cam gears with the up arrows pointing up, and look at the crank pulley to see if the lower cover pointer is in line with the white mark on the pulley. You might be REAL lucky and just jumped time really bad. But more than likely, your belt will be toast when you get there.

 

If the belt broke, cranking now isnt going to matter - the damage was done the moment it snapped. No amount of cranking is going to bend the valves more.

 

I checked the oil after this happened and it was about half a quart low. I filled it back up but if I froze my engine I think I'll cry... The engine sounds exactly normal when trying to crank it over, same speed and everything. My battery's still got a perfectly good charge in it. And no, there was no actual loud boom. It sounded just like any other time the engine stalls, that was just the sound of my head exploding.

I'll check tomorrow after work to see if everything is moving when the engine is trying to turn over. If I do need a new timing belt, how much should it cost? I just need the car running again asap and don't want to do it myself. I don't want to get jacked, but I'm kinda scared to see what numbers you guys can estimate. Thanks for all the help guys, I'm looking forward to being a member here..