Q: Just changed timing belt, starts wont stay on in idle, give it gas and it shuts off, HELP PLEASE..!!

asked by on May 13, 2016

tried to Changed all my belts got stuck at the Crank shaft pully, couldn't get it loose then tried to vise grip the wheel, didnt work kinda ripped the belt so i needed to change it for sure, may have popped a couple notches at that time, not sure but when i stopped and just tried putting the other new belts on & move forward till i had all the tools i needed, then the car wouldn't start at all just turning, not over & no starts. Then i got some tools to do the job, went back in redid it all, lined up all the marks then lined up all the marks on the belt put pullies back on now it starts and wont stay running.... :( Please HELP ME..!!

My car has 150000 miles.
My car has a manual transmission.

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When you damaged the belt and turned on the motor you most likely bent the valves. This is an interference motor, meaning that the pistons and the valves can occupy the same space, just not at the same time. If the timing is incorrect and the motor is even turned over, the pistons can hit the valves and bend them. The only way to tell is to have the timing belt alignment rechecked first to see if it is aligned, then have the engine compression tested. This will tell you which cylinder, if not all, have bent valves. If this is the case, you are going to need to have the cylinder heads removed and rebuilt including replacement of the valves. If you want this issue to be diagnosed first, you should contact a qualified professional, such as one from YourMechanic, who can quickly and accurately diagnose the cause of your no start.

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