Timing chain broke while driving, can it be replaced?

Asked by Guru94M4QZ Sep 23, 2020 at 10:28 PM about the 2002 Pontiac Grand Prix SE

Question type: Maintenance & Repair

I think my timing chain /belt broke on 2002
gran Prix so 6 cylinder. While my wife was
driving.  Will crank but won't start. How do I
know if it damaged the engine

1 Answer

18,225

If the engine spins over then its likely not damaged. Damage occurs when the chain/belt fails and the pistons collide with open valves. At that point damage is done and the engine typically won't turn over. Google your engine to see if it is a "non interfering" design. If it is then valves and pistons will not interfere with each other and you will likely be OK if that is indeed what has happened. After that there's no way of knowing for sure if you have engine damage until you replace the timing belt and run the engine. At that point you can do a compression check to find out if any valves are bent. Before doing any of this though scan the engine for trouble codes. There are lots of reasons why a modern engine will suddenly stop and crank but not restart.

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